Eva Larue leaving 'General Hospital': 'They just hated my character so much'
After joining "General Hospital" over a year ago as domineering and intolerant mother figure Natalia Rogers-Ramirez, LaRue's character is getting the boot.
"I was originally only supposed to be on the show for a couple of months," LaRue told Soap Opera Digest, in an interview published Monday, June 30, announcing her exit. "And it ended up being a much longer run, which was great — and really fun because there are so many 'All My Children' actors there and so it felt like home."
LaRue cut her teeth as a soap star on "All My Children," appearing as Maria Santos Grey on the series for stints in the mid '90s and 2000s.
She told Soap Opera Digest that months before her exit, she began to see the writing on the wall.
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"I started to feel it in January," she said. "They tried to rehabilitate my character."
"People just weren't buying it, because they just hated my character so much," she explained. "I was so vilified that no matter what (the writers) did, it just wasn't a solid enough rehabilitation," especially in relation to her character's onscreen romance with Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard), one of "General Hospital's" central characters.
"When they finally let that idea go, I realized, 'OK, I'm probably not much longer for this world,'" she explained, citing the writer's decision to abandon the relationship.
While LaRue's exit may feel like a welcome reprieve for the show's dogged fanbase, who often derided her character's bad mothering, those who work on the soap are sad to see her go.
"Eva's been a dear friend for years, and I am so pleased we found an opportunity to work together," Frank Valentini, the show's executive producer, said in a statement to Entertainment Weekly.
"What originally was meant as a guest star arc turned into a longer and more satisfying arc, in thanks to Eva's terrific work and chemistry with our cast," he added. "I was thrilled Eva was available to us in this extended role. I wish her all the best in her upcoming projects."
As for LaRue, while she enjoyed her time on the show, she's glad to leave the villainess arc behind.
She said it was a "hard" role "for me as a person."
"In daytime, when you play a character like Maria Santos (her 'All My Children' role), love her or hate her, she was not ever meant to be a vilified character. And so it was hard from being that character, being a fan favorite, to being, like, literally hated," she told Soap Opera Digest.
"The GH fans couldn't stand (Natalia)!" La Rue said. "So that was tough, because especially if you are accustomed to being rooted for, to be rooted against is not as comfortable."
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General Hospital Recap: Maxie Falls Out on Live TV
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'90s Celebs Who Disappeared
Recently, I asked the BuzzFeed Community to share which '90s stars once seemed destined for greatness but have since faded from the spotlight — whether by choice or not. Here are 16 of their top responses: "Skeet Ulrich." —angrygoose681 Skeet was a '90s horror icon with his roles in Scream and The Craft. He continued to work steadily, but after his twins were born in 2001, he made them his priority. In 2005, he got a divorce and won custody of the kids, so he decided to be a stay-at-home single dad because he could afford it. In 2019, he told Fatherly, "Being a parent has driven me to make the decisions I've made. I did work, but I would only work in Los Angeles until Riverdale. The kids would be there with me. I hired a nanny once when I was doing the first season of Jericho. They were starting kindergarten, and I hired a nanny once more when I did Law & Order. That's it. A screaming kid is screaming for boundaries, screaming for something they know. They need a parent to step up." "Stuart Townsend, but that's his own fault because that ego is too big." —justineh4c2cc065d With his star on the rise, Stuart was set to play Aragorn in The Lord of the Rings in the early '00s. However, one day before filming began, he was replaced by Viggo Mortensen. He was reportedly fired for being difficult to work with, and Ian McKellan allegedly asked him if he even wanted to be there. However, Stuart has a different opinion on what happened. In 2005, he told Entertainment Weekly, "Two weeks ago I finally read an article where the filmmakers said, ''We were totally wrong about Stuart, and we accept that it was our fault,' which was so nice because I did get shafted up the ass. I was there rehearsing and training for two months, then was fired the day before filming began. After that, I was told they wouldn't pay me because I was in breach of contract due to not having worked long enough. 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You persevere because you believe you made the right decision," she said. Are there any other actors you thought would be major stars, but their careers never quite took off? Let us know in the comments (or in the anonymous comments box below)! Note: Some responses have been edited for length/clarity. Do you love all things TV and movies? Subscribe to the Screen Time newsletter to get your weekly dose of what to watch next and what everyone is flailing over from someone who watches everything!
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11 hours ago
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General Hospital Recap: Carly and Nina get physical
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