Steve Burton Says He Was 'at a Loss' Filming Final General Hospital Scene with Kelly Monaco: 'We Have a Huge History'

To Steve Burton, we say goodbye to Kelly Monaco General Hospital it was very difficult to do.

The actor, 54, shared the Friday, Nov. 1, episode of his podcast daily drama, which he hosts with Bradford Anderson, how difficult it was to film his final scenes with Monaco, whose final episode aired on Wednesday, October 30.

“I was really at a loss in the sense that I wasn’t sure how to play this. Obviously, we have a great history,” says Burton, who made his first film GH scene with Monaco in 2003 “Obviously, we worked together for a long time, so all these things were happening, but I didn’t have a clear vision.”

Burton’s co-star Maurice Benard offered some words of wisdom at the time, telling the actor that “whatever happens out there has to happen.”

Kelly Monaco General Hospital Costar Dominic Zamprogna says he’s been checking in on her ‘every week’ since her release

Kelly Monaco and Steve Burton on ‘General Hospital’ in October 2009.

Greg Zabilski/Disney General Entertainment via Getty

“You don’t have to force anything,” Benard also told Burton. “Just let it work.”

Burton, who actually filmed his character Jason’s tearful farewell to Sam (Monaco) in the hospital before her death, recalled, “I had to shoot that thing with her first and then go back.”

“It was really sad because Kelly was obviously leaving, and then the emotion of the character leaving and all that stuff, and I just thought everyone did a really great job,” Burton explained.

“It was very interesting to get all those emotions out and then have to come back,” he continued. “I know people in movies do it all the time, but as an actor, it’s not your favorite thing to do.”

Dominic Zamprogna, who has worked alongside Monaco since joining GH cast in 2009, spoke to Soap Opera Digest about how the long hours of production on the show played a role in the cast’s friendship.

“You quickly become friends with the kind of people you work with,” he told the paper. “You’re in the trenches for 14, 15-hour days and nights of shooting and everyone on the crew becomes like family, your actors become like family — you fight and love each other like family, and the three and a half years we’ve been together on the show it was a big, important period in my life and in the life of my character.”

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Steve Burton and Kelly Monaco on ‘General Hospital’ in July 2010.

Ron Tom/Disney General Entertainment via Getty

Zamprogni, 45, said the job allowed him to get to know Monaco “in a way I’ve never known it before”.

“She’s an extraordinary person,” he continued. “She’s tough as nails and admirable in so many ways, and it was cool to become her friend. And there will be no end to it. It’s just that there’s still an ending because you’re not working with someone anymore.”

“[She] she’s softer than her tough Philly exterior and I never got to know that side of her before I worked with her,” Zamprogna added. “I’ve been in very emotional states with her myself and we’ve become very able to say very personal things to each other and sort of talk [to] each other through moments I never would have expected to have with her because she gives off such a ‘tough girl’ vibe and is extremely cool and confident. But nobody’s always cool and confident and tough, and that’s what really endeared me.”

The actor remains in touch with Monaco and wishes her the best as she explores a new chapter.

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Dominic Zamprogna and Kelly Monaco in ‘General Hospital’.

Christine Bartolucci/ABC via Getty

“I’ve found that the greatest things in my life have happened when I feel like doors are closing,” he explained, adding, “I really tried to emphasize that to her.”

Monaco, who created the character of Sam and appeared in more than 2,300 episodes GH, she earned a 2006 Daytime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. In a since-deleted reply to a comment on Soap Hub’She broke her silence about her sudden departure on Instagram in October.

“What’s wrong with you, she didn’t get fired, she didn’t accept a pay cut, so she had to leave,” wrote Monaco. “’No primary role’.. do your homework. When Billy Miller was fired, Sam’s story ended. Depriving Sam of all the characteristics she had,” she wrote. “Something I’ve been working on for decades… I slowly took her apart, into a character I didn’t recognize, let alone the audience. Call it what you will…retaliation to it [sic] the finest. I will make the appropriate statement. The truth will set you free.”

ABC previously declined PEOPLE’s request for comment on the matter.

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General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC (check local listings).

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