Long before he joined the cast of General Hospital as Michael Corinthos, Rory Gibson felt a deep connection to the show, because growing up, both his mom and grandmother were devoted viewers of the show. As such, the actor was very much looking forward to sharing the stage with actors like Steve Burton (Jason), whose character is closely connected to Gibson’s. “I didn’t really know what to expect with Steve,” he admits. “All I knew is that I was very excited to meet him!”
Cloud Cover
As it turns out, the GH star has a personal connection of his own to an iconic role of Burton’s — just not his Port Charles one. Gibson explains, “This is kind of a funny story, but my second screen test for Michael was with Laura Wright [Carly] and Steve. I was telling Mark Teschner, our casting director, the story I’m about to tell you, and he was like, ‘You have to tell Steve!’ I was like, ‘I’m only going to tell Steve if I actually get the part.’ So I ended up getting the part and then me and Steve had our first scenes together and I pulled him to the side and I was like, ‘Yo dude, I just have to let you know, I technically named my dog after you. And he was like, what are you talking about?!’ “
Video game enthusiast Gibson elaborates, “I’m a diehard Final Fantasy VII fan and he voiced the main character, Cloud, in Final. So I told him that, and he ws like, ‘Dude, there’s no way.’ And I was like, ‘Yeah man, my dog’s name is Cloud, and it’s after your character in Final Fantasy VII!’ “
In retrospect, Gibson questions whether he should have timed his big reveal differently. “Maybe I should have waited and had a couple more scenes with him,” he chuckles. “Because I told him after our very first scenes together. It was like, I showed up, it was maybe my first day or my second day, and he runs up to me and he’s like, ‘Yo, dude, you did it, you got the part! That’s so cool!’ And he gave me this big hug and I was like, ‘Oh, thanks, man!’ And then we have this intense scene with each other, and then I tell him [about his canine namesake].”
The actor reports that Burton took the honor in stride. “He was just cracking up, like, ‘There’s no way!’ I’m sure there are other dogs named Cloud out there, but I’m assuming I’m the first person that he’s met and has actually been able to talk to that named their dog after him. So I think his reaction was a mixture of being honored, but also being like, ‘That’s insane! That’s so funny that you did that!’ He had a nice little chuckle about it, but it seemed like the honor was there — and he should be [honored] because Cloud is a great dog!”
Needless to say, Gibson is having a blast getting to know Burton behind the scenes. “He comes off as such an intense dude on screen, very similar to Mo [Maurice Benard, Sonny],” the actor observes. “But in real life, he’s a bro, he’s a buddy. He’s got the energy, he’s got the hype, he’s fun, he’s there to have a good time. I couldn’t say a single bad thing about Steve! He’s the man.”
