Bahareh Ritter/ABC; ABC
Playing With Matches? General Hospital may be testing out the romantic chemistry between Tanisha Harper (Jordan) and Sawandi Wilson (Isaiah).
Deputy Mayor Jordan Ashford drew on her law enforcement skills to thwart an attempt on Dr. Isaiah Gannon’s life on General Hospital earlier this week, and on the Wednesday, September 11 episode, the two formally meet for the first time, introduced by Anna Devane.
Chemistry Test
While the conversation they have is strictly professional, GH fans will surely be looking to see if sparks fly between the two characters. And to hear Sawandi Wilson, who plays Isaiah, tell it, the powers-that-be at the show were definitely interested in testing the actors’ chemistry before he landed the role.
He shares with Digest, “When I tested for GH, I tested with Tanisha [Harper, Jordan]. And we had awesome chemistry; we had incredible chemistry.” So, when it came time to film their first scenes, the actors already felt a kinship with one another. “It was great because already from the test, it felt like there was so much history there,” Wilson explains. “It was like we had an unspoken agreement immediately of, ‘Okay, this is the thing, we’re here, we’re here,’ and that was from the test itself. So immediately, when I came back [to the studio to begin filming] and I saw her, I gave her a huge hug and I said, ‘Thank you for being so generous as a scene partner [during my screen test].’ Because she was very generous — she was incredible!”
Wilson’s appreciation for Harper has only deepened since they shot their first scenes. “I just love working with her,” he raves. “She is so great.”
As part of Isaiah’s hospital stint, he also has the pleasure of being cared for by beloved nurse Elizabeth Webber, played by Rebecca Herbst, who is another actress Wilson found it easy to connect with. “She is sharp!” he praises. “She’s incredibly sharp and she’s got a great sense of humor. She is definitely another person I really enjoyed working with. She’s amazing.”
The actor isn’t at liberty to say who else may drop in on his character as he recovers from his injuries, but he jokes that Isaiah’s confinement to a hospital bed made for some easy days at work. “I don’t have to get out of bed much or do anything,” he teases. “They’re all coming to me!” He says he did appreciate that while he got his feet wet at his new gig, there wasn’t much blocking for him to memorize. “That was exactly my thought: ‘Day one, get hit by a car. Day two, a little bit of blocking. Day three, ‘Get back into bed. There will be plenty of blocking for you to do, but you don’t have to worry about that for now!’
