Scorpio Articles and Interviews
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Up Close With Ian Buchanan And Finola Hughes
There’s Much More To Anna And Duke Than Meets The Eye (SOU 4/11/88)

“I still feel challenged as an actress,” assure Finola Hughes.  As Port Charles’ resident female superwoman, Finola’s Anna has grown tremendously since she entered the show in 1985.  Originally cast as the “other woman” in Robert Scorpio’s life- actually his first wife- Anna was a character ripe for discovery.  Through Hughes’ interpretation, Anna went from sinner to saint, from former double agent to the first female chief of police in Port Charles.  “I love it when I get an interesting story line,” Finola explains, “but right now, we’re (Duke and Anna) in limbo, and I get frustrated between story lines.  I’d like to see something happen to Anna that she really has to cover… maybe an affair.”

If this were the case, what would happen to her marriage to Duke?  Would she jeopardize her marriage to him?  Would he fight for her?  “I’d like to see them sophisticatedly work it out,” she offers.

“It would turn the relationship around,” says Ian.  “Having an affair, however doesn’t have to be, and often isn’t, the end of a relationship.  It’s only one way to approach it.  A situation like this is a whole new set of feelings and emotions.  It can be handled on so many different ways.  It tests how you really do feel about another person.”

But could this type of story line sever Anna and Duke’s relationship beyond the point of repair?  Cold the show handle infidelity in a way that doesn’t alienate the viewers who have so obviously embraced this couple?

“It doesn’t have to be black and white,” opines Ian.  “They don’t have to follow a cliché.  Everyone has been hurt or scarred, and the viewers could relate to a broader sense or reality.  Often the networks play it safe.  I think they could take a bigger chance and still be accepted.”

“I think it would’ve been very interesting had they (the writers and producers) stuck to their guns,” adds Finola, “… had me remain a single mother, still in love.  A very realistic ‘80’s relationship.”

Smiling, Finola continues, “They could’ve shown that you can be single and be committed, you don’t have to play the field.  The fidelity can still be there.  I think that would’ve made a great lesson.”

But then, as Ian explains, “We don’t think about our characters, or story lines.  We just let things happen as opposed to thinking about what’s going to happen.”

Certainly the “General Hospital” fans think about what’s going to happen to them, no doubt with some trepidation.  Since their marriage, the characters have faced new problems, and once again it appears as though Duke’s secrets, his inability to deal openly and honestly with Anna, threaten their domestic bliss.  In addition, there’s Anna’s ex-husband, the dashing, dynamic Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers), father of Anna’s child, robin, waiting in the wings, so to speak.  Robert is more attached to Anna than he’d like to admit, and since the death of his beloved wife, Holly, Robert has been in a romantic void.

Are Finola and Ian aware of the fascination fans have with them?  “It amazes me how very much people (do) fantasize about soap characters!” exclaims Ian.

Teasingly, Finola suggests, “I guess there are hundreds of women who want you for a husband.”  More seriously, she goes on, “It doesn’t always have to be such a fantasy.  It (drama) can be real.  Take a show like ‘thirysomething’- that’s a real slice of life.  That show hits home and still has an audience.

“I think the show has a lot of fantasy.  I like the characters, especially the core characters, like the Quartermaines.  The show has very likeable characters,” says Finola.

So, it’s the fantasy that makes “General Hospital” so popular?

“The show is popular because we’re so good,” quips Ian, offering his brightest smile and a twinkle in his eyes.  “I think it’s well-liked because they (the producers and writers) create a situation and a social issues comes out of it.  The writers and producers don’t sit around and say, ‘I think we have to do a show about this disease or about this topic.’  They don’t totally emphasize a social issue or crisis just because it’s hot.  I think the show is quite intelligent.”

“I like Anna.  I’d like to know her,” says Finola.

“I’d like to see more of duke’s friends,” adds Ian.  “Who are they?  You can’t spend all your time with your wife.  I also wish that Duke would stop complaining about money, especially since he always seems to be home in the middle of the day and seems to be wearing something new all the time!”

And what about the chemistry between Anna and Duke- was that a challenge to create?  Did the writers and producers make the romance work by bringing Duke on as a mystery man, quick with a tango or a line of verse, poised to sweep Anna Devane off her feet, as he did soon after arriving in Port Charles?  Or is it Ian and Finola who deserve the credit for their special on-screen magic?

Grinning at a nodding Ian, Finola explains simply, “We like each other.  We have fun together.  We have the same tastes in things- the way we approach a scene, and certain things within a scene.  Actually, we are very similar as people.”

I noticed, commenting that they are both dressed in black for this interview.  They laugh.  “You’d think we consult with each other at the start of the day!” Finola says, sipping a cup of tea.

Having experienced success as an actress and dancer before joining “General Hospital” in the London Company of “Cats” and as John Travolta’s leading lady in “Staying Alive,” how does Finola Hughes fell about where she is today?

“I don’t think that my life is so different than anyone else’s.  The perceptions that people have of you, well… let’s just say that I don’t take any of it for granted.  For the most part, the changes have been good,” she smiles.  “I’m happy right now, both professionally and privately.  I don’t think that to be happy you can separate the two.”

“I don’t know what ‘happy’ means,” Ian says, somewhat reflectively.  “I do know that I’m continually changing, which is nice.  I like myself a lot more now.  I’m much more tolerant, patient and understanding.  I used to be far more judgmental.  I’m also more compassionate.

“I sometimes find it odd when someone comes running up to me in the street.  I could never go up to someone that I recognize (a celebrity).  I guess I would feel as though I were intruding.”  Pausing for a moment, Ian then adds, “It’s very difficult for me to receive.  I’d rather give.  It’s very difficult for me to receive… I’d like to go back fifteen years and have tea with myself.”

“I’d like to go back five years,” adds Finola, “but only if I can come back to the present and…”

And what, I wonder?

“Hopefully do some theater,” she confesses, then glancing over to Ian, she adds seriously, “Hopefully together.”

And hopefully, whatever their future projects, Ian Buchanan and Finola Hughes will always keep the music playing not only on-screen as Duke and Anna, but also in life as two very gifted and versatile performers.

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