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By Suzanne

Interview with Inga Cadranel (Harmony) of "General Hospital" on ABC 6/20/19

It was great to speak with Inga on the phone. I interviewed her via email in 2014. She has been in many primetime shows, and now she's on GH doing a wonderful job as Harmony. I hope she sticks around!

It's kind of funny because I was supposed to interview her this past Sunday, but I got my dates mixed up.  Then she was supposed to call me at 1, but she was shooting something and ran over. We finally chatted about a half hour later.

Here's the recording of our interview. Below is the transcript!

Suzanne: You were shooting, is that why you ran over?

Inga: Yeah. Yeah, I wasn't on "General Hospital". I was shooting something else.

Suzanne: Oh, okay.

Inga: But, yeah. It was just like a last minute call thing. That's the cool thing with "General Hospital" is that it's actually really well scheduled and really predictable dates. It's not like regular prime time TV. The daytime genre is totally different; it's like a whole new medium for me.

Suzanne: Yeah.

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: They have a pretty-- from what I've heard-- they have a really fast shooting schedule.

Inga: They do. It's so unbelievably fast compared to what I have been used to. And the page count that they shoot in a day are astronomical, comparatively.  We'll shoot a 10-page day on regular primetime TV (or episodic TV)-- it's a big day. On "General Hospital," we do, like, 100 pages some days.

Suzanne: Wow.

Inga: Yeah, it's pretty wild. I mean the whole thing that I love so much is, I've been in this business for 19 years, and it's so exciting for me to work in a new medium. It just makes it all fresh again.

Suzanne: Well, that's good.

Inga: It's new... I have to learn different rules, and lingo, and I love it because I like doing new things, and it makes everything exciting again.

Suzanne: Oh, that's neat.

Inga: Mm-hmm, yeah.

Suzanne: Did you have to learn how to do that thing where you sort of, have an expression while the camera pans out as it goes to the commercial?

Inga: Yes, and it really lingers long, so I'm not used to that. And then every single scene ends like that, and yeah, they let you know and it's like, they just hold on you, and you just kind of got to tell a whole story in your final expression. Like a mood, or a moment... and you really got to milk it without seeming, you know, with being genuine and sincere with it. It's tricky... it is tricky.

Suzanne: I can imagine. You're sitting there thinking, "Okay, what is my character thinking? But I can't say anything."

Inga: "Please stop." Yeah, and also you want to keep... What I learned, too, is to really keep that ... feeling. To never make anything totally concrete, because then you leave it open for the writers to go whatever way they decide they look like the story was wanting to go. And it's also a technique,, I think. I just watched a lot of the other actors, and I thought, "Yeah this makes sense, to just really give the writers and the producers, who makes those decisions, an opportunity to decide which way they want the story to go." So you almost keep like that... it's hard to explain. Like an emotion at the end, or a thing of being, like, you don't want to give it a whole... a solid deciding emotion. You leave it in a way where you don't know what's going to happen next.

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: You want the audience to feel that, and it also gives them an opportunity to go, "Okay, good. Now we're going to go this way or that way," haven't made it a final type decision.

Suzanne: Right, it's kind of almost like an improv thing, right?

Inga: Mm-hmm.

Suzanne: Because they don't really tell... you don't have words to go by.

Inga: No, and you actually don't know what's coming next until you get your script.

Suzanne: Oh, right.

Inga: Which is also exciting but also... When I first started, now I feel like I've got the hang of it.  When I started last January, and at the beginning, I just didn't know what was going to come next, so I didn't know how I should really play things, and that lends to that ... thing. I was like, "Okay, well, I don't know what's coming next." I don't even know if I'm going to be on the show if they're going to keep me. I didn't know anything, so that's when I was like, "I better play this very open," for that reason, too. And then I learned, as I got to know people, that you do a lot of your own research. You ask the other actors, "Okay. What did you guys talk about in your scenes? What does your character do in the storyline?" You don't get to see that.

Suzanne: Interesting.

Inga: And you don't know that. You don't get the conventional, "Here's your script for the episode," you get your work and your scenes.

Suzanne: That's interesting.

