General Hospital comings and goings: Braedyn Bruner cast as the new Emma Scorpio-Drake

General Hospital's Emma Scorpio-Drake is about to get a brand-new face as soap newcomer Braedyn Bruner joins the cast on the December 23rd episode.

General Hospital's Emma comes home

Emma was last played by Brooklyn Rae Silzer | Image Source: JPI

Anna is thrilled to welcome her granddaughter, Emma, back to Port Charles this week. Emma hasn't been a regular part of the GH scene since 2016, when Robin (Kimberly McCullough) and Patrick (Jason Thompson) left Port Charles for a new life in the California Bay Area. At the time, Brooklyn Rae Silzer played the character and has made several short returns since, with the last one being in 2022. Emma visited her grandparents for the holidays while on break from college.

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With Bruner taking over the role, Emma is about to join the Port Charles college scene, which is filling up fast between Josslyn (Eden McCoy), Trina (Tabyana Ali), Gio (Giovanni Mazza), and Kai (Jens Austin Astrup). Although Bruner is new to daytime, she felt like she fit in right from the start.

Meet Braedyn Bruner, PC's new Emma

Braedyn Bruner is thrilled to be playing Emma | Image Source: Braedyn Bruner/Instagram

Texas native Bruner got her showbiz start as a child on Barney & