Basic Hospital’s Dex Heller is the newest character to die a mysterious demise in Port Charles, which implies his portrayer, Evan Hofer, has wrapped his run on the cleaning soap.
Hofer, who joined the solid in 2022, sat down with TV Insider to debate his exit, which he took in stride. “I feel my first response to Frank [Valentini, executive producer] was, ‘Is it cool, like, is it a cool demise?’ ” Hofer recollects. “And he goes, ‘Let me get again to you,’ and I stated, ‘Effectively, that’s not promising!’ However then it ended up, it’s fairly cool.”
Within the story, Dex was stabbed however anticipated to outlive; nonetheless, he went into cardiac arrest. For Hofer, who had beforehand performed out a demise scene within the movie, Run the Race, Dex’s proved to be extra of a problem. “I needed to lay there in that mattress for these large, lengthy monologues [given by other people],” he explains. “Like, Eden [McCoy, who plays Dex’s girlfriend, Josslyn Jacks] had this large, lovely monologue, and I used to be like, ‘I’m going to serve lifeless as greatest as I can to do it for her,’ and I feel at one level, I positively needed to gulp for air.”
Hofer admits he had combined emotions in Dex’s ultimate days. “It was each thrilling and it was unhappy,” he displays. “I actually fell in love with Dex during the last three years. I informed my mother it’s virtually like mourning the lack of a pal. He was such an unimaginable man, and I wished all these great issues for him, and he acquired to expertise a variety of these great issues. It was unhappy, however it’s additionally actually enjoyable to have the ability to play these scenes and do these extremes.”
His ouster got here as a shock to his coworkers, partly as a result of Hofer stored the information below wraps. “I didn’t inform anyone, so a variety of the crew came upon on my second to final day, ’trigger we filmed my demise my second to final day,” he says. “Individuals have been coming as much as me, like, ‘What’s occurring?’ and I used to be like, ‘Don’t fear about it; we’ll discuss on Monday.’ I form of wished to kick the can down the street. I really like everybody there a lot and so saying goodbye to everybody, I knew, was going to tear my coronary heart out.”
That final day, he describes, “was so great. The crew threw me a celebration, a going away factor. My mother introduced cookies for everyone. It was tremendous lovely and simply nice to have the ability to categorical that love for everybody there for making {that a} residence for me for the previous three years.”
Hofer says he’ll take a variety of good reminiscences with him from his time in Port Charles, from his relationship with Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) to his friendship with the late Johnny Wactor (Brando Corbin), who was killed in Los Angeles in Could. “Johnny was my large brother on the present, and from my first day there he was like, ‘You want something, you come to me. You ever wish to hand around in my room, come knock,’ ” Hofer relays. “And did that lots. Took him up on {that a} ton. Even after he left the present, we spent tons of time collectively, at all times acquired dinner and stuff. He was simply such an unimaginable instance of the form of man that I wish to develop into.”
On this farewell video above, Hofer shares the highlights of his Port Charles keep, who he wished to work with extra, how he ready for Dex’s stabbing, and a lot extra.
As for what’s subsequent, he teases, “Enjoyable stuff within the works; keep tuned.” And if one other cleaning soap reaches out, he’s open to taking the decision. “If the proper position and the proper story got here alongside, completely,” concludes Hofer.
Basic Hospital, Weekdays, ABC