Development Liesl Obrecht

1 development

1.1 casting , creation
1.2 characterization
1.3 family , children
1.4 relationships
1.5 feud anna , chief of staff

development
casting , creation

needed german doctor few things , go gati remarked soaps in depth of how character came be. however, writers impressed kept bringing gati back. gati said status series precarious , still is, despite role being expanded. role meant last few days take robin (kimberly mccullough) room room b , talk tony geary [luke] in hall him avoid seeing robin , anna devane (finola hughes). tony geary sang gati s praises executive producer, frank valentini after scenes. impressed, valentini sent head writer ron carlivati piece of scenes knowing carlivati inspired write more her. valentini chose gati out of 5 other actresses role. valentini informed carlivati of how was. though finding success in other recurring gigs, gati insisted if gh asks me sign contract, ll yes. feel m @ home here. ve been in los angeles 15 years, , first time, feel belong family. in october 2013, role briefly played finola hughes when dr. obrecht tries pass herself off anna devane.

characterization


kathleen gati on freedom of portrayal. (2014)

kathleen gati said obrecht focused woman, educated, serious. obrecht force reckoned with, actress said. dr. obrecht self-sufficient. mara levinsky described character sharp-tongued scene-stealer. gati saw potential character on , described obrecht delicious , nasty. role continued expand, writers gave me many colors bring role. evil, kind, painful. gati rejected notion obrecht rational , said evil however, actress insisted obrecht person has emotions , shows sensitivity , soft side. not campy, broad, evil, , dark. gati insisted obrecht s redeeming quality humor. gati explained: if obrecht didn t bonked on head here , there when made big mistake, or if didn t throw in oops every , then, viewers wouldn t enjoy character much. humor serves relief viewers. when compared herself, gati said obrecht dark , terrorizing , characterized powerhouse. while character has traits humanize her, never given actual redemption story. soaps in depth described obrecht strong, smart, powerful, , has humorous way words. maria ciaccia of about.com described character cold , domineering.

of way character speaks, gait said speaks style, intelligent , harsh. obrecht german character, swiss german, bright , sharp. when comes character s dialogue, gati explained tried verbatim possible because character written stylized, broad , s detailed. character s accent, script written in english , gati inserts later. kathleen gati said tries scripts can work in character s accent. gati described accent not being quite swiss. s not quite german. s in between. s sort of british... have developed kind of accent, sort of neutral something, because s educated s spent time in england , britain. gati reviews work , picks out things thinks went on , words or phrases thinks need improved on.

family , children

in march 2013, obrecht revealed mother of scheming doctor britt westbourne (kelly thiebaud). ron carlivati said once writers came idea connect characters, made sense. britt had been horrible reveal makes britt more sympathetic. obrecht resents daughter because britt not keep father. in reference dynamic between two, gati insisted obrecht love britt, not show it. according gati, britt needs mother because of strength. there moments obrecht tries show affection britt mother there s awkwardness gati said. gati described obrecht s feelings britt challenging because though feelings exist, feelings minimal @ best. however, actress continued there warmth. tries. gati said writers open window tiny bit - reach through , bang, s contrived. there s attempt, s not successful. obrecht takes steps bond daughter after finding out engagement nikolas cassadine (tyler christopher) , gati said s looked in mirror , seen mistakes s made. obrecht comes new plan benefit britt , gati said go great, great lengths protect child , protect britt, , defend daughter as can. s trying make lost time. however, scheme makes things worse.

in 2014, obrecht revealed estranged younger sister of wealthy madeline reeves, played donna mills, , biological mother of madeline s son, nathan west (ryan paevey). gati said jail scenes between obrecht , madeline gives layer why character way is; had sister , parents hell. carlivati explained obrecht feeling lot of emotions nathan whom reason gave up. despite feelings, nathan has trouble trusting obrecht, not because reputation precedes her, because of troubled relationship madeline believed mother. nathan s initial rejection makes feel sorry obrecht, carlivati said.

