Throughout General Hospital’s 51 years of existence, there have been many types of characters to leave their mark in Port Charles and in the hearts and minds of the fans. Whether they have left lasting impressions or simply passed on through, there are definitely certain characters that can never be forgotten.
It’s actually difficult to remember the last time a fan reaction to a new character has been this strong. No matter which form of social media you have stumbled upon, the fans are all in an uproar about one thing. From Instagram to Facebook, from Twitter to Tumblr, fans across the board seem to share the same opinion on these two words… Levi Dunkleman. Dunkleman is being shredded to pieces by GH fans of all ages.
Look what the cat dragged in… Maxie Jones went on her self discovery retreat after she lost custody of her baby girl, Georgie. Maxie was broken. She had just lost her best friends Dante and Lulu after agreeing to be their surrogate and lying by letting them believe the baby she was carrying was actually theirs. It turned out that the baby girl Maxie was supposed to be carrying for Dante and Lulu was actually a precious miracle she and Spinelli created on New Years Eve. Maxie didn’t want to hurt her friends and tell them she wasn’t pregnant with their child. She decided to be selfless and give up her own daughter to give to her best friend. When her plan unfolded, Maxie was lost. She lost her great love Spinelli to Ellie, Dante and Lulu, and the custody of Georgie to Spinelli. She was in a dark place and when she left she was vulnerable and convinced that she needed to become a better person. She met Levi and let him into her life. He has basically brainwashed her into thinking exactly the way he does. He has manipulated her out of being with her daughter among other ways of life that the Maxie we used to know would never be a part of.
Recently, Michael Fairman interviewed Zachary Garred on “Playing the Most Despised Man on General Hospital…Levi Dunkleman.” In the interview Fairman caught up with the Australian-American actor and found out his thoughts on playing such a hated character and what he thinks of the negative feedback. Garred disclosed that when he was cast to play the role of Levi Dunkleman, executive producer Frank Valentini warned him not to play the “cliche hippie angle because it’s already there.”
Zachary had some great insight on fan reactions to Levi Dunkleman, he told Michael Fairman, ” When I started acting I think I was like 15 or 16 years old when I had just my first audition. The response you generally want to get is that you just want people to have an opinion on the character, and it doesn’t matter whether it’s good or bad. If everyone liked the characters … you wouldn’t have some of the greatest movies in history!” Obviously Zachary Garred is portraying Levi Dunkleman EXACTLY as he should. We all love to hate this character which means the actor is going his job with passion, emotion, and putting his whole self into the role.
Garred also tells Michael Fairman that he was not told exactly what type of character he was going to be playing when he was cast in the role of Levi Dunkleman. He said that all Frank Valentini said to him was not to play cliche. He mentioned that Head Writer, Ron Carlivati gives him great material and that working opposite “the gorgeous genetically spectacular Nathan (Ryan Paevey),” really works for the character. Nathan is supposed to be this Knight in Shining Armor type while Levi is this underhanded manipulative snake. When these two are constantly being pinned against each other, it helps the Levi character’s true colors shine.
He also went on to joke about Maxie’s apartment being hashtag “shirt off apartment” and that his first scene was Levi coming out in a towel!
Zachary had great things to say about his co-star, Kirsten Storms (Maxie Jones). When Michael Fairman asked Garred how it is to work with Kirsten, Garred responded, “She is a gem! The thing about Kirsten is: for someone her age she has so much experience in this industry, and as actress so many mediums. I am very lucky to have been paired up with Kirsten and Ryan in story, and Ryan was fairly new to the show when I came on too. So we are so lucky because the fans love of Maxie, and Kirsten is such a beautiful, sweet, funny person. We all get along like a house on fire away from work. We hang out at Kirsten’s place with her and Brandon Barash and their daughter Harper as well. So to have the camaraderie as well off-screen it helps at work.”
For the full interview with General Hospital’s Zachary Garred (Levi Dunkleman), check out the interview with Michael Fairman at www.michaelfairmansoaps.com.
Check out Zachary’s new hair cut! He and Ryan Paevey laughing it up at #GHFCW
Photo from: checkitout9861.tumblr.com
We want to know what YOU think about Levi! Do you love to hate him, or just hate him? Regardless, it’s apparent that Zachary Garred is going is job due to the fact that fan reactions are pretty much unanimous. Will there ever be room for Levi in Port Charles or should he still be deported back to Australia?
