General Hospital fans haven’t stopped asking about the man who saved Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) after he awakened from being face down in the snow.
Mikey Jerome got his start at soap opera stardom when Frank Valentino cast Jerome on ABC’s, One Life To Live, after Jerome won the third season of the reality show, I Wanna Be A Soap Star. Mikey Jerome played Ted Osbourne back in 2006.
General Hospital news reports after Jerome’s 9 month stint on OLTL, he became a bartender in Hermose Beaxh where he was reintroduced to GH Executive Producer, Frank Valentini. The two reconnected, sparking his soap opera comeback. Mikey Jerome has a lot to say about how the life’s events lead him straight back to ABC. After going back and forth with mutual friend, Darlene, Jerome used the contact information given to him by Darlene and decided to reach out to Frank. He tells Soap Opera Digest, “He cast me on ONE LIFE and I think I was there for nine months total, doing two episodes a week or one episode a week here and there. She gave me his [information] so I could get in contact with him. I emailed him, and he called me back like 15 minutes later. He said, ‘You know, Mikey, Covid’s really tough right now, but I would love to get you back on ABC.’ I sent my information along and then [Casting Director] Mark Teschner emailed me and said, ‘Frank would love for you to do an audition,’ so I put the audition on tape, I sent it in, and a few weeks later, I found out I got the role.”
Jerome goes on to explain how the timing for this opportunity was just right since Covid has taken its toll on most Americans, including himself. He expressed his gratitude and excitement by explaining, “I was super-excited because I got let go from two jobs; I’m not working right now and I had just bought a house [before the pandemic], so I was like, ‘Wow, this is unbelievable, to get to work,’ and to act again was unbelievable, too. I was like, ‘What a great guy Frank is, man.’ When you’re in a dark moment, you lose both your jobs…. I try to stay positive, and this gave me a fulfilled sense of purpose and I’m just really appreciative.” When he reunited with Valentini at the studio, he had the chance to express his gratitude. “I just said, ‘Thank you. You’re making my dreams come true twice and I really appreciate that!’”
General Hospital news reports snagging this role on General Hospital means more to him than landing a job. Jerome reveales to Soap Opera Digest that his late mother, Kathy, was a huge fan of GH’s Sonny Corinthos and the actor who portrays the mobster, Maurice Benard. Jerome discloses, “Sonny was her all-time favorite,” Jerome smiles. “My mother passed away a little bit after I got done with ONE LIFE TO LIVE, and truth be told, the reason I went out for the SOAP STAR show is that me and my girlfriend watched GENERAL HOSPITAL, and while we were watching that show, a commercial for I WANNA BE A SOAP STAR came on. My girlfriend was like, ‘Mikey, you’ve been taking acting classes, you should go out for that,’ and that’s the whole reason that I went out for that show. A one in 10,000 chance! But we’d been watching Sonny, Maurice, for years!”
For the full story on Mikey Jerome’s soap opera past, and the dish in his current GH role, visit SoapOperaDigest.
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