For the first time since 2001 when The Bold and the Beautiful accomplished the feat, one soap took home both the Younger Actor and Younger Actress trophies. For the second time in two years, General Hospital's Bryan Craig won for his portrayal of Morgan Corinthos. Craig is no longer with GH -- his character was presumed dead in an explosion last year -- but the actor admits that he thinks about reprising the role.
"Yeah, I miss Morgan. I miss working with Maurice [Benard, Sonny Corinthos] a lot. And Laura [Wright, Carly Corinthos] and Chad [Duell, Michael Corinthos] and all of them," Craig explained. "I'm not going to say a return is not possible. I'm willing. I think they would be willing. We would just have to work things out. But we'll see what happens."
While Craig was understandably excited about his Emmy win, there was something else that was nearly as exciting: about three dozen dogs that were on stage to greet him as he accepted his Emmy.
"When they said my category, I was like, "Yes!" I really wanted to win when all the dogs [from DaphneyLand Basset Rescue] were out there. I know that's silly, but I love dogs. And I think I touched every Basset Hound that went by me! And they barking in the middle [of my speech]. But I didn't mind. It was great. It was a great experience. If I have a few more drinks, I might end up going home with one! [Laughs]"
Prior to the start of the Emmy ceremony, Craig received a text from a former costar that left him a bit puzzled.
"Maura West [Ava Jerome] actually texted me before the thing. She said, 'I hope you get bookends,' and I didn't know what that meant, so I had to look it up, and now I've been hearing it all night."
Lexi Ainsworth looked stunning in her Emmy outfit -- complete with a dramatic, albeit long, train. There was only one unanticipated drawback to the frock.
"I was freaking out. I just wanted to run up there [when they called my name], but obviously I couldn't. I'm a little restricted! But it was a great feeling. Especially because my mom and dad are here tonight. As I said in my speech, they have really given up a lot for me to do this, and they're the most supportive parents that I could ever ask for, so it was really great to kind of show them that I've... [she breaks down in emotional tears]."
After regaining her composure, Ainsworth talked about the importance of the material in her Emmy reel -- her on-screen alter ego struggles to understand the feelings that she has for another woman.
"I'm really happy it was this storyline, because I think it's an important one. And I have to thank the writers and Frank [Valentini, our executive producer] for giving me that storyline. And it just shows, I think, we've come a long way. We still have a lot further to go, but I think it's great that people are starting to warm up to people that are different than them and people that might not understand... It's just about loving everyone, no matter who you are, what your sexuality is, what skin color you are. And I think that I'm really proud of this."
Ainsworth is the first General Hospital actress to win in this category since Sarah Brown won for her work as Carly Roberts in 1998.
