Wishful Casting: Vincent Irizarry as General Hospital's Ric Lansing!
Just in case Vincent Irizarry isn't ready to give up those frequent flyer miles commuting back and forth from NYC to LA, I think I might have come up with a near perfect Wishful Casting for the talented Daytime Emmy winning multi-soaper. What if Irizarry joined the cast of ABC Daytime's flagship sudser General Hospital as Sonny's (Maurice Benard) despised half brother Ric Lansing?
While Irizarry's one-time Guiding Light cousin Rick Hearst (Hearst played Alan Michael during Irizarry's second GL stint as Lujack's twin Nick) was immensely popular and underserved in the role of Ric, Hearst has long since moved on to the campier pastures of The Bold and the Beautiful. I think it would be fun to see Irizarry going head-to-head with fellow daytime titant Benard. Not to mention, how powerful a storyline former Santa Barbara scribe Bob Guza could pen for Irizarry and Nancy Lee Grahn's Alexis, as both actors appeared on that sudser.
Just think of Ric blasting back into town just as Mac (John J. York) and Alexis have made love for the first time, and Mac is becoming a father figure to Molly! Maybe uptight federal attorney Claire (Dahlia Salem) was once a law clerk for Ric and they had a scandalous affair? Or better yet, what if as a troubled teen, Claire appeared in a sex tape and her rich father hired an ambitious young Ric to make the scandal go away? What Claire and her father didn't realize is that sleazy Ric kept a copy for himself! Now Ric has the ammunition to destroy Claire's career, but will the look of trust and affection in little Molly's eyes make him do the right thing? The possibilities are endless!
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Comments
15 October 2008
4 weeks 20 hours
WIN!
10 February 2009
1 hour 47 min
Nooooooooooooooooooooo, less Corinthos and co.
How about if he came back as Ned Ashton?
12 February 2010
2 days 10 hours
Amen and keep preaching!!!!!!
5 July 2008
11 hours 28 min
VI Could Work Well As Ned
27 July 2009
2 days 18 hours
I'm still shocked that AMC would let VI go. But definitely could see him as Ric Lansing, or even as a Cassadine. This man is too talented to be unemployed for very long.
16 August 2008
6 hours 2 min
Not a win to me. VI follows no one into a role; he's an original!
1 January 2009
10 hours 27 min
Rick is Sonny's younger brother. Vincent looks as old if not older than Maurice. Doesn't work for me!
21 December 2009
1 year 18 weeks
I love you Jamey, but not no but HECK NO! If they don't bring back Ric Hearst (and show him the respect he deserves storywise!), then there is no reason to bring on someone like VI to play that role. It would be an insult to both actors. Either they give VI a good story which would be a huge F.U. to all the Emmy award winning performances that you gave us to RH, or they make him inconsequential like they did to RH towards the end, which would be a waste of VI's talents. to Yes Molly needs her daddy, but Like Curacaoman said, there is no need for more Sonny family. The only reason Ric worked was because of RH. I like VI and think the Ned suggestion was actually really good. He could play him a bit more dastardly like Ned of the early 90's vs. the early 00's nicer Ned.
1 July 2009
12 hours 20 min
Sorry Jamey, ususlly you are right on about these things but I just don't see it.
Maybe as a character on OLTL or Days.
Oh, and alstonboy, sorry it took me so long but thanks and air kisses back at ya.
!!!!!
5 January 2009
27 weeks 10 hours
@ dc I whole heartedly disagree...vi would be a horrid recast
12 January 2010
46 min 29 sec
I think he would make an amazing Dr. David Banning on DAYS. Julie's son has been missing for far too long. Can you imagine his chemistry with Crystal Chappell!
5 July 2008
11 hours 28 min
IF VI Quit to Stay IN NYC Maybe OLTL Could Use Him
1 January 2009
10 hours 27 min
Sam still needs a dad on GH and Vincent would be great for that part. I bet NLG wouldn't mind either!
1 July 2009
12 hours 20 min
Now Sassy, I can see that.
21 October 2009
12 weeks 9 hours
Sassy, I was thinking exactly the same thing! VI as Sam's dad, and going head to head with Alexis and Helena would be awesome!
7 July 2009
16 weeks 8 hours
I do think VI could fit in well on GH but not as my love-to-hate Ric Lansing. I think they should cast him as Valentin Cassidine. He can do dark and mysterious very well. GH announced the story involving Valentin but droppped it because of James Franco's desire to do daytime. Jamey, he could still act opposite NLG.
12 February 2010
2 days 10 hours
Sassydreams---
OMG!! What a PERFECT idea!!!!! He could play Sam's MIA poppa. He does slightly resemble Kelly Monaco and he might have decent chemistry with Nancy Lee Grahn!!!
