On Her Fifth General Hospital Nina-versary, Cynthia Watros Teases the ‘Crazy’ That May Lie in Store

When Michelle Stafford left General Hospital in 2019 to return to The Young and the Restless as Phyllis Summers, the ABC soap knew that it had to bring in a real dynamo to replace her. Luckily, one just happened to be available: the estimable Cynthia Watros, an Emmy winner for her work in the 1990s as off-her-rocker Annie Dutton on Guiding Light. What’s more, the actress had in her corner her predecessor, with whom she got together to download all things Nina.

“She actually reached out to me and said, ‘If you ever want to call or text… ’” Watros told Michael Fairman TV, “and I said, ‘Let’s have lunch!’ So, we found an afternoon and spent like three hours just talking about” the character and the show and everything in between. “I was just in awe of her generosity.”

In the years that followed Watros’ June 17, 2019, debut in the role, she more than made it her own, imbuing Nina with an air of urgency that makes sense of even her worst decisions — and she makes a lot of them! Who among us thinks altogether straight when we are in crisis? Not Nina, that’s for sure.

Along the way, Watros has struck up chemistry with one leading man after another — and even managed to sway at least some shippers of supercouple Sonny and Carly Corinthos to root for the mobster and his subsequent wife. (Ah, remember how lovely the wedding was!) And she doesn’t just get fan mail, she gets fan bouquets. (See below.)

What’s ahead for Nina? It almost doesn’t matter. As long as it’s interesting, as long as it allows Watros to play, she’ll enjoy taking us on the ride. “I’m an actor who likes to use all of the tools,” she said. “I like it all — the funny, the not-so-funny, the playful and the crazy.”