Donnell Turner joined the cast of General Hospital and made his debut as Curtis Ashford on November 30th 2015. Since his arrival in Port Charles, Curtis has formed ties with many of the “well-knowns” around the city.
Over the weekend, GH Fantasy Events (Dino Ibelli and Linda Rohe) brought 6 GH cast members to Detroit Michigan, where they talked about their roles on the 59-year-old daytime drama, along with past and current storylines, while bringing to light some deep, behind the scenes General Hospital spoilers. Donnell Turner was accompanied by, Wes Ramsey (Peter August), Lisa LoCicero (Olivia Falconeri), Kathleen Gati (Dr. Liesl Obrecht), and Marcus Coloma (Nikolas Cassadine), and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Spencer Cassadine).
In a recent Q&A at the GH Fantasy event, Donnell Turner revealed exclusive information regarding the character, Curtis Ashford, and now he had a hand in the development of this role from a writing standpoint.
General Hospital news and spoilers reveal Donnell had to face social injustice head-on. When asked by a fan if he knows why Marshall came back, Donnell explained that Curtis doesn’t know yet, but he knows all about why Marshall came back to his family. Turner then revealed that he knows a lot about what is going on with Curtis currently because he himself can partly be credited to Ashford’s current story. When diving into the backstory, Donnell explains that he had been employed with ABC and General Hospital for 6 years and grew frustrated at Curtis Ashford’s lack of storyline. Along with a lack of storyline, Curtis was lacking deep family ties in Port Charles, a steady job, and a stable home.
Turner went on to disclose his frustrations and what he did to pave the way, standing up for the black community. As explained by Turner, it’s illegal to pitch writing ideas to writers, as an actor. But that didn’t stop him from using a loophole to get his point across. Donnell sat down with TPTB over at General Hospital and pitched what was on his mind regarding racial injustices regarding featuring black people and black families on daytime tv. He brought to the attention of those who make the decisions regarding the path of a certain character, and in doing so, he was able to open their eyes to what was happening. Donnell fought for his character to have success in his life. His hope was to have a real, deep-rooted storyline, giving Curtis a family and a major story [in comes Marshall (Robert Gossett). He also advocated for Curtis to become successful in his career and eventually become a homeowner, and as we know, he and Portia Robinson (Brook Kerr) are currently celebrating the purchase of his brand new home.
Donnell also revealed that everything he had pitched is now “coming into fruition.” General Hospital Blog is so happy to learn that Donnell’s efforts have been successful in paving the way for others who have been, and could find themselves in a similar situation. We were so moved by Donnell’s story we wanted to spread awareness by sharing his story and bringing it to light. We are proud to help Donnell and so many others spread awareness of some of the racial injustices many have to face. We wish Donnell (and Curtis ????) all the success life can bring!
