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Soaps In Depth, Oct. 28, 2003

On The Bright Side

If there's one thing Cynthia Preston is not, it's her GENERAL HOSPITAL character, Faith! Unlike the amoral lady mobster, her portrayer doesn't pack a pistol, have a fishnet fixation or own a ring that's equipped with a secret compartment for poison. However, they do share one trait, and it's an important one: They've both got chutzpah.

A Positive Number
While Faith divides her time between murder, mayhem and manipulation, Preston accentuates the positive. In fact, her playful sense of humor lights up any room that she enters. "I would rather put my energy [into being productive]," she says. "Like when I was a kid, I wanted to be a boy. Well, sorry, that's never going to happen. So let's focus on something that's going to be effective!"

Although Preston has hit a couple of major speed bumps in her life, she chose not to let them break her stride. First, a car accident left her near death. Even after she pulled through, and doctors were certain she would never walk again, the patient saw the situation merely as a transition. "Except it wasn't that conscious," she clarifies. "It was very innate. The positive attitude is really something that is in my nature that I can't take credit for."

Life Lessons
Many years after the accident, Preston was in a relationship that turned very bad, very quickly. Unable to shake the fears that it created, she went into therapy for seven months. "The experience gave me so much empathy for what people go through," she admits. But it wasn't until a friend turned her on to The Forum by Landmark Education, a course on how to live better, did she really release her fears. "At first, I was resistant to doing it. I was healing so well on my own that I didn't want anyone else to get the credit. Then I realized that was ridiculous. If there was any benefit to doing this at all, how dare I be so petty?

"I am very positive by nature, but my life is so great due largely to what I learned there," she continues. "I learned how to communicate, how to understand myself and others. It really affected the quality of my relationships, the confidence with which I conduct my life, my level of productivity and the degree to which I enjoy life. It really made an impact."

After four courses, Preston walked away with a renewed desire to regain control of her life. "I didn't want to become a Mooney about it," she laughs. "So I took a certain number of courses and then let it sort of permeate. It's astounding what can happen if you set your mind to it."

Dark Lady
All these years later, Preston continues to find the purpose in everything that happens. For instance, she naturally was bummed when she didn't get the GH roles of Kristina or Summer. But lo and behold, the character of Faith was created for her! "People have written in and said, 'How can you play someone that would kill their own grandmother? Doesn't it bother you?'" she relates. "But it's my job to portray human experiences. There are people out there that do things that aren't nice, that are hurtful... and I'm portraying one of them.

"But," she adds, "the writers are so smart. They give me the opportunity to reveal more about her, show her in situations where her walls come down. There are people like Faith who are reacting to traumatic experiences that have distorted their view on life. This is how they survive." Leave it to an actress with Preston's understanding to conjure up empathy even for the she-devil.