General Hospital (GH) spoilers tease that Martin Gray (Michael E. Knight) has a surprising new connection on canvas – to Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart). GH viewers recently watched as Martin visited with Nelle Benson (Chloe Lanier) in prison, then called Valentin to relay something “interesting” about his visit with Nelle. Right now, it’s unclear exactly what the connection is between Martin and Valentin, but something’s certainly brewing there.
Well, GH fans have been thrilled to have Michael E. Knight on the show, and they were especially thrilled to learn that his stint on GH would be extended. Michael recently opened up to Soap Central about his return to the show, as well as about the direction for his character Martin Gray.
Martin stated during the interview that two good friends of his nudged him back into daytime and to GH, one of which was his old friend James Patrick Stuart, who portrays Valentin on the show. The other was Rebecca Budig, who portrays Hayden Barnes. Michael said that both encouraged him to reach out to Executive Producer Frank Valentini, which he did.
Almost immediately, Frank got back to him and asked if he was interested in a part he was developing for the show – that part turned out to be the character of Martin Gray, and Michael ended up getting the part.
Michael credits soap fans with his ability to return to the soap world. “What really has knocked me over – in a good way – is the audience response,” Michael said. “There is absolutely no better audience in the world than soap fans. I don’t know may actors who can call up 30, 40 years later and go, ‘Hey, do you think I could come back for a while, to get in the game again?’ and have people go, “Yeah, sure!’ It’s kind of staggering.”
And what about his character, Martin? “The guy is literally a blank slate,” Michael said. “There are some things that are happening – things that I can’t tell you about – in terms of working right now with the people that I’m working with, and that is sort of interesting, like ‘let’s see where this goes.’ But I really don’t know. They can take this any direction they want.”
But don’t look for the character of Martin Gray to turn out to secretly be Michael’s character Tad Martin from All My Children in disguise. “I did ask Frank if it was a possibility, and he said ‘Well, never say never on soaps.’ But to my mind, that is not happening right now.”
Michael also addressed his lack of presence on social media during the interview, and when asked if he’d ever get a social media account he said, “No – I am a creature of my generation! I don’t want to get on my high horse, because I don’t know it well enough. But I am aware of the power of it, because I have a lot of friends who are very, very good at it…but I kind of missed the stagecoach when it comes to social media.”
Well, even though fans can’t get their Michael E. Knight fix on social media, the good news is that he’ll be appearing on GH for the foreseeable future. What kind of trouble do you think Martin will wind up in? Stay tuned to the ABC soap and don’t forget to check CDL often for the latest General Hospital spoilers, updates, and news.
