Disney/Christine Bartolucci
See You In Court: Michael E. Knight is tickled pink that his Martin is representing Nancy Lee Grahn’s Alexis.
When Michael E. Knight returned to General Hospital last week as Martin Grey, Sonny Corinthos tapped the character to defend Alexis Davis, who stands accused of the murder of John “Jagger” Cates … a murder Sonny himself committed. For Knight, the storyline turn is a happy one, as it’s allowing him to share the screen with Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis).
Attorney-Client Privilege
“I’ve got a crush on Nancy,” Knight grins. “Nancy is wonderful! I mean, how lucky am I? Nancy has forgotten more about doing daytime than most people will ever know. I love her. She’s phenomenal. She’s one of those people where it literally doesn’t matter what the scene [is about] — she’s like playing handball against the wall; it doesn’t matter what you hit, it’s going to come back to you.”
The actors have decidedly different working styles, as Knight comes to set with his lines fully committed to memory, while Grahn is famous among her castmates for how quickly she memorizes her dialogue once on set the day of taping. “I think I’m annoying to people because I always know my stuff before I come in,” Knight chuckles. “I learned that from Peter Bergman [Jack, Young and Restless, who was playing Cliff Warner on All My Children when Knight began his own daytime career there as Tad Martin]. You would never catch him with a script in his hands, ever. David Canary [ex-Adam/Stuart Chandler, AMC] was another one. That has stuck with me since 1983.”
That said, he has nothing but respect and admiration for Grahn’s approach to her work. “I would say that she doesn’t need to be [off book], because what Nancy does — Nancy is really, really good with story. Where I’m like, ‘Okay, I say this, then you say this, then I say this, then you say this,’ Nancy really knows the story. Nancy would be a great story editor because she will come in and if there is a sour note, if there’s something that doesn’t quite match up to where she knows we should be, because she knows the rhythm of soaps, she knows, ‘Okay, this is what changes from day to day, this is the plot point,’ and if something doesn’t work, she’ll know it! She is automatic. So, she is not one to be off book, but let me tell you, when the cameras roll, she is there a thousand percent. Working with her is phenomenal. She’s a joy! And that is the technique she has spent decades creating and I am lucky to be in that orbit. I got no complaints, trust me!”
