User:Livelikemusic/Rebecca Budig role

Hayden Barnes is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network. Introduced in March 2015, by executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati, the role is portrayed by Daytime Emmy Award nominee Rebecca Budig. In 2017, Budig exited the role, which her exit described as a "storyline necessity" at press time. In 2019, she returned to the role.

Hayden arrives in Port Charles, claiming to be the long-lost wife of Jason Morgan (Billy Miller) — who has been living under the alias of "Jake Doe". In 2016, she is revealed to be Rachel Berlin, the daughter of Raymond Berlin, the world's most notorious ponzi scheme embezzler on Wall Street.

Casting and creation
In February 2015, Soap Opera Digest announced news that actress Rebecca Budig had been cast in a newly-created "spitfire" role, set to begin filming at the end of the same month. On her casting, Budig told Soap Opera Digest exclusively, "I’ve always loved GH and I love Frank [Valentini, executive producer], so it’s really exciting to get to go over there and play." Budig made her first appearance as Hayden Barnes on March 20, 2015, and exited the soap on May 19, 2015. On her exit, Budig revealed: "I really enjoyed being a part of the cast. It was supposed to only be two weeks and it turned out to be a little bit more, which I was very happy about." In June 2015, Jean Passanante tweeted Budig on Twitter that it was "nice" to write for Budig again, opening up the potential of the actress' return to the soap. On July 31, 2015, it was revealed that Budig was placed on a four-year deal at the soap; she retuned on August 3, 2015. On June 27, 2017, Soap Opera Digest announced that Budig had been let go from the serial, citing her departure as a "storyline necessity". Budig made her final appearance on August 11, 2017, and later made a one-off guest appearance on September 5.

On May 8, 2019, Entertainment Weekly exclusively announced that Budig would return to the role "this summer," though details of her return were unknown at press time. In late June, Entertainment Weekly shared an exclusive first-look at her return and announced that her first scenes were expected to air in "early July." She made her return to the role during the final moments of the July 8, 2019, episode.

Character development
When describing the character, executive producer Frank Valentini described the role as "killer", while head writer Ron Carlivati described the role as a "spitfire". In an interview with Michael Logan of TV Insider, Budig said of her new character, "She's a mystery, even to me." She even made the comparison between Hayden and Greenlee Smythe, the character she portrayed on All My Children, stating: "I do know that she is ballsy and very direct, so there is some similarity between the two girls, but this one is much more out there than Greenlee." Introduced as the presumed long-lost wife of Jason Morgan (Billy Miller) — who has currently been living under the alias of "Jake Doe", Budig says on her arrival: "Well, you will find out about Hayden's motive very soon." When confronted by Logan if Hayden is the real Mrs. John Doe, Budig responded: "Well, I don't know about that. Maybe she is."

Hayden is later found to actually be a con artist, hired by Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst), following their meeting on an online dating website, in a ploy to pull "Jake" away from Ric's ex-wife, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst). During an interview with Kambra Clifford of Soapcentral.com — where Hayden is described as a "scheming seductress" — Budig revealed: "When you play a character for so long [like I did on AMC], you kind of know where she's going and where she's been, her history, but I don't know anything about this character. I don't know her history, I don't know why she's doing what she's doing, so I've sort of had to make that stuff up for myself in my head. [...] "I'm praying the writers will show why she is the way she is at some point. I just feel like, how do you relate to her unless you know why she's doing what she's doing?" Budig also opened up about her romantic pairing with Nikolas Cassadine (Tyler Christopher), a storyline twist she welcomed with "open arms" and one she did not see coming, by stating: "It was such a twist. [..] I love Tyler Christopher. Love him. So I am so excited. Although, they wrote it like Nikolas doesn't want Hayden, but he can't help wanting sex with her, so I don't know how it's going to end."

When Hayden is shot by a hit man hired by Nikolas, Budig revealed she would be open to reprising the role, stating: " I feel like there is more to learn about Hayden and I would love to figure out who she is, where’s she’s coming from, what her whole back-story is."

Storyline
Hayden arrives in Port Charles in March 2015, at the doorstep of Elizabeth Webber (Herbst)'s home, claiming to be the long-lost wife of Jason "Jake Doe" Morgan (Miller), whom she identifies as Jacob Barnes. It is later revealed that Hayden has been hired by Ric Lansing (Hearst), whom she met on an online blind date, to con "Jake" into believing that he is actually Hayden's husband and is provided doctored medical records, photographs and a marriage license by Ric to use as proof of the existence of Jacob Barnes. After being confronted by Elizabeth and Carly Corinthos (Laura Wright) over the validity of her backstory and connection to "Jake" and he refuses to fulfill her sexual desires, she begins an affair with Nikolas Cassadine (Christopher), who is aware that she is not married to "Jake". After investigating Hayden, Carly unveils the truth about the scheme between Hayden and Ric, revealing that the face of "Jake" prior to his reconstructive surgery is an actor Pete, who was paid by Ric to pose as "Jake" prior to his surgery in photographs during the 2015 Nurses' Ball event. Hayden later blackmails Nikolas, revealing she's aware of the true identity of "Jake". When Hayden threatens Nikolas and Elizabeth with revealing to truth of who "Jake" truly is, Nik hires a hit man to silence Hayden. When she confronts "Jake" and Sam Morgan (Kelly Monaco), Hayden is shot in the head, and falls into a coma when the bullet is attempted to be removed at General Hospital by Dr. Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson). In August 2015, Hayden awakens from her comatose state, and claims to have forgotten her memories prior to the accident. Taken in by Nikolas, who does not believe that Hayden is experiencing a lapse in memory, invites Hayden to move into Wyndemere Castle. While living together, sparks between the two ignite, despite Hayden continuing to remember bits of her memory overtime. Overhearing a conversation between Nikolas and his mother, Laura Spencer (Genie Francis), Hayden re-discovers the truth about "Jake" and that Nikolas is one the who had her shot. Hayden also secretly teams up with Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot), with the intention of helping Tracy reclaim ELQ from Nikolas. Hayden later confesses to Nikolas that following her divorce and loss of her job on Wall Street, she had teamed up with Rick to setup Jason. In March 2016, Hayden's true identity was unveiled to be that of Rachel Berlin, daughter of Raymond Berlin, who was imprisoned for a ponzi scheme on Wall Street. When Nikolas threatens to divorce Hayden, she blackmails him into remaining in their marriage. In exchange for her not turning Nikolas into police for having her shot, she demands he sign over all of his shares of ELQ to her.

In July 2019, Hayden makes a surprise return, during the wedding reception for Elizabeth and Franco on The Haunted Star. Upon her return, she is immediately connected to Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher) and is made the CFO of Aurora Media.

Reception
On Budig's casting, Luke Kerr of Daytime Confidential remarked, "Gasp…breathe…deep breath…inhale…exhale…breathe…" and that his "Holy Trinity" of soap opera actresses had been completed. Michael Fairman of On-Air On-Soaps cited Budig's hiring as "big casting news", while editor of TVSource Magazine — Omar White-Nobles — called Budig's casting a "blockbuster casting announcement" for ABC’s Fan February. On her debut as Hayden, Michael Logan of TV Insider remarked, "And where Budig goes, trouble follows!" Of Budig's first scenes on General Hospital, Fairman exclaimed, "Holy Moly! That was quite the entrance on Friday’s episode of General Hospital by Rebecca Budig!" In December 2016, as part of his "Best In Soaps" review, Logan named Budig's portrayal of Hayden as "Best Supporting Actress". He stated: "Budig went from Port Charles pariah to romantic heroine in a fizzy, sexy transformation that’s simply intoxicating."