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Since her beloved Spencer Cassadine was presumed dead back in January, General Hospital‘s Trina Robinson has, understandably, been without a love interest. And while her affiliation with star quarterback Kai Taylor is still very new, he does appear poised to be the next man to capture her romantic attention. Soap Opera Digest checked in with Tabyana Ali, Trina’s portrayer, about her new scene partner, Jens Austin Astrup (Kai), and how Trina’s opinion of Kai is beginning to evolve.
Soap Opera Digest: How did you find out that the show was bringing on a new guy for you to work with?
Tabyana Ali: Well, I was part of the process. Mr. Frank [Valentini, executive producer] let me know that long before [Astrup was cast], that there was going to be a process to find a new love interest. I was like, “Oh, great, fantastic.” And they brought in a group of guys; there was about 11 of them, and I got to audition with all of them and then I got to pick the ones that I felt very connected with and then we narrowed it down to five and then they were able to do the screen-testing, and I worked with them on that. And then we picked our one, and it ended up being Jens. I’m actually really happy that it was him! It was between him and another guy, and fortunately, the other guy [Jequan Jackson, who appeared as Kai’s friend Quinn] got to be on the show as well! I thought that was so cool, that they brought him back. But Jens has been great and I really do appreciate him as a person. He’s awesome.
Digest: What was your impression of Jens during the testing process, and what made you feel like he was a strong contender?
Ali: He has the soft edge to him, something unique. Just the way that he was standing and the way that he was speaking, he seemed like a people person and had a really nice, charming way about him. I think that’s what everybody liked about him — there was just something to him, a specialness. He just had something that people really liked and enjoyed.
Digest: How did you feel about the show introducing a new guy into Trina’s life? Were you nervous? Excited?
Ali: I was keeping everything open. I don’t know if I was necessarily excited or nervous about it during the auditioning process; I was just kind of curious to see who and what and where this is going to go. I try to just have an open mind about it all.
Digest: When I interviewed Jens, he told me not only how much he appreciated the support that he got from you during the audition process, but that you went to see him in the play he was doing at the time, Cyrano de Bergerac. How did that come about?
Ali: Oh! I was coming off the set with Gio [Mazza, Gio] and we saw him in the hallways and were just kind of chatting and talking and he let me know that he was in a play. And then Gio and I were like, “We’re gonna go see it!” And he was like, “No, no, you don’t have to see it.” And we were like, “Yes, we do! We wanna see it!” So Gio and I bought tickets and went to see it and it was great! He did such a fantastic job.
Digest: Another thing Jens said to me is that he feels Trina’s view of Kai is very important to him. And I have to say — I liked that! Because the fans have so much admiration for Trina, I think that his respect for her and her opinion of him is a good set-up to a potential romance, because as viewers, we need to believe that whoever the next guy in her life is is good enough for her.
Ali: Yeah, I completely agree with that. I think the thing that Trina does with him is not treat him like he’s a D1 football player of the PCU Tigers, you know? She treats him like a normal person, and from the jump, as soon as she found out that he did some wrong [where their class assignment was concerned], she didn’t sweep it under the rug and say, “Oh, it’s okay. He’s a quarterback!” She held him accountable.
Digest: How would you describe Jens as a collaborator and scene partner?
Ali: He’s very attentive, a very good listener, a very good communicator. He asks a lot of questions. He’s open to receiving feedback. Also, we just bounce ideas off of each other, you know? If he’s feeling something, he’ll share with me. If I’m feeling something, I’ll share it with him. He makes space for me to speak on my ideas, and I try to do the same for him. Hopefully, I am doing that for him! And I think that just as people, when you find somebody that you can connect with and vibe with, that’s a really great thing and it’s a plus.
Digest: In the episode that aired today [Tuesday, December 10], Trina was caught off-guard when Kai came through with the goods for their shared art history project. How does this start to shift the way that she’s been perceiving him?
Ali: I think she starts to realize that she was putting preconceived notions on him in some ways. Ultimately, I think it’s going to weigh on her or make her feel a little guilty, like, “Oh, maybe I shouldn’t have made this [judgment] when I don’t even really know this guy and he really is a hard-working person. Obviously, I can see that he can do the work and put in the time and the effort.” I think there were multiple layers to what Trina was feeling. Yes, Kai was not being a good student or a good partner to Trina, but I also think Trina was protecting herself in some ways, trying not to get hurt again. Not that she was feeling like she liked Kai automatically off the bat, but I think it was just [a subconscious desire] to not want to get close to people like that — people that are new, you know? She doesn’t want to make a bond with someone new yet. And I think Kai doing this little bit to show her that he’s willing to put in some effort, I think it opens her mind a little bit to different possibilities, regardless if it’s a relationship or a friendship.
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