during 2014 nurses ball episodes, character of dr. obrecht heavily featured in musical episodes performed rendition on mind children. ron carlivati accredited anna cascio, 1 of members of writing team suggesting obrecht sing children , song choice. carlivati described performance confession children bad mother or apology gati said. because character of nathan becoming familiar viewers, performance creates immediate relationship between brother , sister , displays how uncomfortable obrecht showing real emotion. helps them understand feel kind of affection them. obrecht thinking, wow. made step. there progress. s tiny, s huge. s 1 small gesture, spoke volumes.

relationships

kathleen gati revealed first learned of plans of obrecht s relationship infamous cesar faison (anders hove) in january 2013 , ecstatic. ron carlivati revealed obrecht s expansion started out being talk-to faison when masquerading duke lavery (ian buchanan) between october , december 2013. in march 2013 after obrecht s connection britt revealed , fans left speculate paternity, regan cellura said obrect s unwavering loyalty faison bit telling . gati said obrecht idolizes faison , looks @ him god. of history, actress said idolized time young. point of view, faison has done amazing things. if re dark , cruel , horrible characters, s fascinated him. faison , obrecht 2 people found each other in evilness. though faison moves on , falls in love again, obrecht never gets on him. s one-man woman has been focused on him , hasn t taken eye off him. if wanted explore other romantic interests, gati said [obrecht] needs him. faison obrecht s achilles heel. gati explained, time obrecht is when sees him or hears name. becomes puppy. s pavlov s dog. according kathleen gati, obrecht s twisted affection faison allows audience embrace her. fans can understand upset because s been dumped , disrespected , not cared , put aside. not can viewers relate pain, can defend pain causes. in reference obrecht s admiration faison, gati said faison everything. actress explained in character have admired him, loved him. faison god, genuius. gati said faison asking obrecht wear anna mask have sex him ultimate rejection , beyond humiliating. awkward moment trying seduce him, , not @ it, , trying anyway can, , being totally rejected. gati said scenes turning point character , questioned how [obrecht] take faison.

the character gets love interest when writers reintroduce thaao penghlis victor cassadine, whom obrecht shares past. gati open idea of potential romance. actress confirmed victor s arrival awakened kind of unfamiliar feelings in obrecht. before victor, assumed faison man ever catch obrecht s eye. gati said obrecht not accustomed getting kind of attention man. don t treat me kindly, because don t know that! actress stated in character. when comes obrecht s attraction victor, gati said s kind, s attractive... , re mental equals. both have acute sense of evil. turns on. following revelation nathan being obrecht s son, there immediate speculation victor being father. in july 2014, carlivati said there lot dig when comes obrecht , relationship victor.

feud anna , chief of staff

obrecht despises anna devane (finola hughes) because of faison s obsession , love her. gati said obrecht s disdain anna on-going rest of life. stems pain of having lost faison s affections anna @ such young age. had relationship , created child , far obrecht concerned, faison tainted anna making liesl chopped liver. gati explained hatred last because anna constant reminder of not give faison. obrecht goes far wear prosthetic anna mask in attempt trick faison in being intimate her. though obrecht hates anna, torturing robin more appealing killing because helping faison.

ron carlivati revealed when first pitched idea of making obrecht chief of staff @ general hospital, executive producer frank valentini , network s executives didn t take him thinking impossible. however, carlivati willing take risk because galvanizes entire hospital against common enemy in obrecht. gives obrecht permanent place within show. scribe revealed had imagined $88 million jerry jacks (sebastian roché) had extorted port charles town prior disappearance in 2012 had been floating around; obrecht manages hands on of money , uses invest in general hospital. carlivati likened obrecht becoming chief of staff heather locklear amanda woodward on melrose place buying complex. put hated person in position of power on else, , creates story. because obrecht such polarizing force @ hospital, carlivati thought appropriate have hijack opening number @ annual nurses ball, celebrated event in show s history. @ suggestion of 1 of writers, chris van etten obrecht perform willkommen . carlivati nervous getting invested in potential performance because feared valentini , musical director, paul glass might not able rights music.