Why didn't I think of that??????????????????
1 January 2009
10 hours 27 min
alstonboy - I think it would be great except for the fact that Vincent lives in NY and I believe doesn't want to move to LA. I suspect he and NLG would be HOT together and I think he'd be perfect as Sam's dad!! And Sam needs a storyline of her own pronto!!!
9 December 2008
1 year 12 weeks
I would weep if they let ANYONE but Rick Hearst play Ric Lansing. Rick Hearst was easily the most talented and consistent person they had on GH when they were lucky enough to have him. It was a damned shame that they couldn't think of things to keep Ric on the canvas. A damned shame.
I kind of hoped when I started watching B & B for Scott Clifton that I would be able to see a few moments of Rick Hearst, but that's very rare. He was on today, though. People do that guy so damned dirty. It's sad.
For Vincent... what about Valentin? I don't think the guy that they cast as him like a year ago is really all that cool with sitting around doing nothing. If I were that Matt guy (can't spell his last name!), I'd be like 'yeah, later!'
I couldn't really imagine AMC getting rid of him (again), but I wouldn't be sad. I stopped watching a long time ago, but I got so tired of David even before I stopped watching. Not as tired as I was of Zack, though!
6 January 2008
1 year 27 weeks
YES YES YES!!!
Bring him on as Ned. Great suggestion. I will miss Wally but we need more Quatermaines and Alexis needs a love interest. It would be great to see Alexis with him. Also Brooke is back in town and she needs her daddy and Tracy needs her son to put her in her place. Bring on Ned!!
14 March 2009
20 hours 27 min
'Uncle Rudy' Zacchara
1 January 2009
10 hours 27 min
Unless Tracy had Ned when she was 12 Vincent is too old and definitely way too old looking to be Ned in my opinion. VI was born in 1959 and JE was born in 1947.
I wish they would bring back Wally Kurth as Ned!!!
12 February 2010
2 days 10 hours
Sassy~~~
LOL!! You know that age ain't NOTHING but a number on soap operas!! LOL!! Besides, if they did decide to hire him as Ric, TPTB could simply justify it as another case of SORAS!!!!LOL!!!!!!!!! 30-something one day.....late 40s the next day!! Voila!!!!
But I actually do prefer your earlier idea about him being Sam's long-lost father. And I also do kinda have a soft spot for Wally Kurth as well, who is, like soooo many other veteran actors, not getting the proper quality of storyline on DAYS.
Would they REALLY recast Ned with another actor??? I'd say no, but I also would've never thought that they'd recast the role of Lois Cerullo............
2 April 2009
2 weeks 5 days
No way!! If the writers couldn't figure out what to do with this core character played by the perfectly cast and tremendously talented RH, then they should never recast this role. Very sad that RH is languishing in the outskirts of B&B. GH should beg him to come back and give him something meaty to do. Sarah J. B., too. Everyone knows that being hired by B&B means never working.
3 September 2010
2 years 36 weeks
I diagree. For me, the only Ric Lansing will be Rick Hearst and part of me wishes he would come back to GH. It's a crime how he is being wasted on B&B. As much as I hated how Ric was the whipping boy at GH, at least they occasionally wrote for him and he earned two Emmys. That won't happen on B&B at this point, where he is getting nothing. What a waste of one of daytime's best actors.
30 September 2007
1 year 9 weeks
NO MORE MOB. For the love of all that is holy. What about some form of Quartermaine? One of the long losts, or Jeff Webber, OR The long lost Hardy son who was married to Simone and had a kid who would be about Maxie & lulu's age? A Cassidine, A Spencer, but NO MORE MOB. We have enough already.
21 June 2010
2 weeks 5 days
OLTL right now is looking for someone about Vincent's age to play the new role of Eddie Ford, dasterdly father of the hot Ford/Salinger brothers and ex-husband and abuser of Inez Salinger (the smoking hot and ultra talented Jessica Leccia). Wouldn't it be quite a coup for OLTL to nab Vincent for this role?
1 January 2009
10 hours 27 min
alstonboy - I agree that they don't care about actual ages of actors but VI looks as old as Tracy in my opinion so I don't see him as Ned.
I'm sticking with my original idea. I'd think he'd be great as Sam's dad!
18 January 2008
1 year 31 weeks
Mr. Irizarry has more talent than to be thrown into the thankless role of playing Sonny's punching bag every other month for five minutes.
14 December 2008
5 days 21 hours
I'd love to see him go to Days in a crossover as his former Giiding Light character, Nick. Then they could Bring Marj Dusay on as Alexandra Spaulding.