When Maxwell Caulfield dropped by to tape a one-episode appearance on “General Hospital,” which aired on Friday, May 29, the “The Colbys” and “Dynasty” actor met one of his biggest fans, Chris L. McKenna, who plays Jack Brennan on the long-running series.
Details of the encounter were shared by McKenna in a post on X (formerly Twitter), which included a photo of himself posing with Caulfield in the hallway of the show’s studio.
“The true story is- I was in the makeup chair and saw Ava, Alexis, and some guy I didn’t know doing a scene on the monitor,” said McKenna. “I heard the guy say one line and I stopped, turned around, curious, (because it was clear that was an experienced actor from just a few words) and said ‘Who’s playing the maitre’d? He’s a good actor.’ Some one said, ‘You ever see ‘Empire Records’?’ And I jumped out of my chair- ‘That’s Maxwell Caulfield?!’ And I ran to go meet him.”
Caulfield, who was taping scenes alongside actors Maura West (Ava Jerome) and Nancy Lee Grahn (Alexis Davis), played the role of Rex Manning in the cult classic film “Empire Records,” which follows a chaotic 24 hours in which a group of young employees at the independent Empire Records store face growing up, a corporate buyout, and an appearance by the washed-up pop heartthrob (Rex Manning), who visits the store to promote his single “No Say No More (Mon Amour)”.
Fans of the 1995 film continue to celebrate the film on April 8 each year, which has been dubbed “Rex Manning Day.”
@ChrisLMcKenna/X
“I was so excited I nearly assaulted him and then texted this to all my high school friends,” said McKenna, referring to the photo of him with Caulfield.
In a follow-up post, McKenna commented, “Um, he’s talking about me and I am BLUSHING…,” in response to a statement made by Caulfield in an interview with TV Insider discussing his appearance on the soap opera, where he mentioned meeting one of the show’s current cast members, later revealed to be McKenna.
“I passed one of the handsomest guys on the show in the corridor. We didn’t exchange names, but I said, ‘Oh, well, there’s a certified soap hunk,’ — 6’3”, square jaw, the rest of it — and as I was leaving, he was one of the guys who insisted that we get photographed together,” Caulfield noted, adding, “He said, ‘Come on, Rex Manning. I gotta get a shot with Rex.’”
Caulfield first made a name for himself as an actor in 1980, when he landed a small role on the soap opera “Ryan’s Hope.” He later starred in “Grease 2,” a sequel to the smash-hit film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Caulfield played Michael opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Stephanie, the Danny-and-Sandy-type character.
By 1985, Caulfield had become a household name, portraying Miles Colby on the primetime soap “Dynasty” and its spinoff, “The Colbys,” the latter of which featured the likes of Charlton Heston (“The Ten Commandments,” “Ben-Hur”), John James (Tom Bergman, “Search for Tomorrow”), Katharine Ross, Emma Samms (Holly Sutton, “General Hospital”), Ricardo Montalban (“Fantasy Island”), Stephanie Beacham, Tracy Scoggins and Claire Yarlett, among others.
Following the cancellation of “The Colbys” in 1987, Caulfield landed several feature film and TV roles, including the aforementioned “Empire Records,” and a role on “All My Children,” where he portrayed Pierce Riley from 1996-1997. The actor also appeared in several British soaps over the years, playing Jim Brodie from 2003-2004 on both “Casualty” and “Holby City,” and playing Mark Wylde on “Emmerdale” from 2009-2010.
Though his role on “General Hospital” was set to be a one-off, Caulfield welcomes the chance to return, telling TV Insider, “I got great treatment over there.” He added, “I certainly felt a lot of love and respect. It was a lovely affirmation from Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and the guys over at ABC. I had just a little taste of what it’s like to be on ‘GH,’ and it was very gratifying.”
