How to Convincingly Slap Your Costar

Laura Wright recently slapped someone; but she totally had her reasons! You see, she’d just discovered that her presumed-dead husband was living in another town and suffering from amnesia, and a woman she knew fell in love with him and neglected to tell her about the affair. 

“That kind of betrayal just shouldn’t happen!” Wright says. 

Mind you, she’s referring to Carly Corinthos, the character she’s played on ABC’s “General Hospital” since 2005. Over the past 20 years, which included stints on daytime soaps like ABC’s “Loving” and CBS’ “Guiding Light”—Wright has slapped more people than she can count. There’s even a YouTube compilation of Carly’s greatest hits. So it’s safe to say Wright is an expert on the subject—and she has some thoughts.

The actor stresses that she doesn’t condone violence in real life. A few exceptions aside, she also doesn’t want the onscreen slap to be considered an over-the-top joke. “We take our scenes extremely seriously and don’t want the smacks to take away from the work we’re doing,” she says. “So we want them to be justified. They usually come when there’s high emotion or crying, or when something upsetting has happened.” 

The TV smack has evolved over the years. Back when Wright was starring on “Loving” in the early ’90s, she would make physical contact with her costars’ faces, hitting them on the “fatty part of the cheek.” Now, thanks to modern technology, she can pull it off by simply waving her hand in the air. “It’s all about the camera angle,” she says. “You really have to sell it.” Here, Wright breaks down the art of the slap.  

Is there a lot of rehearsal required? 

Not a lot. We’ll stand there, and I’m like, “Let’s practice it four or five times.” If I’m having an argument scene before I smack someone, I’ll tell the person to stop coming so close to my face, because I want to make sure I can do it without actually hitting them. There’s always a stunt coordinator on set to make sure nobody gets hurt; they’ll always say, “You can miss them by a mile, and it will still look great.”

Can you break down your technique? 

You need a good wind-up, like you’re coming right at them. I try to come up high with my hand, like I’m hitting them near the eye area and I’m going to smack their nose. The stunt coordinator has told me that it looks more realistic on camera. I also try to leave anywhere from six to 12 inches between my fingertips and the person’s cheek. 

How do you prepare for the reaction of the other actor?

There is actually way more pressure on the person taking the hit, because you have to be emotional to sell the reaction. If you know it’s coming and you don’t turn your head at the proper time, the whole thing looks off. No one just stands there in real life after getting slapped, right? 

Has a slap ever gone wrong? 

No. But I do remember one time when I was working with Michael Weatherly on “Loving,” and I was mad at his character and had to hit him. I think we must have done the scene, like, 10 times. And even though I was only hitting the fatty part of the cheek with the tips of my fingers, his face was starting to get pink. We couldn’t stop laughing about it! He was like, “Is this some kind of joke? Who paid her to do this?” I’m so sorry, Michael! 

What’s it like to watch the slap with sound effects added? 

Yeah, they add the sound in postproduction. Back [in the early ’90s], it was pretty loud. Now, it doesn’t sound so ridiculous. Every part of the technology is perfected, so it sounds like a proper slap. 

In your expert opinion, who’s the best TV slapper of all time? 

Jennifer Garner in “Alias.” She was amazing! I was obsessed. As far as daytime goes, I think Carly for sure. 

How do you feel about the fact that your name has become synonymous with a good slap? 

I will say that, in this day and age, we don’t do a lot of hitting anymore—especially woman to woman. Girl power is a big thing to a lot of people. I personally don’t have a problem with it, but I need it to be warranted and for the scene to be well-structured. We have a lot of strong female characters on “General Hospital”; so I know that if I’m going to smack someone, I’ll get smacked right back. 

Is it cathartic, in a way? 

Everybody wants Carly to be their best friend because she has no problem going up to someone and mouthing off and giving them a smack. I definitely get all the anger out of my system through her. I don’t even like arguing with people! 

This article has been edited for clarity and length.