‘General Hospital’ Star Giovanni Mazza on What Comes Next for Gio

“General Hospital” fans have watched for weeks now as Gio Palmieri’s life has been completely turned upside down after learning that he has been living under the same roof as his birth parents, Brook Lynn Quartermaine (played by Amanda Setton) and Dante Falconeri (played by Dominic Zamprogna).

As the character is left to sift through decades of lies to uncover who he really is, Gio’s portrayer, Giovanni Mazza, sat for a new interview with Soap Opera Digest to discuss what comes next.

Giovanni Mazza Says That His Character Is Seeking ‘Truth’

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Gio found out that he was adopted in quite possibly the worst way possible, by overhearing a heated conversation, and hasn’t been the same since. Immediately after learning that Brook Lynn and Date were his biological parents, he took the stage at the Nurse’s Ball, and rather than playing his violin, he smashed it into pieces after sharing his parentage with everyone in the room.

Since then, Gio has had precious little to do with anyone in his immediate family. “I think right now, Gio is seeking the truth, the honest truth, which is something that Emma, Sonny and Lulu have brought to him,” Mazza tells Soap Opera Digest.

“Lulu is the reason that he even knows who he is, knows who his parents are, and he’s appreciative that she did that. He feels like, ‘There’s no way that I could live without knowing, and I would much rather know the truth than live in ignorant bliss, even though I was a lot happier.’ Lulu brought that [truth] to him, and so he feels like she’s an ally,” explains Mazza.

That’s a win for the actor because it means working closely with Alexa Havins, who portrays Lulu Spencer. “I think it’s awesome, because I love working with Alexa! I think she’s such a talented human being, and she’s sort of like the person that I want to be when I’m older. She has such a beautiful family. She takes her kids to the beach and enjoys her days, and I feel like that’s just how I want to be as a parent and as an adult. And then in scenes, she’s just amazing. It’s really exciting because what Gio wants — not to bash his family — is to create a new, chosen family. A support system, like an inner circle that he can rely on, and who can rely on him. And I think Lulu is starting to seep her way into Gio’s new chosen family.”

Giovanni Mazza Says That Trust Is Tricky for His Character

One of the very few people that Gio trusts now is Sonny Corinthos (played by Maurice Bernard). “Sonny didn’t know he was Gio’s grandfather, and still, he always loved me, he always cared, he always gave so much to me. Mo and I have had some killer scenes together, and the last thing we shot [which has yet to air] is probably one of my favorite scenes that I’ve ever done. Sonny has become a very important person in Gio’s life because he’s like the one person in his family, his blood family, that he can count on. I think when everybody else is sort of out of sight, out of mind, Sonny is the one person who is there, who stays and continues to care about Gio as if nothing happened,” Mazza tells Soap Opera Digest.

One person who is not at all welcome in Gio’s life right now is his grandmother, Lois Cerullo (played by Rena Sofer), who orchestrated his adoption. “They had a bond, and now he feels like it wasn’t authentic,” Mazza says. “Gio feels like, ‘The whole thing was a lie!’

The actor is rooting for a reunion between the characters, though. “Rena Sofer is like my best friend. When I first moved out to L.A., she lived a block away from me, which was insane, and it made me feel like I had some community here. She really cares, and she is so much fun to be around. She really does feel like family, and doing scenes with her just feels so real.”