The Secrets Behind GH’s Paris Fight Scenes!
The brawl between Esme and Trina on the Jan. 31 episode of GENERAL HOSPITAL that ultimately led to the former and Spencer going overboard into the Seine River was a well-choreographed scene. And in an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Tabyana Ali (Trina) shared the secrets behind the climactic showdown!
In addition to using a stunt coordinator, GH also called in professional stunt actors Chris Reid (who doubled for Nicholas Alexander Chavez as Spencer) and Tanika Benjamin (who was Ali’s stunt double). But Avery Kristen Pohl (Esme) handled her own tricks, revealed Ali. “Avery is basically like a stunt coordinator herself!” the actress shared. “She took some classes back when she was younger. I was so happy that I was doing this with her because she knew that word really well.”
To prepare for Ali and Pohl for the physical confrontation, “Our stunt coordinator guided us and showed us all the steps of what we should be doing and how we should position ourselves and how to make sure that we didn’t hurt ourselves or the other person,” Ali explained. “It was like learning choreography. It was so much fun, actually. I’m so glad I got to do that with her.”
However, when it came time for the riskiest part of the girls’ fight, the soap had Lopez step in. “I was really sorry about that because I’ve been wanting to do my own stunts for a while now!” lamented Ali. “But they were like, ‘No, we don’t want you to get hurt!’ But I did the majority of the stunts. There was only one part where they used the stunt double. Everything else was me, and I was really happy about that.”
Benjamin is a regular stunt double on the Nickelodeon series DANGER FORCE and has worked on 9-1-1: LONE STAR and in films such as The Underdoggs and Candy Cane Lane. Even though she was only used for one component, Benjamin enjoyed her time playing Trina Robinson. “I loved doubling Tabyana!” she confessed on Instagram. “It was nice using my own hair, too.”
Stepping in for Chavez was not the first time that Reid has worked on GH: He’d previously doubled for Steve Burton’s Jason! The actor and model starred as green Power Ranger Victor on Nickelodeon’s POWER RANGERS NINJA STEEL and has done stunt work on series such as A MURDER AT THE END OF THE WORLD, OBLITERATED, and STAR TREK: PICARD, and in films like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Barbie.
Please join us in giving a shout-out to Benjamin and Reid for their part in keeping the daytime actors safe!
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