General Hospital fans have been loving Jeff Kober in the role of drug lord Cyrus Renault, who was originally supposed to stick around on the canvas for just a few months -- but has been making himself right at home in Port Charles for over a year now! So, the question is, will Cyrus be part of the picture long term?
In a recent interview with Soap Opera Digest, Kober enthuses that he's been having a blast at the ABC soap opera -- which is his first soap role since his mid-80s run as Guy Stafford on Falcon Crest.
"I had never done anything like [GH], except very, very early on. And what can I tell you? It was so much fun right when I was getting started [but] it was absurd! Working on a soap is absurd compared to other acting work," he shares. "I mean, I remember my first night on the job, we finished the fifth scene in about 15 minutes, one take, and I forgot I was mic'd and I was sitting there and I went, 'This is f*ng ridiculous.' And everyone just started cracking up. They were waiting for me to, like, notice!'"
Despite those early day hiccups, Kober says that he felt at home right away and felt a connection to his GH costars almost immediately.
"Everyone was so welcoming, and what's fantastic about the job for me is they really let me do kind of whatever I want to do in terms of bringing the character to life," he says. "It's such a great challenge because you have to find a way to give yourself freedom to really be present and act without a safety net, because there's no take two! You don't get to do it again. It's like, 'Okay, we got that,' and you're like, 'Really? Wait!' But I just can't say enough good things about [GH]. I'm having a great time."
As for how long fans can expect Cyrus to stick around in Port Charles, Kober surmises that he's not going anywhere soon.
"Pretty quickly I realized I was just having fun and [executive producer] Frank Valentini walked by -- 'Still having fun?' 'You betcha!' And he said, 'As long as you're having fun, we're gonna keep writing for you,'" Kober shares. "I said, 'Okay!'"
Obviously, Cyrus has even more staying power now that he has been revealed to be the half-brother of Laura (Genie Francis) and Martin (Michael E. Knight), which Kober is thrilled about.
"Frank said, 'All this stuff, this is you. The writers are just having fun. They enjoy writing for you,'" the actor enthuses. "And I couldn't be prouder of that."
For more from Kober, including the hilarious way he went from farmhand to bum to successful primetime star, check out his full SOD interview here.
Have you been enjoying the character of Cyrus? Would you like to see Jeff Kober continue on in the role long term? Why or why not? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
