Scott Clifton (Dillon) bids GENERAL HOSPITAL adieu!

For the past few months, friends, family and co-workers of Scott
Clifton (Dillon) had been pointing out that his GENERAL HOSPITAL
contract was coming to an end and asked what his plans were. He’d dodge
the question and tap dance around an answer because, truth be told, he
wasn’t sure how to respond. Then the decision became clear. “We ended
up concluding that it’s better for us to part ways,” he says with a
somewhat melancholy tone. “I’ve been brushing it off and trying to be
nonchalant about it, and then I’d go home and it’d hit me. This is the
first moment that I’ve felt safe talking about it.”

The Moment Of Truth
The reason behind his decision might take some by surprise. Those who
know Clifton, however, understand that it’s based in the fact that he’s
100 percent professional about the business of acting. “I watched an
episode of the show, and I looked like I was phoning it in,” he admits.
“A part of me feels like, as an actor, I used to know the value of
things like focus, listening and presence, and I’ve lost some of those
things. I’m not ‘here’ now. I’m somewhere else, and I don’t know where
I am. I feel like I’ve got to go relearn a lot of that. There are a lot
of things as an actor that I’ve got to get good at again. I’m grateful
that I noticed that I was getting settled into the easiness of the job.
They say that daytime is the hardest medium. It’s hard to get it down
and to learn. But, man, once you learn it, you coast and that’s
dangerous, dangerous, dangerous.”

Getting To Know You
Although it’s hard to picture, Clifton first auditioned for both Lucas
and Lucky. “Then Dillon came along,” he smiles. “It’s such a great
character. He’s a quirky Quartermaine who has mommy issues. He’s not
necessarily that good looking guy, but he has another appeal to him
because he’s smart and witty and has this commentator attitude toward
the world. He was the guy that would kind of wink to the camera… and I
had him down! Only Dillon started to evolve into me. They started to
notice how I act and they started writing for me. That was so
complimentary because they ‘got’ me. I got to use the interesting parts
of me and leave the boring parts of me behind.

“Then, somewhere along the line, it changed and I started noticing
that I wasn’t necessarily playing myself any more. For the last few
months, it’s been a struggle to justify really, really poor decisions
on his part. Dillon’s an idiot lately and he needs to be an idiot for
the storyline to work. I totally get it. But the further and further I
distanced myself from Dillon in order to make it work, the more I felt
like I wasn’t going to play it right. The more I let go of Dillon being
a part of me, the more Dillon started to break off and die on his own.
That’s what I saw when I watched that episode. Dillon was a shell… and
that was my fault.”

Never Can Say Goodbye
The third year of a four-year contract, actors are allowed to audition
for television pilots, and it’s very easy to be distracted by the
possibilities. “You think, ‘What if…’” Clifton confesses. “The
auditions make you start daydreaming. You start to get really excited,
and then you don’t book the jobs. Part of me wonders if there’s a bit
of genius design in the contractual ‘pilot out’ because it makes you
realize your own career mortality. But this was never a choice out of
my hands. This is me deciding to walk away.”

Although Clifton has told them he’s not re-signing, he has offered
to stick around long enough to write him off. “There are three things
that they could conceivably do,” says Clifton. “They could replace me
immediately and have somebody else play Dillon. I’m okay with that
because I think Dillon needs a reboot. It would be interesting to see
somebody else’s take on him.

“Two, they could kill him, which I would hope they wouldn’t do,
just because I would like the opportunity to maybe come back. Depending how they did that, I’d have to go back and shoot that. It would give me a
chance to say goodbye and the opportunity to try to pull it together
and act well one last time. That would be really profound for me.
“Or three, they’d have Dillon leave town. I would be wholly and
entirely complimented if the door stayed open. I know that’s a lot to
ask of them and the door can’t stay open for long. That’s just the
rules of the game.”

Credit Where Credit Is Due
Clifton doesn’t take for granted his GH experience or the friends and
fans he has made along the way. “The fans are people who’ve never met
me, but know me, like my work and know that ‘I am,’” he says humbly.
“Early on you realize that you’re not going to last unless you have
fans that help you. You’re lucky if they decide to like you. And once
they do like you, man, they’ve got your back. There’s kind of a
maternal aspect to the fans. They want to make sure you’re okay. I
wouldn’t have been here this long without them and that kind of
approval. It’s a pretty trippy thought.”

