Giovanni Mazza discussed how he approached the scenes where Dante let Gio have it, and what lies beneath all the hard feelings.

General Hospital star Giovanni Mazza talked about the dynamic that he and Dominic Zamprogna have developed on set.

Poor Gio has been through the wringer lately on General Hospital. Learning that Dante and Brook Lynn were his parents has turned his life inside out, and he doesn’t feel he can trust anyone anymore. To top it off, before the reveal, Dante gave Gio a verbal thrashing when he thought the young violinist had a hand in Rocco’s accidental alcohol overdose. Giovanni Mazza, who plays Gio with aplomb, recently opened up about this major storyline. He particularly honed in on Gio’s relationship with Dante.

Gio Wants His Power Back

Mazza sat down with Soap Opera Digest and expressed his happiness at having such a juicy storyline. “I’m really excited to explore sort of a dysfunctional father and son relationship,” he remarked. He noted that while he and his real-life father have a great relationship, this story is a good excuse to dive into an unhealthy one.

The actor expressed his excitement at watching Gio and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) build their relationship. However, there’s one stumbling block: Dante verbally thrashed Gio, and the subsequent relationship reveal didn’t minimize the damage. “I think Gio feels like Dante took away his power [in the aftermath of Rocco’s hospitalization] and he’s sort of trying to get his power back,” he stated.

He Loved Every Minute of It

According to Mazza, the dynamic between Gio and Dante is going to be stressed to the breaking point. He rhetorically asked which character would be the first to do so. However, he suspected that there would be an eventual reconciliation, remarking, “I think at the end of the day, there is a certain feeling of love underneath all of it…It just has a different way of expressing itself.”

He stated that he truly enjoyed the scenes where Dante and Gio had it out, calling it, “one of the most fun acting experiences of my life!” Mazza liked that Zamprogna’s performance was very genuine, which allowed him to reciprocate with his own genuine response. The personal nature of their altercation made it feel almost like the characters were going to war. And it looks like things are going to get worse before they get better for the newly minted father and son.