Ingo Rademacher (Jax) is open tothe idea of his character falling in love again, despite his grief over the death of his beloved fianc�e, Brenda. Rademacher says, "There are no set feelings. Youjust go on about your life day after day, and whatever happens, happens. You can't plan that kind of stuff. Butyou can't not meet somebody that you might like.� He feels that the most important thing is you�ve lostsomeone dear to you is to keep going. �You also have to tell yourself that if your person is dead, you have to go on,which is something that you have to get over to acertain degree so you can be open to other things again.� About his character, Jasper Jax, he says, �At this stage, Jax is kind of confused still. It's hard tobelieve when someone that close to you dies. It's hard to grasp and understand and to deal with it. It's always goingto be with you. You have to take it as it comes and try to keep yourself open." Head Writer, Bob Guza says, "Jax is a strong character. The way to honor the Jax and Brenda relationship is not to go lock yourself away in a monastery for the rest of your life and mourn it. That's not what Brenda would want, and it's not what Jax would do." (GH Online)
From: Soap Opera Digest
After almost six years of playing the fiery, fickle and always fascinating Brenda Barrett, Vanessa Marcil has decided to quit General Hospital when her contract expires next month. Her last tape day is set for August 14. "I can't believe how hard this decision was," she confides softly. "Even though I've had other stuff going on for a while, it's just....This is the only home I've ever known. I was a kid when I started here. I feel like GH is my family. And I'm happy here. I love everything that they've been doing with my character, especially since (head writer) Bob Guza's been back. But the reality is, there are continually other things that i want to do, and it's physically impossible for me to do GH and other projects. I just got back from finishing two movies, and I'm so wiped out. I need a rest." Rumor has it that Marcil will join Beverly Hills 90210 in the fall, but all she will say is that they are in discussion. But she adds, "even if I do go to another show, other shows will go on hiatus. With movies, you get to have a month off here and there. Daytime is the only arena where you just never get a break. It's really exhausting. It's getting to be ridiculous. People are like you're 28 years old, and you're sick once a week. I'm always sick, and I take such good care of myself. I'm a nutrition freak. But it doesn't matter how well you take care of yourself if you get two or three hours of sleep a night.There's just no way I can do the projects that I have coming up in the next year and do GH. And be a human being." Despite having made the decision, Marcil says she's now having trouble dealing with it. She thinks executive producer Wendy Riche probably is too. "Wendy and I are kind of avoiding each other because I think we'll both burst into tears if we see each other, Marcil says. I know she understands, though. I know everyone there understands. They're like, it's your time go out there and do whatever's out there for you to do. Best thing is that all the producers told me, You're welcome back here anytime.Thank God for them saying that because I don't know if I'd have the strength to leave GH without knowing I could come back. I don't know if that means I will, but just knowing that I can is a comforting feeling. What made the decision especially hard", adds Marcil, "is that Brenda's long lost and very complicated - mother, Veronica (Jennifer Hetrick), is finally joining the show in August. They're making it so hard for me to leave, she groans, because I just love all the stuff going on. I read the scripts and I'm such a total, dorky sap.I cry! I'm in the car, (fiance) Tyler (Christopher,who plays Nikolas) is driving me home and I'm like honey,this is such a good script! I'm reading this stuff about my mom and thinking, I just don't know if it's going to get any better than this. I don't know if I'll ever get to play a character as great as Brenda ever again." As for Brenda's exit, rumor has it that GH will kill the character, but no body will be found. "I'm not sure how they're actually writing Brenda out," hedges Marcil. "I just hope they don't kill Brenda.I can't even imagine Brenda leaving Port Charles. I think at the last minute, I'm just gonna go, Okay. Never mind. Wouldn't that be nice?
The portrayal of Brenda Barrett is in the capable hands of actress Vanessa Marcil, whose intelligence and skill are complemented by alluringly dark eyes and flowing hair. Seductive, headstrong Brenda is finding her way in a complex world of deep emotions and complicated personalities. Vanessa's first airdate was September 18, 1992."She was the black sheep of the Barrett family," explains Ms. Marcil of her character. "Brenda is just now coming into her own as an independent woman, but she's struggling with the deepening love she feels for her new husband, Jax, and the lingering longing she still has for her former lover, Sonny Corinthos."