Inga: So you don't really know. And it's just like, we all have to talk to each other, and share information, and then you go, "Okay, that makes sense why I'm doing this and going here." Yeah, it's a lot of self monitoring, which I actually really like.

Suzanne: So, you don't get the whole script, you just get your part, your scenes.

Inga: No. You can request a whole script, but no one really does. I think they just... I haven't seen anyone do it. But, yeah, you get your part. You get your scenes a week before, because it is an insane amount of dialogue to learn, which I've also never had to do. It's like learning a full play.

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: That you have to have memorized. You basically learn over 20 pages per day, and if you're working multiple days in a row, you get your script the week before to that day... Then you see, "Okay, my characters doing this," and then I've now got to know people, so I will call whoever I'm working with in that storyline, or who I know is connected to it, just to say, "Okay, let me know what did you guys do before this. What did you do last week? Why is this... Who am I talking about? What is this story here?" And then we kind of share information like that. And then we all kind of, talk and discuss it. It really does feel almost like the theater. It has this really connected camaraderie between the actors, and we would be, help each other, and we'll run lines and rehearse together, and talk about our storylines, and how it feels, and where we're going, and that kind of stuff, which I also really, really enjoy.

Suzanne: That's cool. Now do you do... I know there's not a lot of rehearsal time, but do you get together with the other actors and rehearse at all?

Inga: Yeah. So when, we get to the studios, we'll block it and then we find each other, and we go to the green room, usually, or to one of our dressing rooms, and we will run the lines, we'll work on the scenes, we'll talk about it. Obviously, it depends who you're working with. It's different for everyone's process... but most of the people that I've worked with in my storylines have been amazing and we just really-- yeah, we work the scenes. So, by the time you get up there, because it's such a fast process in the taping floor, you really get one take.  Obviously if you screw up, they'll give you more, but the preference is one take.

And so, for us to do our homework and be prepared I find is so, so valuable, that for me, anyway, and for the people that I've been working with -- we love it. Because we are already working on it. We've already found our beats and our rhythms and maybe some surprises that we didn't notice happening when you're just reading it in your head, and you're like, "Oh, okay. Yeah, I'm feeling good." Because by the time we get to the taping floor, we're ready to rock, and we've also just really found our groove and--

Suzanne: That's great.

Inga: Yeah, for that reason-- again, the camaraderie that I've felt on the show -- has been really lovely, really lovely.

Suzanne: That's good. A lot of people- Sorry go ahead.

Inga: Tons of people. The biggest cast ever. People I still haven't met.

Suzanne: A lot of them have been working together for many years so that's probably part-

Inga: Yeah, they're like family.

Suzanne: --of that camaraderie.

Inga: Yeah, yeah. They really are like a family. As soon as I go there, I felt that, and also, really warm and accepting. Not a family where it's like, "We've been together forever-- who are you?" Really, really lovely, really generous... because I was terrified, not having worked on this medium, and it's so fast. When I got my first script, and I saw the amount of dialogue that I had to have memorized I was like, "How do people do this every single day? This is like a whole play memorized."

And so, I was nervous and... Luckily, my first day, I was working with Steve Burton, who plays Jason Morgan. And he was the best person to have on your first day. He was so patient... he was really, really, open about explaining to me the process. Telling me all these things like, the way they call you, or with the sound system, and the way the schedule works in the day. And it was great! We rehearsed our lines, and said... He was the one who told me, "We usually come to the green room, and we'll run lines." He was so generous, that it made my first day so amazing, and I knew I'd just love working there from that first day.

Suzanne: Oh, that's good, yeah.

Inga: I don't know if it would have, been different if it was someone else, but I feel really blessed that it was him first. I don't know because that was my experience, and I was like, "This is awesome. I love this." I love how just cool and centered he was-- and everyone was. Yeah, and then after that day was done, and I was like, "Okay, I think I could really rock this." And I understood it because it was the leading up to it. The booking the job, and to keep calling people who I know had done daytime, asking them everything. I called Alison Sweeney, who's huge in daytime.

Suzanne: Sure.

Inga: And she is... She did a Lifetime series, er, a Hallmark series with my husband. So I was like, "Can you ask Alison if I could call her?" And so I called her, and she gave me all this great information, explained everything over the phone, but you're still nervous until you actually get there.

