'General Hospital' (GH) Cast News: Rebecca Herbst Resolves Contract Issue, Renews Role As Elizabeth Webber [PHOTO]
There seemed to be a significant chance she could be taking her character of Elizabeth Webber off the canvas on General Hospital, but Rebecca Herbst has finally signed a new contract with the soap and is reportedly set to continue in her role for several more years.
In a new interview, Herbst confirmed she had gotten through the stalled negotiations, and that Elizabeth wasn't going anywhere soon, despite her technically not having a home in Port Charles anymore (her house was blown up due to a gas leak). That won't keep the character off the canvas however, and she is definitely sticking around.
Herbst opened up about the negotiation process, and while she couldn't give too many specific details, she did reveal that the decision to almost leave was not because she wasn't happy with her role or the writing.
"There was a lot of speculation that I was unhappy at GH, which was never the case. I love my job. I love the people I work with," she said. "...I'm an actor. I go in and do what's on the page and then I go home. I don't believe it's my place to dictate storyline. People were saying that I was upset about the Jake/Jason story when, in fact, I embraced it. It ended up being a lot of fun."
She also revealed that her negotiations did come down to the wire, just before her contract actually ran out, though she wouldn't reveal what had caused the stall when it came to her re-signing. She also addressed the rumors she had been considering defecting to Days of Our Lives on NBC, admitting other shows had expressed interest in casting her if she chose to leave General Hospital.
"I don't know if I can comment on that," she said. "I will say that other shows definitely showed interest in me. They showed a lot of support for my leaving GH, if that's what I ultimately chose to do. I just shouldn't name any one particular show. The fact that I received interest from the other soaps only added to the speculation I was unhappy. Word got around. I guess when you've been on a show for nearly 19 years, other shows respect that."
General Hospital airs Monday-Friday at 3 p.m. on ABC.