Ms. Marcil was born in the balmy desert community of Palm Springs, California, but her family soon moved to decidedly cooler Anchorage, Alaska, where her businessman father is credited for building the first earthquake-proof structure in the state. The youngest of four children, she and her family later returned to Palm Desert, California, where she began acting in local theater at age eight.
After graduation from high school, Ms. Marcil began to study law, before she made the decision to pursue an acting career. She has performed in numerous theatrical productions, including Neil Simon's "Fools," "Pygmalion," "Mamet's Women," "The Miracle Worker" and "Sweet Bird of Youth," among others. "General Hospital" marked Ms. Marcil's professional debut.
In 1994, Vanessa was tapped as the first full-time host of the popular ABC late-night "In Concert" series. Theatrically, Ms. Marcil co-starred with country music star Dwight Yoakam and Oscar nominee Sally Kirkland in the stage play, "Southern Rapture," directed by Peter Fonda. She was also spotlighted in the 1995 edition of People magazine's "50 Most Beautiful People" issue. In the recent box office hit feature film, "The Rock," Vanessa co-starred with Sean Connery, Ed Harris and Nicolas Cage.
Helping people is something about which Ms. Marcil feels strongly, and in her spare time she volunteers for various causes. She is an active runner and body builder; and also enjoys riding motorcycles, spending days on the beach, singing and seeing films with friends. She lives in Los Angeles, California, with her dogs Woof and Joey.
With offers of prime time and movie work pouring in, Vanessa Marcil is leaving behind General Hospital and branching out. There's just one problem: She doesn't want to go.
A bad thing just happened to Vanessa Marcil, and she still can't get it out of her mind. "I was at home the other day, and I dropped the orange that I had just peeled," she recalls. "I burst into tears. I was hysterical because I had just peeled the whole thing, and now it was all dirty and I couldn't eat it. "But," she adds, "there were 10 other oranges in the refrigerator, so I thought, 'well, maybe this isn't really about the orange."
As Marcil sits in her GENERAL HOSPITAL dressing room, just two weeks before her last day of work on the soap, she still is not ready to face reality. "I'm in denial about it," admits the actress, who joins the cast of BEVERLY HILLS 90210 in November. "I won't think about it. I won't look at fan mail. I won't watch the show. I've been trying to separate myself from it, but it's starting to creep up on me. I don't think that I'll be able to hold it in for much longer."
MAKING THE DECISION
At least Marcil can take comfort in the fact that she is not alone in her anxiety. When it was announced last month that she indeed was leaving her role of teen temptress-turned-worldly-wise model, cries could be heard around the soap world. Many of the tears were shed by her loyal legion of admirers. For six years, they have lived and breathed Brenda's every heartbreak, every joy. And on Friday, September 11th, they will live and breathe her farewell.
The actress/audience love affair was not instantaneous, though. When Marcil made her Port Charles debut in 1992, she was, for all intents and purposes, just another pretty face -- a very charismatic pretty face, but still. However, faster than you can say "star power," the head turner came into her own as scene stealer, along the way winning the adulation of viewers and the respect of her peers. And as the kudos rolled in, so did offers of outside work. Close friends and advisors kept pushing the up-and-comer to spread her wings and try her luck elsewhere. But a funny thing had happened over the years. As Brenda's boosters became invested in the character, so did her portrayer -- so much so that she had no desire to see it all come to an end. Even now, with her exit a fait accompli, Marcil has not changed her tune. "The reality is, I still don't want to leave", she says. "But all of these other jobs started coming up, and I just realized about 5 months ago that there was no way that I was going to be able to do the kind of schedule that I've been doing movies and other TV shows at the same time as GH".
This past summer was the last straw. While on GH's front burner, Marcil completed work on 2 independent films. This Space Between Us and Nice Guys Sleep Alone, which are scheduled to be released next year. Upon returning to the soap, she realized that her running around finally had caught up to her. "I was really sick when I got back," she sighs. "And I'm a really healthy person, so I kept on calling my doctor and saying, "Why am I sick again?" And he just kept saying, 'Because you completely overdo it. You need to slow down.' "So I decided that, only because they have been so wonderful to me at GH and told me that the door was open form me to come back, that I would put this job on hold and go do some other things that have been coming up."