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: But if I hadn't called her first, I also would've been so in the dark, and so confused as to how the process works, so that was also great.

Suzanne: Oh, yeah, she's an old pro, and so is Steve Burton, yeah.... they've been both doing it since, I think, the '90s, so.... quite a while.

Inga: Yeah, yeah, I got really lucky with my first kind of step in the door with the right people so, yeah, yeah.

Suzanne: And I heard he's really nice as well, Steve Burton and also--

Inga: Super nice.

Suzanne: He's so funny. I met him once, he is hilarious.

Inga: Yeah. He tours a comedy show on his breaks. They are so busy on this show. I'm always really impressed by on their hiatuses, he does a full comedy show that he tours, which is so cool and yeah, he's really funny. I mean, obviously, he plays a really intense, serious character on the show, but he's so not like that.

Suzanne: I know, it's true of a lot of the actors I think, because they tend to have so much drama on these shows and then when you meet them in person, they're so funny and you're like, "Where's that? Why don't they put that in the show?"

Inga: Yeah, I know. I guess there's no room for it. You need drama on daytime.

Suzanne: Yeah, yeah.

Inga: I mean it's, so true [crosstalk].

Suzanne: Some of them are funny, but it just depends on the character and how much they let them do.

Inga: For sure.

Suzanne: His character for a long time had (because of his brain damage), had no emotion. He couldn't show any emotion.

Inga: Mm-hmm, yeah, yeah.

Suzanne: And he's so funny, it was funny.  So anyway, to get back to you... When, did you... So you started filming in January on GH?

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: Okay. I think you first started airing in February, right?

Inga: Yeah, yeah. It airs a month after we shoot [crosstalk].

Suzanne: And can you take us through the process that you went through-- getting the job?

Inga: I went to the "General Hospital" studios for my audition, and I met the casting director, Mark (Teschner), and he-- and his assistant, Lisa. Honestly, I kind of, credit them to me booking the job, because I walked in the room, and they were the most, loveliest, warmest people that I've ever read for. They immediately put me at ease. I was like, "Hey," the mirrors were gone, because they were so sweet [inaudible]. Mark's been casting "General Hospital" for a very, very long time and--,

Suzanne: Oh, yeah. He's legendary.

Inga: Yeah, there was a whole bunch of people there, and by the time I got into read, like I said, I had been chatting with Lisa his assistant, and they're just so down to earth. There was nothing Hollywood-y about it, because I'm Canadian. I was thinking, it was Canadian. And then I went into the reading, and I felt good, and it was just very relaxed, and there was no camera, which, we don't really do in anything that I've ever read for in Toronto [inaudible].

Suzanne: Oh, really?

Inga: So I was like, "Cool, that's interesting. So, I guess it's like a pre-read." And I just left and didn't think much about it and then they called me back and then when I came back to read again, then the room was full of tons of producers and Mark as well. And I read with him again, and I don't know... he was just so warm and lovely again.  When I walked in, I was really calm and relaxed and all the producers were sitting in there. I felt like I did a good job. No one said much, they were just like, "Okay, great," but there was a lot of girls there reading for the part, so I just didn't really think much about it. I thought, "Well, that was a good, nice introduction." It was my first time ever, reading for daytime.

I never, ever in my life, had I, and I thought, "Oh, well, you know... maybe I'm not really part of that world." So, maybe they thought, "Okay, you know, she might be good. We'll see her a few more times for different parts," or something like that.

Inga: And I was in the parking lot [inaudible] at the studio, and I was starting my car, and I drove out of the gate, and then my agent, (my manager, sorry. I always get those confused.  We don't have managers in Canada.) My manager, she called me while I was,, like just leaving and driving home. And I was like... When, she told me I got the part, which was so fast. I don't think I ever got a part that fast.

Suzanne: That's neat.

