Finola Hughes reflects on her 40 years on General Hospital

In 1985, Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) arrived in Port Charles, and General Hospital was never the same. At the time, Robert Scorpio (Tristan Roges) was the resident spy, and fans were shocked to learn that not only had the characters worked together in the past, but they were also married. They even had a daughter, Robin (Kimberly McCullough), although Robert wasn’t aware of her existence until she was seven. Now, Hughes looks back on the four decades that have defined her character.

It’s very crazy

General Hospital's Anna Devane. | Image Source: ABC

How many actors can say they’ve had the same job for 40 years? Not many, and the ones who can are mainly soap stars who’ve proven their mettle over the decades. Hughes has certainly carved out an incredible niche for former superspy-turned-police commissioner Anna. She even crossed over to the now-defunct ABC soap All My Children for a few years where Anna continued to fight for law and order.

Hughes recently talked to Soap Opera Digest about her milestone anniversary, calling the amount of time she’s played Anna, “Literally crazy.” When she first started on the show, she was enamored by Rogers, who welcomed her with open arms and told her they were going to have some fun times. She was equally welcomed by another WSB agent on the show, John Reilly, who played Robert and Anna’s former boss, Sean Donely. He graciously welcomed her to the family and it made her feel right at home. “I would say that he was my first touchstone there, someone that I could trust and talk to,” she remarked.

She has many old friends

General Hospital's Anna and Felicia. | Image Source: ABC

Anna has made many friends over the years, and so did her portrayer. At the time, Frisco and Felicia (Jack and Kristina Wagner) were the hot super couple, and she recalled when Kristina rushed in, welcomed her to the show, stated she was happy Hughes had joined, and ran off. “It was adorable, and of course, we worked together quite a bit back then,” she gushed. Anna and Robert would go on to have many adventures with Frisco and Felicia, as well as Robin. “And that was the beginning of a whole new era,” she explained.

Over the years, Anna has also become unlikely friends with mafia don Sonny (Maurice Benard) and his lethal enforcer, Jason (Steve Burton). Being on both sides of the law has made their associations tenuous yet great fodder ripe for dramatic storytelling, and their relationships are still explored today.

But Hughes refused to take credit for completely bringing Anna to life. “Let’s say I slipped into her skin. It was there — they drew the outline, and it was a perfect fit, I think,” she humbly stated. And the amount of incredible stories that Anna is still faced with, we’re hoping she’ll be playing the part for another 40 years to come.

You can watch new episodes of General Hospital on ABC and Hulu.