SAYING GOOD-BYE
While Marcil looks forward to a new life on 90210, her good bud and GH leading man, Ingo Rademacher (Jax), faces the daunting task of moving on without her. "I knew that she wanted to go," he admits, "so I was kind of ready. And I support her. I mean, I say to her, 'Look, if it's time for you to go, I don't want you to, but in a way, I do want you to -- because you've got so much stuff out there to do.' "So, I wouldn't want to hold her back," he continues. "I'll miss her, but I understand. I'm really happy for her." Because the on-screen couple share such a tight off-screen bond, Marcil made sure that Rademacher didn't hear the news of her departure from someone else, or worse, by seeing it on the news. "I told him," she says. "He was really upset. We have a strong connection with each other, and we really love working together. That was one of the reasons why I stayed last year. I wanted Brenda and Jax to get back together -- I wanted to work with Ingo again."
As Marcil's last day approaches, she admits that she and Rademacher have been spending an inordinate amount of time together. "Every day he's like, 'You wanna have lunch?' because he knows that there are only two weeks left," she reveals. "So we're just crying and having lunch together." But because Marcil is going and Rademacher is staying, next month the love story of Jax and Brenda sadly will come to a close. The star-crossed friends and lovers won't be riding off into the sunset together; rather, she will leave with her mother the recently returned Veronica. And although Marcil admits to having a strong attachment to her character, she didn't march upstairs to the GH and brass and suggest ways to write out Brenda. "I don't have any say in that stuff," she admits. "I mean, I go up there and talk to them and they are very sweet with me. They're like, 'Okay, that's nice, Vanessa.' But they are the smart ones. I just feel so lucky to be the recipient of so much amazing story line. I trust them."
MANY HAPPY RETURNS?
As it is, Marcil probably has little to worry about. Considering the character's popularity, there is little chance that Brenda will be decapitated -- at least not on-camera. "They have all made it really clear to me that I am welcome to come back anytime," she says. "That means more to me than anything. I don't know if I would have the courage to go out there if I felt like it was truly the end and I couldn't go back."
However, don't expect her to make a guest reappearances like Maurice Benard (Sonny) did the past summer. "I'm guessing that they wouldn't want Brenda to do that," she suggests. "If I was going to come back, I think they'd want some kind of commitment. What Maurice is doing is really unusual. They found a way to work it out. But it would be hard to do with Brenda because of how interwinded she is with the other characters. I'm sure they want to figure out a way for Jax to move on, and with Brenda showing up, that would be a hard thing to do. "And I think it would be a hard thing for me to do, too," she adds. "If I came back, I'd want to sink my teeth into a great story, not just kind of show up here and there."
NOW IT'S TIME......
It's not a coincidence that Marcil has had one juicy story line with bite after another these past six years. After all, the show was just meeting popular demand. But you don't have to tell Marcil that. She knows that she owes much of her success to her fans. "They have made my life like a fairy tale, and all of it would be nothing without them," she says "There would have been no way that I could have done it without them."
If there's anything that Marcil would like to tell her audience, it's this: " I appreciate their support, and I hope that they follow me wherever I go. And the main thing is, I hope that they don't feel abandoned, because I'm not leaving because I want to leave. I want to stay, but I kind of go wherever God seems to be pointing me to go. So I'll go see what happens. But they definitely shouldn't say good bye to Brenda forever."
Marcil certainly won't be doing so. In fact, by holding onto Brenda, she may have found a way to survive what last February she told Soaps In Depth would be "the most devastating thing that I've ever gone through." "GH is the only thing in my whole life that I don't have any regrets about," she says, her voice calming. "It's the only thing in my life that I feel nothing but happiness about. And that's why it's so hard to leave."
(ABC Soaps In Depth )
Vanessa Marcil's past and present co-stars reveal their reactions to the departure of their friend and colleague, and offer a final farewell...
Wally Kurth (Ned) "She's so busy with all of the other things that she has going on that it's probably time for her to leave the nest. I think she stayed around because she just loves the character and loves the family and the fans, but if she wants to do something else in her career, then I'm happy for her."
Susan Brown (Gail) "Gail can't afford to lose any more patients! I love Vanessa and enjoyed the few scenes we got to do together, and I just wish her lots of luck. I think she's very talented."
Ingo Rademacher (Jax) "I'm going to miss working with Vanessa. We were always on the same page when it came to doing a scene. So it's going to be sad and different. But it will give me alot of new things to do [storywise]."
