Taking over a role from a fan-favorite performer is never an easy task. But General Hospital newcomer Kate Mansi (Kristina Corinthos-Davis) has taken deliberate steps to make the process as smooth as possible.
One of Mansi's first actions after speaking to GH's executive producer, Frank Valentini, and casting director, Mark Teschner, about the role was to reach out to her predecessor, Emmy winner Lexi Ainsworth.
"She's a friend of mine and someone I respect so much as an actress," Mansi told Soap Opera Digest. "I wanted to just make sure that she knew how absolutely adored she is by me and the cast and the fans, and that I would do my best to honor her work."
Mansi understands what it's like to have her role recast. Mansi joined Days of our Lives as Abigail Deveraux in 2011 as a recast. Six years later, her role was recast with actress Marci Miller taking over. In 2018, Mansi replaced Miller, the actress who'd replaced her.
"Being a recast myself, and then having my role recast, I'm quite sensitive to the actors," Mansi added.
Mansi understands that it might be hard for fans to see someone new in the role, but she is quick to point out that supporting a recast doesn't mean that fans can't also love the "original" performer.
"Something I learned as I grew up is that things aren't always black and white, and two things can be true at the same time, so fans can love Lexi and love me, or fans can love me and love Marci, or they can love Ashley Benson [Mansi's predecessor as Abigail] and me. There's nowhere that's truer than in the soap/daytime world because one doesn't necessarily negate the other," Mansi shared.
Mansi explained that she was drawn to the role of Kristina and the opportunity to play a bisexual character. The actress also looks forward to tackling the story involving on-screen sister Molly's endometriosis diagnosis.
Mansi made her General Hospital debut on May 24, 2023.
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