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It’s been a period of highs and lows for Lucas Jones on General Hospital. On the plus side, things seem to be going great with his new beau, Marco (Adrian Anchondo), so much so that they’ve recently moved in together. In the minus column, his sister, Carly (Laura Wright), is flipping out about Lucas relocating to Wyndemere, where he’ll reside not only with Marco but with Marco’s father, the dangerous Sidwell (Carlo Rota), and her unfiltered comments on the subject have created a rift between the siblings. Oh, and we suppose it’s also not so great that Lucas is in the dark about just how aligned Marco is with his dad’s less than savory dealings. Soap Opera Digest checked in with Lucas’s portrayer, Van Hansis, for his take on all the building drama.

Almost Paradise

As a seasoned daytime actor, Hansis was far from shocked to find out that there was more to Marco’s Prince Charming act than met the eye. “Not that I knew anything going into [the pair’s courtship], but it’s kind of expected on a soap that there’s going to be trouble in paradise,” he points out. “Because otherwise, you would never see the characters!”

But rather than try to uncover the writers’ plans, Hansis decided to go with the flow. “I knew there was going to be something, but on General Hospital, unless you objectively ask what’s going on in your story, it’s all very sort of hush-hush,” he explains. “Occasionally, one of the producers might tell you something that’s coming up — like, if there’s a shirtless scene, they’ll be like, ‘Hey, in a couple of weeks, you’re gonna be shirtless.’” Content to take each script as it comes, Hansis says, “I have no idea what is actually going on — I mean, I do know that Marco is more aligned with Sidwell than Lucas thinks he is. But the thing with Marco is, I don’t know if Marco’s using Lucas or if Marco might not be the best person, but he genuinely does have feelings for Lucas. I think it could go either way!

“I think it’s more interesting if he’s doing some shady things, but also is in love with Lucas,” he continues. “I think holding those two things together is kind of interesting. I’m on the ride with everybody else, and I have no idea where it’s all going — but I think something big is going to happen. And even though I have no idea what’s going to happen with this story, it’s really fun to play Lucas having his horse blinders on and kind of willingly putting himself in a very dangerous situation, maybe without realizing how dangerous it actually is.”

Relatively Speaking

The recent tension between Lucas and Carly only ups the ante of what’s at stake for Lucas as he gets more deeply involved with Marco — and, by extension, Sidwell. “I think Carly is, objectively, completely right,” Hansis declares. “As Van, I think Lucas moving into Wyndemere is such a terrible idea for him. But I also think that Carly can be a little bit overprotective of him. I was actually talking about this with Laura [Wright], as we were trying to figure out the relationship between these two. I think that with Bobbie gone, Carly has become sort of a surrogate mother figure for Lucas, in a way — or at least somebody whose approval he really, really wants. Her approval means more to him than anyone else’s, so not getting that from her, I think it makes him very reactionary, and when he gets reactionary, I think he has a tendency to go low.”

Hence Lucas being quick to remind Carly that it’s rich for her to caution him against his involvement with Marco given the many (many) times she has married local mob boss Sonny (Maurice Benard). Offers Hansis, “This stuff he says about Sonny — although it’s true and although she is being kind of hypocritical, I think he’s latching onto that instead of looking at what she’s actually saying, which is, ‘It’s not about you and Marco, it’s about Sidwell.’ I also think, though, that when she says stuff like, ‘Marco doesn’t really love you,’ that’s — at least in Lucas’s mind — taking away his agency.”

Which, given the great heartbreak Lucas has been nursing since his marriage to Brad fell apart over the huge secret his husband had been keeping from him, Hansis observes, “I think that agency is something that Lucas has fought really hard to have, especially because in his last relationship with Brad, he was sort of duped for years about Wiley. I think he really wants to be able to stand on his own two feet and be able to be like, ‘Look, I can make decisions for myself.’ Now, the commentary from Van is, I’m not sure we should trust Lucas to make decisions by himself when it comes to relationships! I think that if I were his friend, I would be like, ‘You really need to look long and hard at the choices that you’re making,’ because I don’t think he’s making very good choices. So I’m a little on Team Carly with this one!”

While Hansis can’t help but sympathize with Carly’s position, Lucas is in no mood to give his sister a pass for her harsh words, and when they ran into each other at the Metro Court on the November 20th episode, he made it clear that if Carly doesn’t get on board with his relationship with Marco, there will be consequences. “Carly does try to make it better, and Lucas isn’t having it,” Hansis sums up. And while this is sure to get Carly’s goat, Lucas does have another family member — Ava (Maura West), his paternal aunt — happy to celebrate Lucas and Marco’s cohabitation. “Ava really kind of steps up and becomes a cheerleader for Marco and Lucas,” the actor nods. “And I think that’s what Lucas needs — or what he thinks he needs — at this moment.”

Elaborates Hansis, “I think Ava is used to working in a very morally gray area, or enjoys working in morally gray areas in ways that Carly doesn’t. So, I think that [when it comes to the potential risks of Lucas moving into Wyndemere] Ava is more likely to be like, ‘Yeah, whatever, we’ll see what happens. It’ll be fine, you’ll be fine. It’ll all be great.’ And I think Carly is very much like, ‘This is a horrible idea. Don’t move in. It’s gonna ruin your life.’ And because I think Lucas is hearing sort of what he wants to hear, what Ava is saying sounds very good to him!”

American Gothic

Despite the pall cast by Carly’s disapproval, Lucas is in pretty great spirits as he settles into life on Spoon Island, blissfully ignorant to the fact that there’s just been a murder at Wyndemere, with Sidwell shooting Dalton (Daniel Goddard) dead! “I kind of love that,” Hansis grins. “I think the whole Wyndemere story is really, really fun — it’s kind of Agatha Christie-esque, with a creepy mansion and all of these sort of nefarious people with agendas, people getting murdered … I love it. I think it’s very weird and gothic and fun.”

The actor also gives high marks to his new on-screen housemate, Carlo Rota. “He is amazing,” Hansis raves. “First off, he’s just a really fun guy. I really like people who are inquisitive, not just about me or whoever they’re talking to, but about the world, and I think he is very much like that. He’s a really inquisitive, curious guy and really easy to talk to. And I can’t speak for him, but as Sidwell, it looks like he’s having a ball playing the character, and I think that just radiates off the screen with him. I think he’s so fun to watch. He’s such a good villain. I love that he’s charming, and I can see how Lucas’s suspicions about him are kind of erased because, you know, here’s this charming British dude, offering him tea and crumpets and everything seems good!”

So, for the moment, Sidwelll (with help from Pascal, of course), has successfully wiped any sign of Dalton’s demise from the mansion. “Lucas is completely none the wiser,” Hansis chuckles. “He has no idea what’s going on! He thinks he’s living in the Love Island mansion and that everything is great.”

But that might not be the case for very long. Hints Hansis, “Coming up, some weird stuff starts to happen….”