Rebecca Staab has been known to daytime and primetime audiences since 1985. First appearing on “Loving” as Cecilia, the actress would then play the role of Jessie Matthews for two years on “Guiding Light.” However, it was her role of Elizabeth Barrington on the short-lived ABC soap, “Port Charles,” that would get fans craving for more. We got the chance to catch up with Rebecca and talked about the character and her time on the “General Hospital” spin-off:
“There is no other character like Elizabeth Barrington. She was a great combination of all that class and that edge that was a little unpredictable. Coming on, the intention as the character was written was more vague, self-serving, and the daughter was just an accessory. I think Elizabeth was initially written as a little more one dimension. The bitchy-ness was the primary character trait. When they saw the real love she had for Allison, that gave it another dimension that filled out the character. It made Elizabeth more interesting.”
During the course of the run as Elizabeth, the character eventually turned into a vampire as it was revealed Stephen Clay was Caleb Morley! Staab spoke about playing that part of the storyline:
“It was great! I wished it would have lasted longer. The story was progressing so quickly. Understandably, anyone who turned into a vampire would not be happy about. So, it made sense that Elizabeth wanted it to end. However, as an actress, and as a character, I would have liked to savor it, play with it, and USE it. It was a great tool and mechanism for Elizabeth. Personally, I would have liked to work with it more before we went searching for the cure. Overall, it was a neat quality trait that served her well. She was a good character to be a vampire.”
Recently, “General Hospital” paid homage to “Port Charles” when they introduced Allison’s son, Rafe, to the canvas, as well as seeing appearances from Erin Hershey Presley as Allison, and Lucy Coe (Lynn Herring) seeing the “PC” counterparts. As Elizabeth Barrington is still alive, and has family in town, we asked Rebecca if she would reprise the role on “GH”:
“My little grandson is there with no family! Elizabeth is away traveling, which is what she wanted to do, so it would be good for her to breathe back in. I was actually watching the show other day, and they have some really great characters and actors on that show. I think it would be very invigorating to have that spunk, sass, and sexuality. She was always a little bit of trouble with some class. I think there would be a myriad of possibilities for her in town now. I think it would be fun to see her again.”
We got to talk with Rebecca a little bit more about her roles on “Loving” and “Guiding Light,” as well as her last daytime soap stint on “The Young and the Restless.” The actress was recently seen on an episode of the SHOWTIME series, “Dexter,” and will be seen in an episode of the new series, “Masters of Sex” later this year. We will post more details on that when we learn more.
To download the full interview with Rebecca Staab, click the following link: REBECCA STAAB INTERVIEW.
Follow Rebecca on Twitter: @RebeccaStaab1
