SOAP NET CHAT TRANSCRIPT: April 7th, 2005



Kari Wuhrer:
Hi everybody, Kari here. So happy to be doing my first chat for ABC Daytime!

scullysboy
I'm loving you as Reese on GH! Can't wait to see more of Reese & Sonny together. What's it like to work with the amazing Maurice Benard?

Kari Wuhrer:
Maurice is a very generous actor. He held my hand through the first two months. Working with him every morning is like an intensive of my craft. And then those dimples...

SamMorgan
What is the best thing and the worst thing about being on a soap opera?

Kari Wuhrer:
The best thing is working everyday in town so I can come home to my son. The worst thing is working everyday and missing my son.

April Venable
I just wanted to tell you that you are awesome, a great actress anything nice i would like you to consider. I saw you on soap talk last nite and you are so outgoing and nice. I hope you really like your job becuase your great at it keep it up.

Kari Wuhrer:
Thank you so much, the encouragement really helps.

ReeseFan
How did you prepare for the scenes when Reese told Carly about her dead son?

Kari Wuhrer:
You have to get to an emotional place where you have a reservoir to work from. And then you have to forget about everything you're thinking and focus on the moment of the scene. As Reese, I have to hold back because that is who she is. But overall, it can be a really tough day. Often, I feel like I missed it entirely but sometimes you get lucky.

Elana
Kari, I adore you as Reese on GH and think Sonny and Reese are incredible together. Are we going to get an honest to goodness love story with these two? Reese is the absolute best woman Sonny's ever been involved with.

Kari Wuhrer:
Wow! There will be an honest to goodness love story, I hope! I'm definitely working towards that direction but honest to goodness love comes with time and the building of a strong foundation so be patient.

SamMorgan
Was it intimidating to come into one of the most popular soaps and to work with Maurice Benard?

Kari Wuhrer:
It was so intimidating. I've done 60 films and have been working for 22 years but this medium is extremely challenging. I was intimidated more by my own fears than by the vibe anyone was giving me. The actors and the crew have been so welcoming that now it's starting to feel very safe and enjoyable.

Kay
I love your portrayal of Reese Marshall on General Hospital. What is your favorite characteristic of the character?

Kari Wuhrer:
I love Reese's strength and her depth of vulnerability. I think the combination makes her a compelling and interesting woman and it's also a challenge to play those two sides. One can't cancel out the other.

MrsReeseCorinthos
Hi Kari, After such a successful movie career what was your motivating factor for doing a soap?

Kari Wuhrer:
I spent some time trying to find the muse again. I feel like I stalemated in a straight to video film arena and I needed a challenge and a change. Plus, I had a baby and no longer wanted to travel to Romania to make movies. So, daytime seemed like the perfect place for me to exercise my craft and come home every night to my son. However, I didn't realize how much exercise I would actually be getting!

iwantmosonny
Hi Kari! I'm loving you as Reese. You and Maurice are amazing together. I've heard he and Steve are notorious for their wicked sense of humor. Have you been a victim yet?

Kari Wuhrer:
Hell yeah! And you need a thick skin to be around the two of them. But I'm finally starting to get the joke, you just have to give it right back.

Suzi
How much of your personality is in Reese? Did the show tell you a basic outline of the character and let you fill in the blanks or did they tell you specifically how her personality is.

Kari Wuhrer:
I have a backstory and a general description of who she is. Example: FBI agent, mother of a kidnapped and murdered boy. I'm occasionally given notes to keep her a little more professional at times within the context of her job. But little by little I get to inject more of myself and my personality into her. Especially in my scenes with Maurice that are of a more intimate nature. I can't wait until it's seamless, but it will take some time.

Emily
Kari, I think Reese is the best female character on GH in years. I'm loving everything about her. I'm also a huge Sonny fan and think Reese is the perfect woman for him. You are amazing together. Do you think Sonny and Reese will make love soon?

Kari Wuhrer:
It wouldn't be daytime without a sexy roll in the hay! I'm hoping that it's inevitable but not quite just yet. I think we're going to take it slow.

SamMorgan
Did you watch GH before you joined the cast?

Kari Wuhrer:
I was a big GH fan all through high school. Luke and Laura, Blackie, the Templeton sisters...I started again after my son was born. When I was approached by GH, I thought to myself, 'GH and only GH.' My dressing room for a short while was right next to Tony Geary's and that was cool. My first scene in the hub, coming out of that famous elevator, I got chills. It was very cool.

