This is an article from EPISODES May/June 1992
Article about Gerald Hopkins/Steve Burton as Quartermaine brothers.

ON COMMON GROUND

Their characters look alike, sound alike, and share one of soapdom's most famous names, Quartermaine. You'd think the similarities stopped there. But, for actors Gerald Hopkins, who plays General Hospital's A.J.., Alan and Monica's grown-up problem child, and Steve Burton, A.J.'s level headed half-brother Jason, these real-live guys have enough in common to be, well, brothers.

Take a look at their personal histories: Gerald is the oldest of three brothers. Ditto for Steve, though he was an only child for nine years until two young stepbrothers joined the family. Both guys love the water. Normally, it's tough to get Steve, who's from Cleveland, out of bed before the crack of noon, but when the waves are good, he's on his surfboard before the sun even rises. Gerald practically grew up in the water. His boyhood home is Biloxi, Mississippi, is a stone's throw from the beach.

Another similarity: In school, both guys were class clowns. "But I was sort of a sophisticated clown," adds Gerald, "a 'Dennis Miller'-style cut-up."

Finally, far from setting out to take the acting world by storm, these two guys had to be begged, bribed and practically dragged kicking and screaming to set foot on a stage.

"My first and only play was Romeo and Juliet during my senior year of high school," says Steve. "I really didn't want to do it, but the drama teacher talked me into it."

You guessed it-Steve was Romeo. And, by opening night, the once reluctant Romeo was in love with acting. "I wish I could do it over again," he says. "I was only 17, so I didn't really go headfirst. It was like, 'Okay, fine, I'll do the lead.' "

Similarly, Gerald was drafted by a bunch of his buddies to audition for a singing part in their school's production of The Hobbit. "Except for singing in the car, my friends had never heard me sing," Gerald says. "They just thought I could do it."

When comparing the off-screen similarities of these onscreen brothers, one amazing coincidence overshadows all others: The most embarrassing moments of their youth sound an awful lot alike.

"In ninth grade, I was goalie for my school's soccer team," remembers Steve. "I wore gloves, a long shirt, cleats, and shorts. But, one day, I forgot to wear my shorts. My goalie shirt went down to my knees, so I didn't notice until I got out to the fild-almost a mile from the locker room."

Gerald's embarrassing experience took place on the beach in Biloxi. Picture the scene: His high school buddies throw a huge toga party. Full of joie de vivre, the toga-clad guys run down the beach singing the theme song from Batman. After a sudden surge of wind, Gerald remembers that he, too, neglected to completely dress for the part!

Now it's ironic that, with all their real-life similarities to each other, Gerald and Steve are quite different from their characters.

"A.J. thinks mostly about himself, what he can do to get ahead," says Gerald. "My father taught me to put myself in someone else's shoes, to stop and think about what another person takes home with him every day."

And, interestingly enough, though the character A.J. thinks that being a doctor is for the birds, the actor, Gerald, graduated from Millsaps College in Jackson, Mississippi, with a B.S. degree in chemistry. Before committing to acting, he was pre-med!

"I love science," he says. "I was thinking about becoming a surgeon."

Steve, who classifies Jason's relationship with A.J. as "this Cain and Abel thing" (half-brother A.J. calls Jason "the bastard son"), plays a straight-and-narrow type who wants nothing more than to follow in his dad's footsteps and become a doctor. In Steve's real life, however, who had time for medical school? Steve graduated straight from high school to TV, with a role on the comedy Out of This World.

Born in Indianapolis, Steve grew up in Cleveland, moved to Chicago, then landed in L.A. at the ripe old age of 16. "All totaled, I went to five different high schools," he says. The last one? None other than Beverly Hills High.

"From Cleveland to Beverly Hills High was quite a shock," says Steve, who now lives in Beverly Hills apartment building his dad manages. "The kids in my school out here were so different. They drove BMW's at 16 and wore Rolexes. Where do you go from there?"

Television, of course. And that's exactly what he did. So what made this kid from the Midwest think he could make it in show biz?

"I didn't know any better," he says with a laugh.

Not knowing any better didn't hurt his on-screen brother either. In fact, Gerald Hopkins's first show-biz audition is one for the record books.

"They were casting a ShowTime movie called Uncle Tom's Cabin in New Orleans," Gerald remembers. "The part was a 14-year-old boy, so they immediately dismissed anyone who looked older. I was older, so they told me to go, but I wouldn't leave. I said, 'I drove an hour and a half. I've come all the way out here-I'm going to read for somebody.' "

They let him read. Gerald dazzled them so much, they rewrote the part to suit his age. This gutsy guy was on his way. "I don't like to see people get walked over, no matter it it's me or somebody else," he says, matter of factly. "I like to see everyone get their fair share."

Especially if it involves ribbing. No that Gerald and Steve are official members of the Quartermaine clan, they both admit to getting (and giving) their fair share of teasing from coworkers on the GH set.

"Everyone in the Quartermaine family pics on everyone else," says Gerald. "Just like a regular family."

By: Mary Hogan