As viewers saw on the July 3 episode of General Hospital, the role of Maxie Jones, played by Kirsten Storms for the past 20 years, was recast with Nicole Paggi.
Paggi, who has guest-starred on 9-1-1, The Rookie: Feds, and 90210, knows her way around Port Charles: She previously filled in for Storms in December 2023. This time, Paggi was called to pinch-hit when Storms had a scheduling conflict. A spokesperson for the show confirms it’s only temporary.
Storms, who marked two decades on General Hospital on May 23, has been replaced before: Jen Lilley (ex-Theresa Donovan, Days of our Lives) stepped in for her from 2011-12, and Molly Burnett (ex-Melanie Jonas, Days) did the same in 2016 and 2018. Plus, Storms herself is a recast — Robyn Richards played Maxie before Storms took over. While recently reflecting on her GH milestone, Storms recalled how she approached the role in 2005.
“I think I knew I was going to just do it very differently than the actress before, and she was much younger, so I knew that the way the producers and writers were planning on taking the character was going to be different than what Maxie had been,” she explained. “I thought fans would be a little bit upset about it initially, sure, but I thought if I do my best, I can win that group over. I try not to think very negatively with situations like that.
“But also, as a young twentysomething, the Internet is such a powerful place where criticism is concerned,” she continued. “And I did grow thicker skin in those years, because now I don’t take the mean comments personally as much. But I didn’t go into it thinking, ‘This could be a mistake. They might not enjoy this.’ I thought, ‘All right, if I do my best, bring 100 percent, I think they might like it.’”
Because the soap films multiple episodes a day, Paggi will appear again as Maxie on July 30 and August 13; Storms will return on air during the week of August 18.
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC
Leave a Reply