General Hospital Exclusive: Cameron Mathison On Drew’s Willow/Nina Pickle

Three Of Hearts: GH’s Drew (Cameron Mathison) is drawn to both married Willow (Katelyn MacMullen, l.) and her mother, Nina (Cynthia Watros).

Congressional candidate Drew Quartermaine has been playing with fire in his personal life, stealing stolen kisses with his nephew’s wife, Willow, while bedding her mother, Nina, in between stops on the campaign trail. Now his dirty little secret is out, thanks to a belligerent Cody exposing him and Ned’s private investigator recording it on her phone, forcing Drew’s to come clean with Michael to thwart Ned and Tracy’s blackmail attempt. Soap Opera Digest checked in with General Hospital star Cameron Mathison about the messy state of Drew’s romantic fortunes.

Soap Opera Digest: You know, Cameron, some of us are old enough to remember when your All My Children character, Ryan Lavery, took Erica Kane as a lover after having previously been engaged to her daughter, Kendall Hart.

Cameron Mathison (laughs): Good for you! I’m impressed. Nobody seems to remember that, but yes, Ryan was with Erica and Ryan was with Kendall, so this is not Cameron’s first time [with this type of storyline], but what makes it a little different is that it’s sort of at the same time, which is a little weird!

Digest: You should knock on Michael E. Knight’s (Martin) dressing room door and have a little talk with him, because he played a famous storyline on AMC where Tad Martin was sleeping with Liza Colby and her mother, Marian, at the same time.

Mathison: Yeah, it’s not the first time this kind of thing has happened on a soap. If I’m not mistaken, Sonny has kids with a mother and a daughter, didn’t he?

Digest: He impregnated both Alexis and Sam, this is true.

Mathison: It’s funny because the audience is reacting [as if such a thing has never happened before]. I think the only other time that I’ve had an audience reaction like this is when Ryan went into his Fight Club phase. That’s about the only other time I can remember experiencing this outrage!

Digest: Well, let’s get into it, shall we? I asked Katelyn MacMullen (Willow) what she thought was drawing Willow to Drew. So same question to you — how do you understand what is drawing Drew to Willow?

Mathison: You know, I don’t know if every person has had this experience in their life at some point, but sometimes, you meet somebody and you just can’t stop thinking about them. Even if it’s not right. It’s happened to me in my life and I think that’s the case with Drew and Willow. I think they both feel a little bit like outsiders on some level. Um. They’ve helped each other and Drew helped Willow stay alive, he risked his life for her before, and they’ve always had a very, very good connection. I think at a heart level, they’re just really drawn to each other and sometimes that kind of attraction and interest is not just a physical thing. It’s way more than that. Sometimes it can be all-encompassing, and you just can’t shake it.

Digest: What has working more closely with Katey been like?

Mathison: Oh, she’s amazing. We work very similarly. We’ve got a really nice element of trust with each other and she’s so kind and giving. There’s something about her that’s very much like Willow, very sweet and open. I really appreciate her. I went to see her in a play recently and I’m just a really big fan of hers all the way around.

Digest: But opposite that, he’s sleeping with Nina, and they’ve got a sort of love/hate thing going on.

Mathison: Yeah, that’s a tough one. I think he really likes Nina. It’s like they hate each other, but they also respect and like each other at the same time.

Digest: Have you enjoyed getting to work more closely with Cynthia Watros (Nina)?

Mathison: She is absolutely amazing. She is prepared all the time and she is so seasoned and it’s so fun to work with somebody like that. She’s just ready for anything, she’s willing to try anything and go off the wall and I feel like every time we tape, it’s a little different, a little bit more spontaneous. And she’s got such a really great, peaceful energy about her. I’ve definitely hit the jackpot with who I’ve been allowed to play opposite of on the show. I have been so lucky between Laura [Wright, Carly], Cynthia and Katey [MacMullen].

