GH’s Donnell Turner Shares His Battle Against Stereotypes

Since playing the lead in church plays as a young child in Chicago, Donnell Turner has cherished the art of acting. He is classically trained, has spent years honing his craft, and is particularly aware of how African Americans are portrayed in the media and on screen as a result of being one.

Donnell Turner: Creating Awareness From Within

At a recent Zoom event organized by Coastal Entertainment, Turner pleasantly surprised the audience by sharing some behind-the-scenes tales about how a meeting with the writers in 2021 altered the course of not only his character, Curtis Ashford, but also the African-American families represented on General Hospital. He was worried about coming off as stereotypical.

“Anybody can come in here and yell and be a stereotype,” he said. When I had an hour-long meeting with the writers and the producers, “one of the main points of interest I had was to be careful about how you write for the characters that you don’t have many of.”

He continued by outlining how he presented his argument to the writers. There were 42 actors total, and six of them were black at the time. Well, those six stereotypes are untrue. We can move forward if we first establish a nuclear family. Turner created the backdrop for the Robinson and Ashford storylines. “However, there were no nuclear families, no black homeowners, and no leadership at the time. It was always wildly clever or visceral, and Curtis was not regarded as intelligent or skilled.

Turner gave the example of how Stella Henry’s character was written. Although Vernee Watson is a fantastic actor, she was recognized for yelling. Directly addressing the audience was the actor.

” Directly addressing the audience was the actor. Do you recall all the screaming she was doing? She came in and scolded Jordan and me for two years while winning two Emmys.

The actor, who just graduated from film school, bravely took on the establishment to level the playing field. “I challenged the writers to think a little differently and write in a manner that can be comparable to the way they write for others,” Turner acknowledged. In other words, perhaps we should get rid of some stereotypes. We are capable of handling issues diplomatically and clearly.

Turner is overjoyed with the outcomes, despite the fact that speaking your truth can occasionally be frightening. “I’m glad the authors understood what I was saying. They have altered things. He listed the improvements that have been made in detail. “They transferred ownership to Curtis. They provided us with a house. We now have a nuclear family from them. They didn’t have any Black father figures, I told them. My father is a gift from them. Therefore, a lot has changed since I challenged the writers in February 2021.