MM
Kari, it is great to see General Hospital finally have a character that is no one's victim, but not a shrew either. How do you balance the characters strength with the sadness and vulnerability that we see?

Kari Wuhrer:
As I said before, it's a delicate balance but Reese has been trained before as an FBI agent to distance herself from her cases and become not so personally and emotionally attached. So, I think that training gives her that definite dichotomy so that when the vulnerability does come out, it is very carefully revealed.

Tami
I love your style on the show! Reese has the best clothes and jewelry. Do you have as great a wardrobe in real life and do you ever get "borrow" any stuff from Reese?

Kari Wuhrer:
I don't remember if I have a good wardrobe because I'm always on the set in theirs and there's no time to go anywhere in real life these days. But I can always borrow from Reese's clothes if I need to.

Lisa
How do you think Reese will react when Michael is found?

Kari Wuhrer:
She'll have tearful relief and obviously be very concerned for the child and the condition he's in.

Rita
Who is your favorite character on GH?

Kari Wuhrer:
Well, harkening back to my childhood, I was always in love and still am in love with Luke Spencer. I think his speech pattern and the things he comes up with are very tailored to his character. He's very specific and he's just cool. But obviously, the ultimate bad guy/good guy is Sonny. How can you be a mob boss, murderer, etc, and be so adored? He's got magic!

Dede
Welcome to General Hospital, I have loved your character so far. Will we be learning more about Reese's life before coming to Port Charles in the comming months. I have so many questions about what makes her tick.

Kari Wuhrer:
I hope so! Because right now, I'm operating on very little backstory information. But once the character is fully established and she gets her own apartment or place to live, I think we'll be discovering more about her and peeling off more and more layers. She's definitely got to have more than two or three dimensions.

Mokey_G1
Hi Kari! Do you see Sonny and Reese ever getting married?

Kari Wuhrer:
God, I hope not! Let's just live in sin. I don't know, (laughing) sure.

Kari Wuhrer:
She wants to get him to go straight but I don't think she'll ever be in denial. He obviously is more than a coffee importer. But if Sonny doesn't change, maybe Reese will at least get him to pay his taxes. Lol.

MrsReeseCorinthos
Hi Kari,

I know that you are an accomplished singer and have even made your own cd title Shiny. Do you think that your singing will be worked into a storyline? Maybe karaoke at Jake's or something along those lines.

Kari Wuhrer:
I actually sang in yesterday's show that we taped so you'll just have to wait and see!

Kelli
If you could play any other character on GH who would you choose?

Kari Wuhrer:
Maybe Carly, but that would be exhausting. I think ultimately I'd want to be Sonny Corinthos.

GHDREAMFACTORY
Hi Kari! Nice to meet you! I remember watching you back when you were on MTV's Remote Control! I think that you are doing a really great job on GH! IS thgere an actor on the set that you would like to have more scenes with and why?

Kari Wuhrer:
I love working with Rick Hearst who plays Ric. I love working with Nancy Lee Grahn, Alexis. I hope to get into a storyline with them a little deeper. But again, if I could just do one scene with Luke...lol.

Gina
Are we going to know who the father of Reese's son is - some surprising twist maybe

Kari Wuhrer:
I talked about that generally on yesterday's show, that he was a lawyer near D.C. But I don't know. Maybe my long last husband will show up on GH.

Allison
Reese's dilema today really grabbed me. The side that is suppoed to be right is corrupt and the side that is supposed to be corrupt is honorable. Do you think that will effect her choice of careers? Will Reese stay in the FBI to fight the corruption within?

Kari Wuhrer:
Hence, her indecisive heart. She's pulled towards the "bad guy" and has no respect for the "good guys". Where does that leave Reese? In conflict. Which is always good for television. No conflict, no care.

t
What if Reese were to have Sonny's child. Do you think she would still think he was a good father and that her child would be safe?

Kari Wuhrer:
I think that Reese believes Sonny is a great father but on GH no child is safe.

Karen
I loved the montage at the church when Sonny and Reese were looking for the children and had the shootout with Faith. That was so cool. How hard was it filming that scene?

Kari Wuhrer:
I think that was a Scott McKinsey directed episode and he's a true filmmaker. So, he just tells you what to do and where to go and gives you the general feeling of how it's going to be edited and then you do your job like any other day. But it's fun working with Scott. We joke and call him Spielberg.

Mokey_G1
How do you think Carly is going to react with Reece and Sonny having a relationship? Do you foresee a competition between the two characters for Sonny's affections?

Kari Wuhrer:
Carly is a little distracted right now with Michael being gone. I'm sure there will be some displeasure at the discovery but it should make for an interesting show.

