Photo: ABC
As a Charmed fan for life, I was VERY excited about the opportunity to speak with Wes Ramsey for Soap Opera News. We had a great and insightful chat about soaps, exciting new projects, life, and those pesky General Hospital exit rumors.
Wes Ramsey has been portraying bad guy turned somewhat good guy, Peter August since November 2017 on General Hospital. Being the son of the infamous Cesar Faison and related to superspy extraordinaire Anna Devane certainly makes Peter a complex character on the surface. And Ramsey has brought a compelling and nuanced arc to his performance. “I think any actor would tell you that they hope in their career to play characters that you can really flesh out and have a field day with,” Wes stated. “We get to surprise ourselves and hopefully through that surprise the audience as well.”
Recently on General Hospital, we are seeing the darker and more secretive side of Peter’s resurfacing. Will those secrets be the downfall of his relationship with Maxie (Kirsten Storms), the woman who has imparted a change in him over the past year? “I think that Maxie has inspired Peter through love to want to be a better person, and it’ll be interesting to see whether or not the conflicting drama from his past is going to actually prevent that from taking place.” Whatever happens, though Wes is excited to see where the story goes and what comes next.
Photo: ABC
Next. And there will be a next according to Wes. The rumor mill has been churning lately about Ramsey’s time potentially coming to an end on the soap. “I had very recently just heard those rumors myself, and I have no idea where they came from or why.” He chalks it up to it being around the same time he signed his initial contract two years ago, but noted, “I am NOT leaving GH. I’m very happy there.” He spoke about his love for his character and the story as well as the cast and crew. “I can’t imagine myself leaving the show right now. There’s no way. I love it.”
While we were chatting soaps I had to bring up his time on my forever favorite Guiding Light. Wes played Sam Spencer on the CBS soap from 2000 to 2004, and I was curious about how the inner workings of a soap opera have changed between his time in Springfield and his time in Port Charles. He noted that his partner in life and fellow GH star, Laura Wright (Carly Corinthos) warned him about the efficiently fast-paced environment. “Guiding Light was known back then as being by far the fastest format of storytelling in any aspect of television production. And at that time we were shooting one episode a day. Everyone believed that was incredibly ambitious, and it is in the big picture compared to primetime and feature films.” In today’s world, they can work with multiple directors and shoot between 2 and 4 episodes all in one day based on their schedules. “Sure enough my time in the last two years on General Hospital has come to show me that what we thought was fast-paced is actually nothing compared to how fast we move now.”
Between General Hospital and some exciting new projects, Wes has been having a “helluva year.” His film Perception was recently released to rave reviews. The film was shot just before he joined GH, and he is very excited to have it out in the world for everyone to see. “I knew when filming it that it had incredible potential, but you never know when making independent films if they will see the light of day. So, you hope for the best. Sure enough two years later perception has been released and is getting a wonderful reception and reviews. It’s a great feeling. Everyone put a lot of heart and themselves into the movie.”
Wes is also about to release a new book, Into The Black, which is a compilation of many different years worth of poetry he had written. When his first book, Salt and Sand, was released in 2014, he was doing something he had never done before. “I was trying for the first time in my life to share my writing with the world.” He knew that one day he wanted to dive headfirst into the project and really go for it. “Writing poetry is the only thing in my life I’ve done longer than acting.” And five years later, he is happy to finally share “Into The Black”, which will be made available to the public next month. It will be exclusively sold on his website wesramsey.com.
He is also very excited to share his involvement with the web series Sidetracked. He had previously been in seasons one and two and will be making an appearance in the third season which will be released sometime in 2020. He was asked back by his longtime friend and fellow Julliard attendee, Tracie Thoms (Rent, Cold Case) to come back to the E.D. Brown created series. “It’s wonderful when you have this tribe of creative people getting together and making the time and commitment and sacrifice because they love the work and want to collaborate together.”
Ramsey has been part of several web series over the years including one with his on-screen brother from Charmed, Drew Fuller and Venice the Series with Guiding Light alum Crystal Chappell. “Every time it’s an incredible experience,” he spoke on the age of streaming and digital series that we are living in today. “It’s just a fascinating time for artists to be able to create their own content and have a platform ready to share it.”
Wes has undeniably had an amazing…and busy year! But when he isn’t working he loves to take care of himself. Whether that be mentally or physically. He enjoys an array of activities from running to mediation to tennis. He likes to take in a good documentary and spend time with his love, Laura. Seems like it’s a pretty good life for Mr. Ramsey!
As a fangirl first, before I let him go, I HAD to talk with him about his time on Charmed. “Some of the most loyal fans out there are the Charmed fans, and it seems to be continuing on generationally. There are more young people now watching that show than when it was on the air. I guess that is a testament to being fortunate enough to be part of something so special.” Wes played Wyatt, the son of the show’s main couple, Piper and Leo. So, I was excited to hear that Wes would be having scenes with Finola Hughes when he joined General Hospital because Finola played Patty, his character’s grandmother on Charmed. “Finola and I have a great time together. I love that there is that connection out there for all of the fans.”
Photo: Spelling Television
I had a wonderful time speaking with Wes about his exciting life and career. He is so grateful for the love and support he receives from fans. “I’m having the time of my life and I love sharing it with everyone.”
Thank you to Wes Ramsey for a fantastic interview! Here is to your continued success in all things!
Tori
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