If the timing is right and if Clifton has GH’s blessing, he hopes to be welcomed back some day. “I would hope that I’m forgiven enough and I have the blessing of the fans to be able to someday come back and play Dillon again. I hope they’ll leave the light on for me.” Meanwhile, Clifton will be moving back home with his super-supportive parents. “I am very privileged to have two parents
who’ve said, ‘Don’t you dare worry about money. Go do what you need to do. If it’s to stay on GH, fine. If not, go do it.’ I’m blessed — I can’t say it enough — to have this safety net. I get to look at this part of my life as an adventure. I get to have fun with the mystery of what’s around the corner and revel in the suspense of it.”
— Rosemary A. Rossi

CAPTIONS: (Gotta buy the magazine to see the photos)

… ON THE VET WHO TOOK HIM UNDER HIS WING:
“You meet Tony Geary and he’s not Luke,” says Clifton. “He’s so
reserved, intelligent and sophisticated. He’s one of the most dignified
people you’ll meet versus Luke, who wouldn’t be caught dead dignified. There’s an art in being able to separate yourself from your character.”

… ON THE WISH FOR A HAPPY ENDING FOR DILLON AND GEORGIE:
“If this is the end for Dillon,” says Clifton, “given that so much of
his growth and health and character arc was not just with Georgie but about Georgie, it would be unpoetic not to end on a [positive] Georgie note.”

… ON STRETCHING HIS MUSICAL WINGS:
“I’m looking forward to the peace of mind to just write,” says Clifton. “Songwriting is something that I just fell into. I never expected to love it. But I’ve always had to kind of treat it like a hobby. Now it’s going to feel so good to know that I can just sit down and write.”

… ON THE FUTURE OF HIS EVOLVING CHIA HAIR:
“I called my father and said, ‘I think I’m leaving GH. I think this
might really be the end,’” says Clifton, who was met with a long pause on the other end of the line. Finally, his dad spoke up and said, “That’s good. I support you, you know that. Are you going to get a haircut now?’”

… ON THE WINNING GUIDANCE FROM HIS GH MOM…
“My first day on the show, Jane Elliot (Tracy) said to me, ‘Win the
crowd. That’s what this is about,’” Clifton recalls. “That was the best advise she could have given me.”

… ON HIS TV NEMESIS BUT REAL LIFE PAL:
“Bradford Anderson (Spinelli) is so genuine,” says Clifton. “He’ll come up to you and ask how you are, and he really wants to know! He’s one of the most decent human beings I’ve ever met. I adore that guy.”

… ON DILLON’S ROMANTIC PURSUIT OF LULU:
“If I were talking about Dillon like Dillon were me,” Clifton prefaces, “I wish Dillon either didn’t get involved with Lulu at all or, if he did, that he had stuck with it. He was too hard on her. It became sticky and messy.”

You sit down, you look at the computer. Then at the time. You've got time. You tell yourself that you've got time. You stand up, walk around the room. Maybe you try and make a phone call or eat something. You sit down again.

You have to write this, Scott. You have to go there. People are waiting, wondering. How do you do it, though? How do you write one of the most important letters of your life?

It isn't a notification letter, or a memo, you think to yourself. They already know. They've read the magazines, the articles, they've seen the message boards and the spoilers. They know you're leaving the show. They know you because of the show, and they know the show. They know Port Charles, NY as if it were their own town. It was your town, too. For four years, you shared it with them. It was the greatest adventure of your life. And they were all there, by your side, every step of the way.

It isn't a 'goodbye' letter, either. Because you aren't going anywhere. Not really. You built this message board, this community with them. You read their thoughts, their feelings and their prophecies. You even debate with them. You have to tell them that you'll be keeping the forum open indefinitely, because you don't want to lose touch with them. It's true, you're taking a risk now, in your career and in life. And what is truly amazing about this is that they not only understand, but they support you. It blows you away. It always will.

It finally occurs to you what it is you are writing. In it's own profound way, this is a love letter. You love them. And they love you. Truly, selflessly, and without agenda. They have understood your dilemma, and stood by you. They have come to see you, from thousands of miles away. They have sent you gifts on birthdays and holidays. They have an investment in you, and your growth, and more than anything you want to thank each one them from the bottom of your heart.

They are the first fans you ever had. And even if you make it out there, even if you have a long and successful career, it will be because of them. To you, they are home .

To my fans,

I love you.

-SC