Van Hansis Knew Someone at Wyndemere Was Going to Dіе — He Just Didn’t Know It Would Destroy Lucas Like This

Van Hansis saw it coming. He just didn’t know which body bag would be leaving Wyndemere.

In an exclusive interview, the General Hospital star opened up about losing scene partner Adrian Anchondo, the emotional weight of Lucas’s grief scenes, and why saving Marco’s kіllеr in the OR might be the best piece of soap writing he’s ever read.

“I Was Heartbroken — and I Was Really Sad for Him”

Hansis learned about Anchondo’s departure on January 2, the day he landed in Los Angeles to resume filming after the holiday break. The news came via text.

“Adrian texted me to let me know,” Hansis recalls. “I was really, really sad. I was heartbroken. I wished he had more time to show different layers of the character because even on soaps, when we’re working so much, a year isn’t a long time — and he’s such a talented actor.”

As a daytime veteran — five years as Luke Snyder on As the World Turns before joining GH as Lucas in 2024 — Hansis says he understood the decision. But he’d already felt the ground shifting beneath the Wyndemere storyline.

“I had an inkling when Marco and Lucas moved to Wyndemere that someone was going,” he confides. “I didn’t know if it was Lucas, I didn’t know if it was Marco, I didn’t know if it was Sidwell, I didn’t know if it was Pascal — but I was like, ‘Someone living in that mansion is not gonna see too many more mornings!'”

The Goodbye Scene: Where Actor and Character Grief Became One

Lucas and Marco’s final scene together was in Lucas’s office, when Marco handed off the stolen medication vials. The director told them to make the moment sweeter — because it was the last time they’d share the screen.

“There was so much emotion happening there because it wasn’t just Lucas saying goodbye to Marco,” Hansis explains. “It was me saying goodbye to Adrian as my scene partner. Sometimes the character’s feelings get muddled in with the actor’s feelings.”

For the scene where Lucas discovers Marco is ԁеаd, Hansis wanted one thing: honesty.

“Crying over a ԁеаd character — we see that in all sorts of media. I just wanted it to be as real and as honest as possible. I’ve been around the block, and I think I’m pretty good at knowing when stuff I’m doing is working. I felt like I was able to connect to what I wanted to connect to.”

The Devastation: “Maybe He Would Still Be Here If Lucas Didn’t Do X or Y or Z”

What makes Lucas’s grief so layered isn’t just loss — it’s guilt.

“Lucas fell so hard and so quick for Marco,” Hansis muses. “He truly thought everything was gonna be okay. There’s the sadness of losing Marco, but then also him realizing how much he played a part in the ԁеаth of the man he loves by, in his eyes, forcing Marco to help him. It’s not just that he’s gone — it’s that maybe he would still be here if Lucas didn’t do X or Y or Z. And that is devastating for him.”

“That’s Shakespearean! That’s Good Soap Opera Right There!”

When Hansis read the script where Lucas saves Cullum’s life in the OR — not knowing Cullum kіllеd Marco — his reaction was immediate.

“When I read that, I was like, ‘Holy s—!’ Because Lucas, at the time, doesn’t know that this is the guy that kіllеd Marco. That’s Shakespearean! That’s good soap opera right there!”

And the fallout? Hansis says it’s only getting better.

“Part of Marco going out in a blaze of glory is that there’s tons of story spinning out of this for a myriad of characters,” he teases. “It’s so good and so complicated how everybody starts spinning around each other in this devastation. As sad as this story is, the aftermath has been really fun to play.”

“For Lucas, I think there will be no backing down to try to get Marco the justice that he deserves.”

When it’s done well, Hansis says, there is no other genre that does this like daytime does it. And right now? General Hospital is at the top of its game.