Digest: Were you surprised to learn of Drew’s political ambitions?

Mathison: Yeah, I was really surprised to find out that Drew would be running for political office! I didn’t see that coming, either. When they started doing the whole wellness development thing, I thought that was kind of going to be Drew’s new direction, but then that kind of came and went over to Donnell [Turner, Curtis]. But I feel like I could kind of dive in head first and really kind of get behind this and have some fun with it. It was definitely not something I ever thought I would do on any show, to be honest, which is really fun, because it pushes you outside your boundaries a little bit.

Digest: What do you think motivated Drew to ask Nina to be on his arm on the campaign trail?

Mathison: I think he’s starting to develop feelings for Nina. They’ve really hit it off and she’s been so supportive through this campaign for him. And I also think he’s really trying to forget about Willow and just move on and move on with the person that he feels close to, which is Nina. I think originally, they had so much that they didn’t like about each other, but also so much that they kind of respect about each other and I think that has been his sort of saving grace. It just so happens that she is related to Willow, which makes it super-awkward. But I think he is fully planning on moving on from Willow, he is fully planning on not having this Willow thing continue, so he is really focusing on trying maybe become a little closer with Nina. He really sees her as somebody that is in his corner and trying to help him out, and I think he really appreciates her.

Digest: You mentioned earlier that it hasn’t been lost on you that fans are having a big reaction to the storyline. Do you understand where those fans who are up in arms about it are coming from, why it seems to be touching a nerve?

Mathison: I do understand why it’s touched such a nerve with the audience. It touches a nerve with me, too. But I also think it’s a really good soap storyline, and like I said, it’s not the first time a story like this has been played. But Drew is a good, solid man and he’s doing things that aren’t in line with his moral compass. He’s cheating on his nephew, in a way. There are things he’s doing that are not in line with who he is and I think that’s shocking to the audience. It doesn’t make sense to the audience. But I think we all know that not everybody is perfect all the time and I think he’s engaging in actions that he’s going to get a lot of crap for. He’s really trying his best to kind of stay away from it, but at the same time, he’s being drawn in. I think that’s like real life. I think sometimes stuff like this happens. I also think that sometimes these are the greatest love stories ever, when it’s the most unexpected and surprising direction. I totally get where the audience is coming from; it makes sense to me [that it’s caused controversy]. I get the moral compass of it all, that it may be out of character for Drew. I don’t think he means for the two people he’s being intimate with to be related — it’s not like it was a conscious decision. But at the same time, if you look at it sort of face value on paper, sure, I’m sure people are really taken aback by it, by a good guy doing something that is not in line with his moral compass. I can’t say that I’ve done anything like Drew is doing right now, but I’ve done things that aren’t in line with my moral compass in real life and I’ve learned from it and moved on and just about every single person I know has, as well!

Digest: Michael finding out the truth brings an end to that classic period of time in a soap cheating story where the person who’s in the dark has to act oblivious to all the guilty, loaded looks going back and forth between the cheaters. When you and Katey had to play those kinds of scenes with Chad Duell (Michael), was there a lot of joking around between takes?

Mathison: There was definitely some joking around, and Chad makes fun of me a lot and I’ll be having with him and then Katey’s caught in the middle. It’s really a very good dynamic. I know people might find it hard to believe, but because you’re really tied to your character and it’s a big part of who you are, you still have to be sensitive to the fact that we’re getting into a storyline where I’m cheating with his wife. So I joke around with them, but at the same time, I’m very careful to be respectful of Katey and Chad. He and I became kind of friendly even before this whole storyline happened, but even more so now. The three of us have a lot of laughs.

Digest: Well, things are poised to get even messier for Drew now that Michael knows about Drew and Willow’s kiss — one of them, at least. So, what advice do you think Ryan Lavery would give to Drew in this situation?

Mathison: I feel like Ryan would say to Drew, “Tread lightly,” and also, “Go with your heart.”