Port Charles will become the city of brotherly love on Monday, June 1, when Elliott Carr, brother of Finn Carr (Rocco Falconeri), makes a one-day appearance as a nurse on General Hospital.
“I believe Frank [Valentini, executive producer] somehow got word that I was an actor as well,” explains Elliott of his casting. “I think my mom may have mentioned it in passing, and he decided to bring me in, just to see what my acting chops were like and if there might be a place for me on the show.”
In January, Elliott went in for an audition. “Frank was super nice, I had a good time, got to meet a lot of different people, and then didn’t hear anything for a couple months,” he recalls. “And then eventually, I got an email saying that they wanted me to come in to do a part on the show, and I was very happy.”
Shandon Photography
For Finn, hearing that his brother had secured a role on the show he’s a part of was a thrilling moment. “I was pretty excited,” Finn relays. “I was in the green room, and I was talking with my mom and Asher’s [Antonyzyn, Danny Morgan] dad, and my mom got the news, and I screamed. I think Dom [Zamprogna, Dante Falconeri] and Alexa [Havins, Lulu Spencer] were running lines in the room next to me, and I definitely scared them a bit. But then I immediately ran to my dressing room and called my brother and said congratulations. So, I was very excited, but then also sad that we weren’t going to be in the same scenes together.”
Finn, a four-year veteran of the soap, offered Elliott a few pointers before his first day on set. “I told him that it goes really quick, and you have to be ready to act immediately,” says Finn. “And that’s definitely a different style of acting than either of us has ever done. But I heard Elliott did a really good job, so I’ve no doubt that he was very well prepared for it.” Notes Elliott, “I knew that I was going to have to give it my best shot in one or two takes, so I had to go in with my ‘A’ game.”
Still, Elliott battled some nerves before he stepped on stage. “It’s been a while since I’ve done a television show,” he explains. “I took a break from acting and got back into it right when the strikes happened [in 2023], which was a very unfortunate time to get back into acting. So, I haven’t done a ton of work in a while, but as soon as you get out there and the cameras are rolling and you know your lines, the nerves kind of go away and you just get into that mode of being in character and engaging with the other actors.”
Shares Finn, “He was being very humble about his break. He went to UC Berkeley and graduated with straight As. That was his break from acting.”
ABC
In the story, Elliott plays a nurse caring for Jack Brennan [Chris McKenna], who has been administered a drug that renders him paralyzed. “The most challenging part for me was that [Brennan] can’t move,” he teases of his scenes.
Elliott reports that he heard plenty about his brother during his day on set. “I was name-dropping my brother a little bit, and every single person was saying, ‘Oh, we love Finn so much,’” he says. “And the makeup ladies took a picture of me in the makeup chair and sent it to my brother, like, ‘Look who’s here.’ Finn has set such a great example there and has built up such a good reputation on his own that it made it really easy for me to come in and just be accepted by everybody just because I’m his brother, which was nice. Every single person there was extremely friendly.”
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
For Finn, who joined the soap in 2022, the fact that he’s not only still there, but is also being entrusted with intense emotional storylines is something he doesn’t take for granted. “I was only supposed to do one episode when I first started out,” he reveals. “And then they just kept bringing me back. And now I feel like I’ve been able to do a lot on the show, and I’ve been really happy with that. Everyone has been really, really great to me — I’ve had no bad experiences, even a little bit. They’re just the nicest people.”
He still marvels at all he’s gotten to do, including his current story, in which Rocco is dealing with the aftermath of shooting Ross Cullum (Andrew Hawkes). “I really appreciate the writers and Frank for trusting me with big storylines,” he says. “I get very drained after doing a lot of those scenes, but I know that’s what has to happen in order for them to look right. I’ve been working a lot with my acting coach and practicing getting to certain places and also how to get out of them.”
His latest discovery? “I’ve learned a lot of tricks, and I’ve realized I can’t drink coffee. So, my prep for those big scenes is just no caffeine, or else I can’t cry for some reason.”
Finn Carr/ Instagram
Elliott says he was impressed by the work that goes into soap operas. “These actors are troopers, the way they’re able to just go through so much material so quickly,” he praises. “That’s not something I am used to. And just the amount of material that you have to learn and be ready for is super impressive, and it’s something that I would absolutely strive to be able to do as well.”
The brothers, who have never worked together before, would welcome a chance for Elliott to return to Port Charles so they could finally share scenes. Their dream story? “You know, my brother and I are pretty far in age, so we’ve always gotten along pretty well,” says Elliott. “We’re not having little quarrels with each other, really ever, so I think having a conflict would be cool. I think having some sort of animosity would be an interesting area to explore because it’s something that we don’t really have in our relationship in real life.”
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