Mark Lawson talks General Hospital, new projects and much more! Check it out here --->
Soap Twitter has been buzzing recently thanks to Mark Lawson's surprise appearance on General Hospital. Soap Opera News got the opportunity to chat with Mark about his role on GH, new projects, his new outlook on his career and much more!
Mark described the way he came to land the role of Dustin Phillips as the old-fashioned way. Connections. He had kept in touch with GH's Executive Producer Frank Valentini after leaving One Life to Live. He had actually been brought in a few times to test for roles on the soap but was happily surprised when he was offered the role of Dustin. "It was the first time I had just been straight offered something like that."
He has really enjoyed his time playing opposite Emme Rylan's Lulu. He describes her as a personable pro. The two have bonded offscreen thanks to their families and having kids close in age. "There's just something about parents. There's an immediate opportunity to just be like 'you get it!'"
And when it comes to his character, Dustin Phillips, he loves that he is a mystery man at this point with the audience. The creative license he has an actor to fill in the gaps of the character's back story in his mind is also exciting to him. Lawson is also enjoying the current storyline his character is involved with as well. "The fun part is seeing how long you can tease [the flirting] out." And we both agreed on the fact that they seem to be doing it well, based on the positive response to the pair's scenes.
Lawson feels like he has matured since his days on One Life to Live and noted that the time away from the genre has provided him the chance to reflect on the value that a job in this industry truly has. Between the consistency of work and the scheduling that is conducive to family life, it's often invaluable. And he was excited to bring the knowledge he has gained over the years to the fast-paced environment once again.
I, of course, asked the question that everyone is dying to know. Will Mark be sticking around in Port Charles for a while? His response was....they are taking it day by day. "I think it certainly helps that it has been a pretty warm reaction so far." We are crossing our fingers and toes for a contract! We did learn that Mark will be back on-screen sometime in mid-August so be on the lookout for him!
It has been around eight years since Mark had been on a soap, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't been busy working. Once his time at OLTL was over, he moved back to Los Angeles and started his beautiful family. After awhile the creative bug hit him hard. He started writing his own scripts with the goal of being able to make them come to fruition on his own. His most recent script is one he describes as a "bodybuilding body horror film." The script mixes his love of fitness with his love of the horror genre. Lawson says he takes a lot of inspiration in his writing from filmmaker John Carpenter. "He's probably my favorite director of all-time."
Mark also has a couple of movies on the horizon. He has a featured role in the film 1 Night in San Diego. He has a part in Killer Contractor as well and is waiting on the release details. He told us that he got to see some scenes from the finished material and he is very happy with how it turned out!
He commented recently on social media posts about how grateful he is for the momentum that his career is gaining over the recent years. He is thankful for all the support from his fans. And he is appreciative of the fact that he has the love of his family behind him as he pursues his dreams. "You have to be hungry for it, and getting to show them that has renewed my vigor for it." As for where he wants this momentum to take him? "I want to do it all!" He wants to build a body of work that he can share with his kids in the future and share the idea that they should always be in support of their dreams."
We would like to thank Mark Lawson for a wonderful and insightful interview. We wish him continued success in all things and we're hoping to see him more on General Hospital!
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