Inga: Yeah, it was incredible, and I was just so excited because I'm a new transplant here to Los Angeles,, and it takes time to get to know people, especially when you have a really long, good career back in your country. Everyone knows you, and you don't have to do that leg work anymore. Casting knows you, directors know you, writers know you... it's a given, they know what you do and who you are. But then, coming and starting fresh here, really just hitting the bricks, getting to know casting people, and putting that time in... And so, it was a real blessing for me. I feel like it happened so quickly, and such a great, great long term gig to be my first one here. I had done guest spots on stuff, but to be my first longer one in this really great place with lovely people!

Suzanne: That's great.

Inga: We never do night shoots. I have my dates a month in advance, which is unheard of. I can... I have kids, it all works for that. Yeah, I feel really lucky [crosstalk].

Suzanne: Oh, that's great. Yeah, I've heard a lot of people say that they prefer working in daytime because they get out early, and they can be with their kids, and they have a lot of off time, that sort of stuff.

Inga: Yeah, I didn't know what luxury it could be, because when I book a series, I'm gone. I disappear, and it's like, "Okay, we have to get childcare," and you're freaking out at who's going to watch your kids. And when I'm back in Toronto, my parents are there, my brother's there. We have family to rely on.

Suzanne: Oh, right... mm-hmm.

Inga: As soon as I moved here, I was like, "Okay, so when I book a series here, what am I going to do? Hire a nanny for the first time?" We just never really did that.  And my husband works a lot, too.

Suzanne: Yeah.

Inga: So, this... I didn't know how perfect this would work with my life; my schedule. I have enough time to plan for the kids. I get somebody to sit. Like I said, I get my days a month in advance. Not getting called the day before, like a lot of shows do, and then I can schedule it. And I know exactly when I look at the schedule, I can pretty much ballpark when I'll be done, and when I'll be home, and you never shoot nights. You never really go past 8:30, that's like a late night, and that's nothing compared to the 14 hour days I do on other television.

Suzanne: So, all of your previous TV when you were on "Lost Girl," "Orphan Black" and all that, that was all in Canada?

Inga: Yeah, yeah. I shot everything in Canada.

Suzanne: Oh, cool. And now your husband's on that other show. Is he with you in L.A. or is he still up in Canada?

Inga: Yeah, they shoot "Tacoma FD" here in Los Angeles up in Woodland Hills, and they just got renewed for their second season--

Suzanne: Yeah, I saw that.

Inga: So we've been celebrating. Yeah...

Suzanne: That's great.

Inga: Yeah, it's been great. He and I did [inaudible] shows almost at the same time, and he had billboards all over Los Angeles from the show, and like I said... moving here is always a crapshoot. You're like, hopefully it works.  You never know, because it's Hollywood, and the pool just like quadruples of how many actors...

Suzanne: Right. I imagine that being actors, having both of you working on a regular gig at the same time is fairly unusual.

Inga: Yeah. Well, we did a lot in Canada. We actually did a lot, we even did a series together in Canada at the same time, like at the same show.

Suzanne: Well, that's good.

Inga: But, yeah, we did that a lot, and we tried to kind of not overlap as much as possible. You know, like take things in Canada that we felt were... that we really wanted to do, and maybe not jump on everything if it was going to overlap with the other one.... if they're deep in a series where they really need all that focus. But, yeah, we've done that for years, I mean, we've been together for 19 years, and our parents are actors, so we've been in this business, we know how to juggle it.

Suzanne: Oh, that's good.

Inga: Yeah. But coming here and doing that, and not having our families here with us, that was a bit tricky.

Suzanne: Yeah, I bet.

Inga: Not to have someone to call and just be like, "Oh, Dad, can you come over and watch the kids?" or "Mom, can you pick them up?" That's been a challenge.

Suzanne: Right. And now, had you watched GH before you auditioned?

Inga: No. I actually only ever... when I was in school, they call it middle school here in the states...

Suzanne: Sure.

Inga: Which, is like grade four to six, I guess. I used to watch "All My Children" on my lunch breaks.

Suzanne: Oh, okay.

Inga: Because I could go home for lunch. That was my only exposure to daytime, and that was because my best friend's mom watched it, and she became obsessed with it, and then she got me hooked into it. And so, that was the only stint I'd have, had with it, but I was hooked. So, I understand that feeling of staying with a show for this many years, and what it means to people. But no, I've never been a daytime watcher. So then, when I got this show, obviously, I started watching, so I could understand storylines and what was going on.

