Adrian Anchondo’s Marco only recently arrived in Port Charles, but he’s already struck up a love connection with Lucas, landed a job at the town’s premier law firm and been revealed to be the son of Jenz Sidwell and Natalia Ramirez. “I like that I get to be a part of so many aspects of the show,” muses the soap newcomer. “It’s really rewarding.” Soap Opera Digest caught up with Anchondo about his juicy new role.
Soap Opera Digest: The spark between Marco and Lucas was clear when they first met in Miami. From your perspective, what draws Marco to Lucas?
Adrian Anchondo: Well, besides his looks, I would say that the fact that he cares so much about the people around him, even though they’ve hurt him. I think that Marco can relate to that. In that first scene that we had together, I didn’t even know about the relationship between Marco and his mother [Eva LaRue’s Natalia], but when I did actually find out about it, I was like, “Okay, this is the reason Marco was connecting so much with Lucas in that moment.” I think something Van [Hansis, Lucas] does so well is that Lucas has this innocence about him. He’s like a big kid, kind of. And when you juxtapose that with his profession — a doctor, someone who is as intelligent and strong as a doctor needs to be — I think that really attracts Marco to him.
Digest: Tell me about your experience working with Van thus far.
Anchondo: We had known each other in passing — we weren’t friends yet, but I considered him an acquaintance throughout the years. I always admired his acting and the trajectory of his career. Getting to work with him and experiencing his professionalism has been really rewarding. It’s no wonder that he teaches other actors. I remember there was a scene where we had just come back from a break and I was struggling, trying to get the words out. I was really nervous and anxious, and he just put his hand on me. He was like, “Just breathe. You’re going to get through it. It’s going to be fine. This happens to everyone.” I really needed that in that moment. I think no matter what set you’re on, those things are going to happen, but I definitely felt the pressure in that moment and he knew that.
Digest: Lucas is a character who the audience cares about so much because he was born on the show and we watched him grow up. It’s important to the audience that he be with a man who will treat him right, and thus far, I feel like the audience is rooting for Marco. What does that mean to you?
Anchondo: Let me just tell you, there’s a lot of pressure because I’ve already seen some comments and gotten messages [from fans], and the number one thing that gets repeated is, “Please don’t hurt him!” And I’m like, “You know what? I wish I had more control over that!” I guess we’ll see where it goes, but I do believe that Marco is going to be very good to him. I will say that the added pressure here is that we are one of the representations of a gay couple — well, we’re not a couple yet, but there is an added pressure of doing it right and representing the community in a certain way and also fighting against the political climate right now and how we’re viewed in the media. So, I really hope that we will be really good to each other!
Digest: Speaking of characters who haven’t been so good to Lucas, have you gotten to interact with Parry Shen, who plays Lucas’s ex-husband, Brad?
Anchondo: Very briefly. He seems like such a sweet guy — a sweet, quirky, fun person. And I’ve watched him on the show. There’s a silliness about Brad that I really love. I feel like maybe Lucas will carry some of that into his relationship with Marco. But yes, I’ve met him, and he’s great, and I’m really glad that he paved the way for me [laughs]!
Digest: That’s right — he had his chance with Lucas and he blew it!
Anchondo: You know, I do believe that in all relationships — and in my own relationships — sometimes you meet someone and you are the stepping stone for their next level of happiness. You can either regret and feel lots of like anger and shame and pain, or you can just be thankful for the moments that you had and say, “Hey, I’m glad that we didn’t work out because look at how much happier you are now and I’m glad I could be a part of your journey.” That’s the way I see it — and I hope that won’t be my case, as Marco, with Lucas’s next love, if there is one [laughs].
Digest: So, we saw the first signs of friction in Lucas and Marco’s connection this week; Lucas was obviously taken aback to find out that Marco is Sidwell and Natalia’s son and that Marco failed to disclose that to him. What is your take on that?
Anchondo: I believe that Marco’s feelings are genuine. He’s excited about working [in Port Charles] and being closer to his father. [Sidwell’s reputation in town] catches him off guard, as does the character finding out that Lucas’s sister and family have been involved in some terrible things with Marco’s father. Marco has to say, “As much as I like you, Lucas, this is my father and he’s my hero because he’s accepted me for who I am. He was the person who gave me unconditional love for the first time. So, if you want to continue anything with me, you’re going to have to accept me for me, and maybe not worry so much about the past histories of people who are in my life. Maybe from Lucas’s perspective, Marco is lying when he says he doesn’t know [about his father’s unsavory activities], but I think Marco is being his true self with him, and that’s all he can do.
Digest: Given that Marco considers his father a hero for the way he embraced Marco when Marco needed that most, how would you say it affects Marco to have to defend him, not only to Lucas but to other people coming at him and telling him what a terrible person his dad is?
Anchondo: I think there are many examples in real life where one person’s villain can be another person’s hero, and it just depends on how they’ve been touched or inspired or motivated by another person. Within my own family, I have a situation with my own father which I won’t go into too much detail, but he’s been in jail most of my life and to me, he was always the sweetest [person]. I get a lot of my heart from him, but to other people, he’s a criminal… I can understand Marco’s perspective of, “Everyone has a good side of them. It’s my job to show everyone what other people aren’t seeing.” I think that maybe Marco’s hope is to hold on to the good things so that eventually, he can show the rest of the world that, “This is not the monster that you make him out to be.” Or it’s a possibility that Marco’s father hurts him, too! The interesting thing about Marco’s relationship with Sidwell is that he is willing to overlook certain actions from him because they weren’t issues of the heart. Whereas with his mother, he can’t defend her actions because they dealt with love and acceptance.
Digest: On air this week, you also marked a big rite of passage in your GH career — having tense encounters with both Maurice Benard’s Sonny and Steve Burton’s Jason. What was it like to work with the two of them?
Anchondo: Well, first of all, they are iconic. They are legends! Also having a scene with Marco’s mother, that was a trip, just finding out how important they are in this world of soaps. It’s a little intimidating because they’re so big in this world and so loved — or hated, I guess, depending on what people feel about their characters! But it was a great experience and they were very welcoming. What’s really nice about this cast is that they have been kind of teaching me the ropes while I’m doing these scenes with the heavy hitters.
Digest: Sonny and Jason are legends of the GH mob scene; Alexis and Diane are legends of the GH law scene. Tell me about working with Carolyn Hennesy (Diane) and Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis).
Anchondo: I think the scenes with them are the most challenging for me, because all the lawyer speak is very intellectual, very poised, very careful. I feel the pressure when I’m actually up there shooting, as opposed to when I’m having these more emotional connections with Lucas or Natalia. That is more my wheelhouse; I can easily jump into that. But it’s been really amazing working with them because they are such pros that they can just kind of go up there and look at the script and do it right away. It gives me hope that I’ll be able to do that at some point!
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
Anchondo on the GH set with Port Charles love interest Van Hansis (Lucas)
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