Kelsey
Have you ever worked on a soap before?

Kari Wuhrer:
Never! I did a night time soap that got cancelled after one season, it was Class of 96. I did three episodes of Beverly Hills, 90210. But nothing compares to 30 pages of dialogue a day.

i_ love_ jason
hi Kari, there have been some comparisons to reese and hannah, the last agent, what makes reese different from her?

Kari Wuhrer:
Reese is much more like Sonny. They are two sides to the same coin. I think there will be a deeper connection because they share a lot of the same internal mechanisms. The depths of their pain, the way they love their families, their discipline, and emotional control. I think that makes Reese even more dangerous for Sonny. And anyway, Hannah's gone!

Kelsey
What was your favorite movie or show that you've been in?

Kari Wuhrer:
I loved doing The Crossing Guard with Jack Nicholson and watching Sean Penn direct. But on the other side of that, I loved working on Eight-Legged Freaks because how could you not have fun chasing spiders with David Arquette. I recently did a movie in Romania in June, it's a Hellraiser movie, Hellraiser 7: Deader. It's awesome! It was such a good film to do.

Karen
You have had so many intense and deep scenes. Have you had any lighthearted moments on the set?

Kari Wuhrer:
The banter with Durant is kind of fun. At this point, Reese has so little respect for him that she gets to tell him squarely what an idiot he is.

Vabrielle_Solis
Hi Kari, is it true that Maurice picked you becasue you guys had such good chemistry during your audition?

Kari Wuhrer:
We did just click and I let him drive the scene which showed that I could work with him. I didn't fall into his rhythm because you have to keep your own rhythm when you work with Mo.

ClassicTV
Is Reese going to feel less sympathetic towards Sonny when she learns they no longer share the loss of a child?

Kari Wuhrer:
No, just because Michael may come home safe doesn't mean he'll be the same kid...does it? And there's always a new drama.

Devon
It's great to see a strong yet vulnurable woman on GH, where does Reese draw her stregnth from, what drives her.

Kari Wuhrer:
Reese is driven by her own grief and not wanting other parents to suffer the way she did when she lost her son to a kidnapper. That keeps her going.

Misty
I love this character.. I am watching the bar scene, love it.. THanks. I am sorry to see Tamara Braun go, but happy your here.

Kari Wuhrer:
Thank you, that's so sweet.

Ash
How long are you supposed to be on GH? Would you like to be there longer or not as long? ~Ash

Kari Wuhrer:
I signed on for four years but the rest is up to the producers! I'll be there for as long as they want me.

Vabrielle_Solis
Do you think that Reese will stay indepandent after she and Sonny fall in love?

Kari Wuhrer:
: Reese is a strong woman with her own mind and her own past. If that changes because she and Sonny fall in love that wouldn't be the character. Sonny doesn't give lobotomies...does he?

Bess
Who should be Reese's friend? i think Sam.

Kari Wuhrer:
Reese needs friendships. We were talking about that with the writers the other day. Sam would be a cool friend. I think Jason would be a cool nemesis. Maybe, Rick and I will develop a deeper respect for each other with more biting banters but you'll know we're actually friends.

Kari Wuhrer:
Maybe Courtney! That would be interesting.

kelly
Why did Reese break into Sonny's house when she took on the Kristina kidnapping case?

Kari Wuhrer:
For dramatic effect! You have to take license every now and then...then you don't know if I'm a good guy or bad guy at first.

Karen
Your scene today with Alan was so intense. I wanted to punch him, lol. How was it working with Stuart Damon and doing that scene with him?

Kari Wuhrer:
Stuart Damon is one of the nicest, most gentle daytime legends. We call him Big Stu. I was very excited about working with him. He's so professional and funny. He comes to work every day like it's his first day on the show, with a genuine excitement and preparedness.

ClassicTV
Do you have a favorite (or least favorite) scene you've done so far?

Kari Wuhrer:
My least favorite scene that was a biggie, was telling Sonny about the little boy I lost in my first kidnapping case. I was super nervous that day for that scene and I think I pushed it a little as an actor. My favorite so far I can't talk about because you haven't seen it. But stay tuned!

Kari Wuhrer:
Gotta go everybody, the baby needs his mama! But thank you so much for all your support, for watching loyally, and for taking the time to chat. GH fans ROCK!!!!! And I really mean that. Much better than Sci-fi fans. Check out my website at: www.kariwuhrer.net. Andrew, my webmaster, puts all the cool stuff on there including video of my scenes every day on GH.

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