Soap Opera In Depth
January 25, 2000
Written By: Michael Auiello & Charlie Mason
Jonathan Jackson reveals his wish to reunite Liz and Lucky
Although it's been nearly a year since the departure from GENERAL HOSPITAL of Jonathan Jackson - and the apparent death of his beloved character, Lucky Spencer - just about everyone still seems to be mired in the first stage of grief: denial. Just look around. On the Internet, an endless number of shrined have been dedicated by viewers to the son Of Luke and Laura. At this past September's ABC Super Soap Weekend, the mere whisper of his name, or his portrayer's, sent fans into a screaming frenzy. And in Port Charles, the "deceased" remains such an imposing figure that rare are episodes in which his "passing" isn't mentioned or his presence isn't felt.
Perhaps since GH viewers were shown that Lucky really had not been killed, but rather, had been imprisoned by his father's archenemy, Ceasr Faison, in a high-tech jail cell the size of a Manhattan studop apartment, they never were, and never would be, able to move on to the final stage of grief: acceptance. But now, it appears , they were right to hold onto hope. At press time, the show had not confirmed the rumor, but the buzz was, Elizabeth Webber's true love would reappear in time for February sweeps. And while Jackson's burgeoning big screen career would seem to preclude a comeback to the role that he originated - wags insist that Jacob Young (an Emmy nominee for his year playing Rick Forrester on B&B) has the inside track on the recast - it ain't necessarily so.
Here, in his first full length interview since leaving GH last May, the three time Emmy winner speaks out about where he has been and where he is going, reports that he has landed the lead in the next Star Wars episode, and last but not least, the conditions under which his former soap could "get Lucky" all over again.
A "Force" To Be Reckoned With
First off, forgive Jackson if he's a little our of the loop. Currently holed up in Ireland filming the drama "The Smiling Suidice Club" for producer Jim Sheridan, the 17 year old is blissfully unaware that back home, he is at the center of a media frenzy: The very same week as his conversation with Soaps In Depth, Newsweek reported that he was a shoo-in to take over the role of Anakin Skywalker (aka Darth Vader) from youngster Jake Lloyd in the next Star Wars prequel due out in the summer 2001. In fact, the magazine went so far to say "Showbiz insiders say it's a done deal." However, a representative for George Lucas' production company, Lucasfilm has denied that Jackson had been cast. "Obvisously it's not a done deal since I haven't even met with them," sayd the up and comer, adding, "I don't presume anything, and I don't think any assumptions should be made about any of it. I'll just have to meet with them (when productions of Suiside Club wraps) I hope they don't think I was presumming anything because I certainly wasn't. I didn't hear any of it until it came out, so I had nothing to do with it."
In previous Q&A's with Soaps In Depth, Jackson has admitted that he's scarcely know Yoda from Yogurt - and he has yet to see the origional Star Wars trilogy. However, he did catch at the latest installment, The Phantom Menace, this past summer. "I thought it was pretty cool," he sums up. ‘But (the experience_ was different for me because I don't have the other three to think about - it was kind of a new movie for me. So I'm really excited to see what they're going to do fror the next one.
Annus Mirabillis
Regardless of whether Jackson gets shipped off to a galaxy far, far away, his post GH career thus far inarguably is that of a rising star. Before he even had cleaned out his dressing room at the soap, he had nailed the plum part of Michelle Pfeiffer's older son in The Deep End Of The Ocean, a drama of a fractured family, and filmed True Rights, an independent picture that cast him as a survivalist opposite his big brother, Richard lee. Then , as soon as he left the Port Charled city limits, he was flown to Toronto, Canada to play a drug addict in the ABC movie "Purple Haze." And right now he is finishing up what may be to date the greatest feather in his professional cap: his work for Oscar niminee Sheridan - of whom he has been an admirer since screening the director's In The Name Of The Father -On The.
Smiling Suicide Club
"It's about these three characters who meet up in a hospital where they take suicidal patients, and different frienships and romances and love stories develop between them," he explains. "My character, Toby, is normal in a lot of ways, but he has a lot of issues. He has a deep friendship with this girl in the psych ward, so he kind of gets caught in a love triangle."
The feature not only required Jackson to pull a Meryl and perfect a Northern Irish accent - "I enjou doing stuff like that, so I plugged away" - it set him up to bear the weight of some extremely heavy material. "It's just [a matter of] feeling some empathy for what the character is going through and just committing to what you're doing," he offers. "It's a good script and a good character, so if you have any kind of compassion for people, then you start to understand what they're going through."
A Lucky/Liz Reunion?
Bearing in mind Jackson's sensitivity, not to mention the quantities of fan mail that he receives, he no doubt is attuned to the separation anxiety that GH viewers have experienced since his exit. But now that the show is moving forward with plans to hire a new Lucky in time for the replacement to debut during February sweeps, ho is he feeling? Is he surprised that the powers that be would go through with a recast? "Yes and no," he says. "When all the actors who are going to be working with the character don't want it, it's kind of too bad that they still do it. But I don't really get surprised with a lot of things that they do," he adds, " because they've surprised me in the past, and I'm kind of surprised out. I hope it works out for them though."
For the record, Jackson states that he was not asked to return as Lucky - "Not that I can remember anyways," he notes - but if he had been , he would have said .. well ... that he didn't know what to say. "There are so many conditions that go along with it that it's kind of hard to say it in real black and white kind of statement," he offers. :I mean, I told them that I would't have a problem going back for a couple of weeks. I knew that Becky (Rebecca Herbst) wasn't going to be there for the rest of her life, so I just let them know that whenever she leaves, if they want me to, I'll come back. I thought that would be cool if Liz and Lucky could leave together, but I guess they didn't want to do that."
Next Stop Wonderland
Regardless of GH's next step, Jackson has too many irons in the fire to give a moment's thought to whether he's been burned. When he gets back to the Stares, he says, I'l probably meet with some other projexts that are in develipment an djust kind of see what happens with that." And for the time being - while his legion of boosters try to accept that while Lucky and Liz soon may get together again, he won't be playing the rebel with a heart - he will enjoy his last days in Ireland ... what may be the buddding matinee idol's last days of annonymity.
"It's great [going unrecognized since GH doesn't air here]," he remarks. "The peoplea re very nice - very polite - and they'll take the time to stop and help you find where you're going."
- Michael Auiello & Charlie Mason
