Rick Hearst on Returning to ‘General Hospital’: ‘I Was Terrified!’ (EXCLUSIVE)

General Hospital ’s Ric Lansing may have come to town to look after Molly, but since arriving this summer, the scheming lawyer has gotten Alexis thrown in jail and taken on Ava and Heather’s controversial cases—and today, Sonny’s troublemaking brother proves he’s still willing to play dirty. Woman’s World caught up with veteran actor Rick Hearst during a General Hospital photo shoot to get the scoop on why Ric isn’t done with Port Charles just yet.

Read on to see what the Daytime Emmy-winning soap star—who was also on Days of Our Lives , Guiding Light , The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful —has to say about returning to General Hospital after eight years and how he’s balancing his personal life (which includes a multigenerational household and a realty business) with the daily drama.

What almost stopped Rick Hearst from bringing Ric back to ‘General Hospital’

When General Hospital reached out to Rick Hearst about returning to the fold, he was thrilled . . . but he didn’t exactly jump at the opportunity to return to the role he created in 2002.

“This was a wonderful, happy surprise, but I look a bit more before I leap now,” he explains. “As an actor in your 20s, you just say ‘Yes!’ before they even finish asking the question, right? Where I am now—at almost 60 years old and living in New Jersey—I have more responsibilities that I have to consider.”

Among those responsibilities is his realty business (for which he uses his birth name, Herbst), as well as a houseful of real-life leading ladies.

“My wife, myself, my mom and my mother-in-law, we all live under one roof,” Hearst says. “It’s very ‘sandwich generation’ right now, and that’s my priority in my life. So we had to have a family meeting about this. It was a challenge, but it was only about the logistics of leaving my family and putting my business on hold.”

Rick Hearst on what ‘terrified’ him about coming home to ‘General Hospital ’

With those logistics handled, Hearst stepped into Ric’s shiny shoes and hit the ground running.

“I was terrified,” admits the actor who last graced our screens with a 2018 appearance on the Dynasty reboot. “It's not eight years since I've acted, but it’s been eight years since I worked in this medium at this pace. I just wanted to make sure that I could do it.

“When I walked through the studio door, I very much felt like my body was moving and my brain was catching up,” he adds. “It was one of those things where you just throw caution to the wind and go! And everything just started to click, which was gratifying.”

Rick Hearst talks Maurice Benard and Ric’s leading ladies

While no one loves a five-hour commute, Hearst flies out to work on General Hospital in two-week blocks, with breaks in between, and he’s certainly loving the drama—and the reunions.

“With the actors I worked with here before, like Maurice Benard, who plays Sonny, it's like I never left,” he says. “Sonny and Ric have had these arguments a million times. Coming to the ring again, both of them know what the other is bringing. Somebody's gonna win, somebody's gonna lose, but it ain't over. It’s never gonna be!”

In addition to sparring with old friends, the soap hopper is also forging new relationships with Maura West, who plays Ava, Nina-recast Cynthia Watros and Heather-recast Alley Mills —and he has nothing but praise for his dynamic costars.

“Maura I worked with a little bit when I was last here, but not to this extent,” Hearst says. “She’s like you took a noir actress and dropped her in the present day. She just flows through every moment. It's delicious.”

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“Cynthia and I had crossed paths, but we didn't work at the same time on Guiding Light , years ago,” he continues. “She's so ready and so open that it was very simple to drop into that relationship.”

“Alley I worked with briefly at The Bold and the Beautiful , and I love working with her,” Hearst says. “We have some scenes coming up, so she called me over the weekend. We discussed a couple of points, and then just chatted away. She’s so cute!”

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Rick Hearst praises Molly-recast Kristen Vaganos

Amid all the reunions, Hearst is also having a blast with the spate of newcomers who’ve joined the show since he left almost a decade ago.

“It's been a lot of fun revisiting old relationships and discovering new ones—especially in the younger talent and the actress who plays my daughter, Molly,” he says, referencing recast Kristen Vaganos . “She’s extraordinary, super talented and a real goof. I just love her, and I immediately connected with her. It’s a nice symbiotic relationship to be around.”

Hearst has also leaned into the renewed tension between Molly’s parents—which saw Ric throw Alexis under the bus in Agent Cates’ murder investigation.

“They've always been contentious, but it’s definitely ratcheted up,” Hearst concedes. “He knows in his heart he’s had a relationship with Molly, but I think there's that underlying jealousy because Alexis is hands-on with her girls.”

Rick Heart weighs in on the ‘General Hospital’ ‘Liz-aissance’

Speaking of jealousy, Ric is clearly not over his ex-wife, Liz. While his machinations have repeatedly blown up their happily-ever-afters, that hasn’t stopped him from hoping for another try.

“She put the kibosh on that,” Hearst says with a sigh. “Ultimately, he doesn’t care how much he can actually be near her, as long as he’s near.”

Interestingly, Ric is not the only man from Liz’s past to come home. On the heels of Jason’s latest resurrection, Finn was sent to rehab and now, Lucky has returned. With three of Liz’ great loves back on canvas, Scott Reeves is set to bring big brother Steven Webber home on October 24.

The waters around Elizabeth Webber are certainly getting choppier. “Liz falls completely for each partner that she gets involved with—and the challenge is that she needs to have space to be herself,” Hearst says, adding that actress Rebecca Herbst “has over 25 years here, so it’s historical.” He continues, “Now, we have a great opportunity to see the mature Liz, who does things on her terms when dealing with relationships.”

Has Ric Lansing changed his spots?

While Elizabeth has come a long way, we’re not so sure about Ric. It took him no time to get involved in the local drama and find ways to stick it to Sonny and Alexis , but Hearst is looking for a bit of growth, if not redemption, during this run.

“This guy is getting a chance to revisit all the things that he maybe didn't do right,” he maintains. “You can’t go back, but you can at least be the person you are now. He's looking to make new history right now.”

“That doesn't mean that he's changed from who he is, how he operates, or being the opportunist he can be,” he adds quickly. “But I do hope that as we move forward, we create something new, interesting, and fun.”

Rick Hearst dishes on ‘GH’ villainy and possible return to other soaps

This week on General Hospital , Ric makes it clear that he hasn’t grown out of playing dirty—and if this schemer has fans shaking their fists at the TV again, Hearst is ready for the blowback.

“Everybody loves to hate the bad guy, and I have no problem with that,” he says with a grin. “I mean, I don’t want to play someone you want to see buried in a hole . . . but I’ll take just shy of that!”

As for whether Hearst would consider causing fresh trouble as The Bold and the Beautiful ’s Whipple Jones III or The Young and the Restless ’ late Matt Clark . . . hey, anything can happen in soap operas!

“I never say never,” Hearst hedges. “But at the moment, I'm quite content with where I am. General Hospital has been such a huge part of my life, and it’s nice to be home.”

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