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: And the biggest thing that struck me was, I feel how underrated the actors are on it as far as the talent.

Suzanne: Oh, yeah.

Inga: That is shocking. I watched them, and I'm just like, before I was starting I was like, these people are amazing. The amount of emotion that they have to extend in such a quick, quick time, and those tears are real. I've been on so much, which they call prime time here, which is series work in Canada. And it's a build, like if someone has to cry, there's a lot, usually, a lot of build up on the day, and everyone's, you know, you don't talk to them, and they're, needing their space... the actor, and they're trying to get to a place.

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: And then you know, shoot, and we have all this luxury of time. And then on this, my God, it's so... And, usually if they don't have all that, they're putting peppermint in people's eyes on set. That's just like a standard in all the shows I've done, all the shows.

And here, I've been in these scenes with people too, and I just watch them, and they are bringing that emotion and bringing those tears all in the, moment naturally. I have never seen one [inaudible] person crack out a peppermint stick or any sort of drops or anything, and that's a first for me.

Suzanne: That's interesting. See I didn't know that, I'm learning something new now.

Inga: Yeah, and because when we're on our other shows if they see it they look at the... Like in a series, where, if they look at your schedule, and if you have to cry; hair, and makeup, or makeup usually comes up to you and says, "Do you need peppermint for your scene, for your eyes?" "And "Yeah, I do. I'm not really feeling it today." Or, "I think I can get there. Why don't we just wait, but bring it to set just in case I don't get there."

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: There's none of that. And how impressed am I with the people and what they bring to these parts. The realism, the dialogue, the real dialogue that I find myself in these scenes having, and I'm just so floored, and I just feel like a lot of the shows I've done, and the people I've worked with in the past, this feels more genuine. And I know it's like, I shouldn't have a cliché feelings of being daytime from other people who, I guess who don't want it or who is not a

 part of this medium, but I'm so impressed.

Suzanne: That's good.

Inga: I feel honored to be part of it, and that to me has been the biggest standout, where I feel like these people should get more credited with the amount of work and talent that goes into a show like this at that speed, too.

Suzanne: Right. I agree with you and unfortunately for some reason there's always been that problem with... Well, I mean, people in movies, I think, don't credit TV actors, and then prime time actors -- Or people who work in prime time -- don't credit daytime, for some reason (whatever it is, I don't know).

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: And the same with Sci-Fi too, I think they do the same thing... with people who work in sci-fi.  They don't take them seriously, either, and they never get nominated for anything.

Inga: Yeah, yeah.

Suzanne: It's crazy.

Inga: I know, and it's crazy. I feel like I've worked in every [inaudible] now that I've done daytime. Because, it's like... I've had my fill at some point in every single type.

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: And honestly, this is like... I'm so impressed every time I go, every day. I shot last night, and I'm watching another actress on the monitors (you can't ever say anything about whose there, because it's all seen as secrets), but I'm watching this actress on the monitor and I'm standing there, and I didn't even know I said it out loud. I just went, "Wow," and then I was like, "Oops." Because I was so taken aback with her performance, and she just... in this scene, and tears were just rolling down her face sporadically and I was just like, "Holy smokes!" Honest and sincere,  and it was so beautiful and it was just like, yeah. I was just so honored to be with that [crosstalk].

Suzanne: Yeah. I think that's why people like soaps, because they feel this... They watch it every day, and they feel this connection to the characters, and the actors are putting it all in, and of course, like you said, they're really good actors, they have to be because to get all that dialogue and to be able to bring that every day, they would have to be, otherwise, they would be fired, you know.

Inga: Yeah, or else they would just be screwed. I think that a lot too. I think about previous actors I've worked with on other things, and I constantly go, "Huh, they wouldn't last here for a second."

Suzanne: Right.

Inga: It's really, really funny. There's more work, they ask more of you and you have to bring it.

Suzanne: Yes, and I think-

Inga: If you don't bring it, you'll be found out.

Suzanne: I think probably part of the stigma comes from the older days when the soaps were a lot slower, and they did have some models that tried to act, and then they thought, "Well maybe we'll..."