Ron Hale (Mike) "Vanessa's been so important to the show, and to me personally for the last few years. I went through every up and down between Brenda and Sonny, and believe me, I know what an impact the story has had on GH's popularity. Millions of people out there love Vanessa and her character, just as millions have loved Maurice [Benard]. I'm sure Vanessa's in the same position as Maurice in that the door will be open for her."
Maurice Benard (ex-Sonny) "90210 will be great exposure for Vanessa, and she'll make a ton of money -- as long as she doesn't stay there too long. That's where you get into trouble."
Tyler Christopher (Nikolas) "Vanessa was a big part of the show, and without her, things are definitely going to change. It was nice to come to work and have her here with me, but I also think that it's going to be good having her go on to do her own thing because it will help us separate our careers from out personal life."
John Ingle (Edward) "Vanessa's leaving?! Gosh darn, that's 20 minutes a day that they're going to have to fill! I was telling someone the other day that it could mean more time for the Quartermaines! Seriously, the sexual force among Brenda, Sonny, and Jax has been a major part of the show for a long time, so they're going to have to really scramble to find a new love story to keep the young people attracted to the show. I love Vanessa; she's very dear. I wish they had developed the paternal relationship between Edward and Brenda more."
Amber Tamblyn (Emily) "I was surprised. I figured Vanessa would stay for awhile. I think she definitely needs to move on because she's hit that window period, and she needs to take off because she can. I'll miss her. She's always been there for me. But at least I will still have Kimberly McCullough (Robin) to lean on."
Lisa Cerasoli (V.) "I had the opportunity to work with Vanessa several months ago, and we loved it. I wish that I had gotten to be a little more involved in their storyline before she left. I have a lot of respect for her work and for her as a person. So I'll miss her."
Steve Burton (Jason) "Vanessa is a wonderful actress. I would have loved to have worked more with her."
Vanita Harbour (Dara) "Vanessa and I have become friends, so I'll definitely miss her. She's a real presence on the show, and there will be a hole there without her. We'll do the best we can, but the character is very important. She is a very important spirit there at GH."
Stephen T. Kay (Reginald) "It's a drag because we never got to have that love affair. She'll be a movie star, but the show will miss her for sure. Everybody's got their cycle and their time, and you've got to do what feels right."
Source: ABC Soaps In Depth
A while back, Vanessa Marcil issued a terse warning to the GH brass. "I told them if my character dies, I'll never come back," she says. "Never. Because I think it's bad when they have people come back when they're suppose to be dead and all that crap." So, that begs the question: How do you write out a living legend if not by lethal ejection? Early clues suggest that Brenda's exit will be tied to the recent appearance of her presumed-dead mother, Veronica. In coming weeks, Brenda will discover that her mother suffers from a degenerative mental disease, an illness that she herself has a 50/50 chance of inheriting. "So, if Brenda has the gene, there's a 50/50 chance that she could pass it on to her kids," explains Bob Guza. "So Brenda gets tested. But before she can find out...." Guza won't reveal the plot twist that comes next, but he will offer this "We are leaving the door open for Vanessa to return. A lot of times, when you're writing off a character, you close out their stories. We've done just the opposite. We've given her a huge story and then taken her off the canvas in the middle of it."
Can a new woman make him forget his old flame?
Jax! The love of your life has just left -- what are you going to do now? Chances are, he isn't heading to Disneyland. Not that he'd have time. Explains headwriter Bob Guza, Jax will be too busy to mourn without Brenda. "One way you do this [transition] is you give Jax something else big immediately -- to sort of drive him in another way and give him action that he can use to try and forget the grief that he's going through." And boy, does Guza have a complication for Jax! "He will get hit on the other side with the fall of the house of Jacks," Guza reveals. "This is where we take the strongest male character, our Hercules, and we hit him with everything. We take away the love of his life. We take away his trust in his family, his love for his brother, we take away his fortune....and then we see how strong he really is." Strong enough to fend off the advances of Port Charles' other eligible, and not-so-eligible, bachelorettes? "At this point, I don't think that anyone could imagine Jax married to anybody else." Brenda's portrayer, Vanessa Marcil, is wholeheartedly behind a Jax/V. relationship. "But other than that, its really hard because there's not that many girls left in Port Charles to hook him up with," she observes. "I think that they are definitely going to have to hire some new girls." Oh yeah? Already, Ingo Rademacher's co-stars are lining up to be his next leading lady.......
