Bradford Anderson and Steve Burton, hosts of The Daily Drama Podcast — brought to you by DailyDrama.com — welcomed journeyman actor Carlo Rota for his first interview since debuting as General Hospital‘s latest Big Bad.

Carlo Rota, Welcome To The Daily Drama Podcast

It turns out that Rota’s lived a life fit for a soap opera. As he explained to the hosts, prior to getting his start in the acting biz, he had “actually, a pretty solid career in the restaurant business. [My family] owned three or four different restaurants in Toronto. I’d been in the restaurant business for a while. I was in my early thirties and something happened one day — it was maybe because I was working primarily with my family and, as much as I love them, working in the restaurant business is already chaos and then when you work with family, it’s like chaos squared — one day I woke up and went, I can’t do this anymore.”

So, he took a class taught by a Michael Shurtliff (a former casting agent from the City of Angels), caught the bug, and soon found himself scoring gigs including hosting “a gastronomical show…it was a food show where I would tour Canada. It was like the Murder, She Wrote of food. Wherever I went, food happened.”

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Via a combustible combination of luck and tenacity (and, yeah, a bit of innate talent) Rota was soon on the road to L.A. and booking a multitude of shows…usually as the no-good, very bad, very bald baddie. Attribute it to baldisim. That’s right! BALDISIM. Argues Rota: “If you’re bald, if you have facial hair and an accent you’re basically a villain.”

But goods loss is most certainly GH’s gain — and Rota has a big fan in Burton who enthused that working with his new screen partner (yes, that’s a bit of a spoiler – SHHHH!) has been “so much fun. This guy is awesome…There’s something special [he’s] bringing to the show. Seriously!”

For Rota’s part, the feeling is mutual. And he’s been having a blast blasting away lackeys and psychologically torturing Jonathan Jackson’s Lucky and one-upping Emma Samm’s Holly.

Relays the man himself: “I’m having the best time. This was a totally random thing. I auditioned for a role in last October, and that didn’t work out. Then, out of the blue, a couple of months ago, my manager tells me, ‘I got an offer for you [from] General Hospital.’ I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s…that took a long time.’ And it’s not the same part.

“And I had never done any daytime, so I had to be talked through it, the various energies, the pace the budget. But the welcoming that I have received from various people — Mark and Lisa in casting Frank [Valentini], of course, who’s the big cheese, and you [two] lovely people…Emma and Jonathan. I’m having a lot of fun doing it.”

The latest installment of the Daily Drama Podcast is a rollicking good time. But don’t just take out word for it. Check it out in full, then take to the comments section and share your thoughts. And afterward, why not give Daily Drama’s brand-new app a try? It’s got Burton’s and Anderson’s seal of approval after all.

Show Notes:
Introduction – 0:12
Baldisim – 0:20
Daddy Warbucks – 2:09
High Praise – 3:26
Settling In And Tricks Of His Trade – 6:52
SUPER Late To The Party – 9:45
The Possesser Of ‘Exceptional Ability’ – 14:58
Mother(In-Law) Knows Best – 23:10
Wrapping Up – 25:45

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