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: And sometimes it works out, like Shemar Moore, he started out as a model and then he was on, "The Young and the Restless," and he wasn't that great, but he was so cute and charismatic that nobody cared. But then he learned to act, and now he's a big star. So, you know, it works, sometimes, and other times it doesn't. But I don't think they have the patience anymore on the soaps to be able to do that.

Inga: I don't think so either. I don't think so-

Suzanne: They just don't have the time.

Inga: I feel like it would just be, yeah. Yeah, no, I [inaudible].

Suzanne: You were mentioning All My Children. Now, are any of the people that you act with now, were they on the show while you're watching" Like Rebecca Budig, Finola Hughes, or Billy Miller or...

Inga: Not back in those days, no.

Suzanne: Oh, okay.

Inga: I was definitely like really, really young when I watched it, but no, there's no one in those days that's here now.

Suzanne: You happened to mention so I thought I'd try.

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: Because you're just like, and also William deVry and Finola Hughes were all on All My Children at one time. Rebecca being the one who was on there probably the longest of all. She's back on GH, I think, or she's about to be.

Inga: Yeah, yeah.

Suzanne: I don't know if you worked with her.

Inga: It's hard to keep track of all the people [crosstalk].

Suzanne: It's a lot of people, I know.

I asked in the "General Hospital" groups on Facebook if anyone wanted to ask you a question, so Kenja on one of the groups asked if you know how long you're going to be on the show.

Inga: I don't.

Suzanne: You don't.

Inga: Here was the thing that I was told, that I wasn't even... they didn't even expect my character to be there this long, and they were really, liking what I'm doing, so that's why my storylines have gotten bigger--

Suzanne: Oh, that's good.

Inga: And started to get more involved. So really, it's just as I go, I'll find out as I go. And I just kind of have kept that and that's the kind of... that's what my contract is to [inaudible, right now, so yeah.

Suzanne: They do that a lot, they bring in somebody for a couple of days-

Inga: They do.

Suzanne: And then they're like, "Oh, we really like this person, let's give them more to do."

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: And she also wanted to know, if you were going to get more storyline, which is kind of the same question, but you don't know really, right?

Inga: Again, I don't know, I can't really even say anything about that.

Suzanne: Yeah, I know things are kind of coming, things are really happening today on the shows that are airing, with you and with the character that plays your daughter, so it's hard to say.

Inga: Yeah, I think what was aired last is that I've gone to jail, right that was kind of the last thing, yeah.

Suzanne: I think so. Yeah, I actually have a long history watching GH, but I stopped watching, I don't know, a few years ago and I haven't really had time to catch up. But I keep tabs on what's going on and who's doing what, because of my site, but I actually started watching in 1984.

Inga: Oh, wow.

Suzanne: So it was a long time.

Inga: Mm-hmm. Yeah, well yeah, there's definitely lots more to come. There's a lot I've shot already but just hasn't been aired yet.

Suzanne: Good. I was glad to hear that you're still filming, so that's good.

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: And also, Becky wanted to know, who in the cast you would like an opportunity to work with (and try to keep it to one or two people).

Inga: William deVry for sure. We just have a great rapport off set, off socially, and when we're all kind of hanging out. I really find him interesting. I would like more with Kelly Monaco to be honest.

Suzanne: Okay.

Inga: I feel like, I find her fascinating in real life, too, and in the show, I really like her... the way she plays her character with such an honest energy and vibe, and before I even came on the show, when I was kind of watching a few episodes to research them. I was like, "That girl is really, really compelling." And we've had little moments together throughout the storyline but never had anything, any [inaudible], so I would like to work with Kelly.

Suzanne: Okay, great [crosstalk]. Yeah, she's had an amazing life, she... it's not a secret or anything, she had... when she came to L.A. she was living in her car for a while.

Inga: Yeah, yeah.

Suzanne: She's had a really--

Inga: She's got a very cool, interesting story. I think that fuels her acting, and that's why I think also that she is so compelling to watch and even feels layered.