LISA CERASOLI (V) says: "V. would be the perfect woman for Jax because she would bring out the generic coupon-cutting side of him that he never knew he had. I also don't believe that Jax has explored the red-neck in him, and it's crying to be set free. Seriously, V. brings out his sense of humor, which you don't see a lot. And she makes him think."
AMBER TAMBLYN (EMILY) says: Maybe Jax wants someone like Brenda and since Emily's going into modeling too, he'll go after the young type. I would be perfect for him because I look the most like the girl he lost, so I would remind him of her constantly. And I'm the only one tall enough for him."
LESLIE CHARLESON (MONICA) says: Well, of course I'm the perfect woman for Jax. And I could be available. If we were to pool our money together, we could have quite a bit of fun. And I do have a thing for younger men. If he were to just ask around, anyone would tell him that Monica's easy. As A.J. said, there are few in the town that haven't slept with mom, so why should Jax be left out in the cold?"
VANITA HARBOUR (DARA) says: "I certainly think that she would be attracted to him. She could get stuck in an elevator with him. Again! I've been stuck in an elevator with him. Again! I've been stuck in an elevator with men twice already."
Sonny and Brenda named one of General Hospital's greatest couples Brenda Barrett was an 18-year-old wild child when she met sexy mobster Sonny Corinthos. It was lust at first sight that soon turned into a deep and abiding love--albeit full of strife. They were two lonely souls who were only a little less lonely after the first time they made love, but they couldn't stay away from each other.After fighting the evil Hernando Rivera on a dangerous trip to Puerta Rico, Sonny admitted to Brenda for the first time that he loved her. They moved in together and soon Sonny pledged his love in front of everybody at the gala 21st birthday party he threw Brenda--telling all of Port Charless he had brought him more joy than he could have ever imagined. But all was not well. Sonny was still a mobster who was trying to tone down his operation to get rid of murder and drugs. Brenda learned that Sonny was still involved with the underworld and wore a wire to get the truth out of him. Sonny discovered the wire and threw her out. They were both devastated and Sonny turned to Lily Rivera, daughter of Hernando, for comfort.
In the ensuing months, Sonny watched his best friend, Stone, die of AIDS and was forced to tell Brenda her best friend, Robin, was infected as well. After Stone died, Sonny and Brenda knew that life was too short to waste any more time and planned to be together again. Before that could happen, Sonny was arrested. Rivera promised to get him out of jail if he would marry Lily. Sonny told Brenda to remember he would always love her and then took Lily as his bride. Brenda was devastated and used Port Charles newcomer Jax to make Sonny jealous and win him back. Sonny finally told Brenda he would leave Lily and run off with her, but then Lily announced she was pregnant and he agreed to stay with her for the baby's sake. By then, Jax was in love with Brenda and convinced the dejected woman to elope with him. As they said, "I do," Lily and her unborn child were blown up by a car bomb planted for Sonny by Rivera.
Brenda remained with Jax as Sonny mourned, but then Sonny decided to fight for her. They were trapped in a cave-in at the catacombs and made love. Brenda realized she had been addicted to painkillers for almost a year and left Jax. A few weeks later, she returned to Sonny. After battling the evil Rivera once again, and finally killing him, Sonny planned to marry Brenda. But, happily ever after was not meant to be. The night before the wedding, Sonny learned there was a hit on him and fearing Brenda would end up dead like Lily, he left her at the altar. Sonny left town with a tear in his eye for all he'd lost, and Brenda tried to pick up the pieces of her life.
Recently, the couple made peace with each other when Sonny returned to town, but Brenda has decided her life would be more peaceful with Jax.
In GH news, Vanessa Marcil taped her last scenes as Brenda Barrett on Wednesday, August 19, making her last airdate on the soap sometime in mid-September. Up until near the end of her GH run, even Marcil was in the dark about Brenda's exit. At the recent GH fan club gathering, Marcil told the crowd, "I've been in denial over the fact that I'm leaving, so I haven't gone upstairs to ask Wendy [Riche, GH's Executive Producer] what the storyline is going to be. But I just want to take this opportunity to say thank you to [the fans] for all your love and support over the last almost-six years of my life. I'll miss the show and all of you guys a lot. And I hope that if I can't stand to be away, you guys will take me back!" The popular actress and two-time Daytime Emmy nominee starts work soon on Beverly Hills, 90210 as the primetime serial's new bad girl, Gina.
