‘General Hospital’s Alimi Ballard Teases That Agent Baines ‘May Surprise You’

Stephanie Sloane Thu, September 3, 2026 at 10:30 PM UTC

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Alimi Ballard, Eden McCoy - 'General Hospital' - Disney/Christine Bartolucci

After saying goodbye to daytime in 1996, Alimi Ballard is back — and he’s discovering that a lot can change in three decades.

The actor made his debut as WSB Agent William Baines on the Thursday, September 3 episode of General Hospital, returning to the soap world 30 years after breaking into show business as Frankie Hubbard on Loving in 1993.

Ballard had just completed his first-ever cross-country road trip from California to Atlanta with his family when the audition came in — back in Los Angeles. When he heard which show was calling, he knew he had to fly home. “GH is legendary, so I booked a ticket to land in the morning and come back to Atlanta in the evening,” he shares.

Disney/Christine Bartolucci

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As it turned out, the flight west was delayed, but Ballard made it to the studio, where he was met by casting director Mark Teschner. “He just set my soul at peace with his spirit,” Ballard recalls. “He is legendary in the respect of how actors and artists speak about him, but it’s not hyperbole. He really helps to curate an environment for excellence. So, it just settled me, and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m so ready to get in this room. Open this door. Let’s go.’ And that’s the energy of the character Baines.”

Ballard booked the role, then realized just how perfectly the timing lined up. “It’s such a mind trip to see how the world turns,” he reflects. “My contract was done with The City in August 1996, and this job would be starting August of 2026. There was something about that that just felt like, ‘I have to go for this.’”

Once he got his scripts, Ballard was forced to face the reality of how the genre has changed, so stepping back onto a soap set meant adjusting to a different reality. “I was frightened,” he admits. “There was one hundred percent trepidation and a thousand percent speed increase.”

Luckily, his good pal Laura Wright (Carly Spencer, who played Ally Rescott on Loving/The City) was there to help. “She’s just all of that and a bag of chips,” he praises. “The funniest conversations occurred with Laura and me. I’m like, ‘What is going on here, Laura?’ And she’s like, ‘Alimi, it’s faster. I told you this. It’s easy. Calm down.’ I said, ‘You’ve got to be kidding me. You do 105 pages in one day?’ She said, ‘Yes, we do. Sometimes less, sometimes more.’ These numbers are freakishly scary, and the pace blew me off my seat. In episodic television, you do six to eight pages a day, and that’s a good day on CSI or Law & Order. This is like theater. You have to be ready on ‘Action!’ to deliver the whole emotional weight of the material they’ve written. The first day, I was panicked. It was absolute panic.”

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It didn’t take long for Ballard to find his rhythm. “It definitely got easier,” he reports. “Memorizing 16 scenes right now is a lot easier than it was a month ago. But after the first day I was like, ‘There’s a lot to learn. I’m gonna prep my ass off and pay attention.’ Every production does it differently, whether you’re working for Shondaland or on NCIS or CSI or Law & Order, especially legendary productions that have been around for a while. They really have a system, and it would be smart to see how they do it and get on board. So, I’ve made a lot of friends now. I bring doughnuts; I bribe people. The security lady joked with me one time when I was going to lunch, and said, ‘OK, bring me back something.’ And I was like, ‘She has no idea what she just did.’ Now she gets fresh cookies and stuff like that. You can show people that you’re excited to be here, and you look forward to working with them without having to say a lot. Actions very often are better than even the words.”

Joining the cast rather than appearing as a guest star comes with its own rewards, Ballard notes. “It feels great,” he says. “I’ve been blessed to have a lot of series regular work over the 30 years. What a gift to me, and to come here and be welcomed so warmly feels wonderful. I’ve been in environments where it’s not as wonderful, so I personally thank Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and Mark [Teschner] and as many people as I can. I understand what it takes to curate a warm environment for people, and it’s a beautiful thing to be welcomed where they’re like, ‘Come and play with us. Show up with your best. We’re here for it.’”

Robert Milazzo /Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

It’s a perspective Ballard has gained in the three decades since leaving daytime. As he looks back on his first soap experience now, Ballard can’t believe how much time has passed. “I could be Frankie Hubbard’s father,” he marvels. “That’s the strangest thing. The roles I was blessed enough to do at the beginning of my career, I am chronologically that person’s father in every sense of the word.”

Despite the passage of time, the memories of those early days remain remarkably vivid. “I remember the screen test,” he lists. “I remember meeting Debbi Morgan [Angie Hubbard] for the first time. I have my original press photo shoots that we did on 65th Street, right across from Lincoln Center. It’s funny that the memories come up so vividly in this moment.”

And the soap audience is always there to remind him. “I was in Atlanta at Trader Joe’s, and an older lady stopped me and said, ‘You’re Frankie Hubbard, aren’t you?’” he says. “I’m like, ‘I’m his dad. How can you see that?’ And she said, ‘You look the same. I see you. What are you doing in Atlanta?’ In my mind, I look so different.”

Disney/Christine Bartolucci

As far as what to expect from Agent Baines, who arrived in town to investigate the disappearance of Jack Brennan (Chris McKenna) and keep an eye on new agent Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy), Ballard says, “Don’t judge him on those first couple of minutes. Grade him on a curve. He may surprise you.”

Ballard can’t express how much being back in the genre that gave him his big break means to him. “I get emotional,” he says. “I don’t have the right word for what it feels like, but it feels special, and I feel profoundly grateful to be here, period.”

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Source: “AOL Entertainment”