Suzanne: Yeah, actually, I don't remember what year it was, but they had a brief reality show one season ("Dirty Soap") with about four or five of the soap actors, and it was her, I don't think she was dating anyone at the time, and the actress that plays Maxie..? I want to say, and actors from other soaps. It was really interesting, I wish they kept doing it because you go to see kind of... reality shows are never reality, but it seemed like you kind of got to know who they were in person, so that was kind of cool. She--

Inga: Yeah, it's high time for something like that again, maybe it just wasn't the right moment... but reality TV is even bigger now.

Suzanne: Yeah.

Inga: It does seem like something that would be fascinating.

Suzanne: Yeah, it really would. It was very interesting. I think the problem was that the soap ratings were going down, and so they didn't get enough audience necessarily. It's too bad.

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: And she won "Dancing with the Stars" when it first started, too.

Inga: That's right. Yeah, yeah, I saw that, yeah.

Suzanne: I think she won-

Inga: She's very athletic.

Suzanne: I can't remember, but anyway. Not to go on and on about Kelly Monaco...

Let's see, let me think. What other projects do you have coming up? Are there any you can tell us about?

Inga: I can't tell you about any... I'm about to be in a movie called, "The Rest of Us." It's going to be released soon. I'm producing, and that's where all my extra time goes. I'm producing a project that I've been with for a couple of years. And now we're at a better stage, a bigger stage, and I'm producing with a company, with Roc Nation TV, Jay-Z's company, and I'm the creative producer on it and--

Suzanne: Is it a movie or..?,

Inga: I can't really talk [inaudible], can't talk too much about it.

Suzanne: Oh, okay.

Inga: That's just what I do with, that's my-

Suzanne: That's fine.

Inga: In between acting, that's another thing -- why this show is so great for me right now, with the scheduling -- because I have so many meetings, and so many conference calls, and my own family, and the kids. And this all fits in perfectly. It's just a gift. It actually takes me away from the executive kind of part of the producing world that I'm stepping into right now, and then I get to go play with these people and have a great time, and then I can go back and put on my producer/writer hat again, and it's a balance that I'm loving right now. I just feel like I'm in a really good place in my career where I feel very fulfilled.

Suzanne: That's great, that's great.

Inga: Yeah.

Suzanne: Is there anything that you'd like to say to the fans?

Inga: Oh, just that I'm so incredibly honored to be a part of this legacy of "General Hospital". Every time I'm in the studio, I know that I'm there, and its history, and I feel... I get goosebumps, I feel so happy, A, to be working in Hollywood being a Canadian girl, but also, to be a part of something that's so important to so many people, and I really want to do my best to do it justice, to make the fans happy.

Suzanne: Well, great. Thank you, I really appreciate it. I'm glad we could finally get together and talk.

Inga: Me, too.

Suzanne: You know, we had-

Inga: I know, it happened.

Suzanne: I wanted to interview you in 2014, I don't know if you remember this.

Inga: Yeah, you said that, yeah.

Suzanne: They said, "Do you want to interview her?"

Inga: Yes.

Suzanne: And we ended up doing an email interview. It took forever, because they didn't send the questions to you or something. I don't know what happened.

Inga: Yeah, yeah. Things didn't work out for me.

Suzanne: Yeah, that's good. Well, it's good that you're doing better. I remember, I did ask you in 2014, because you had mentioned your music. Now, are you doing anything with that?

Inga: No. I stopped playing in a band and stuff, and music. I just... We play for fun. We have friends come over who are musicians, but honestly, my career and the kids have taken a turn, and I'm going with what feels good, and maybe one day going back to playing music on stage will feel good again... but right now, I'm so happy and in love with producing and creating in that way, that, that kind of takes all my creative focus for now, but never say never. You never know what's going to happen.

Suzanne: I understand. Well, it's great that your character's name is Harmony -- maybe someday they'll have you sing in the show. Or you can perform at next year's Nurse's Ball or something.

Inga: Yeah, maybe next year.

Suzanne: That would be great. All right, well, thanks very much for talking to me. I really appreciate it.

Inga: Thank you, Suzanne. Have a great day.

Suzanne: All right, you too. Bye-bye.

Inga: Okay, bye.

Transcription from Rev.com

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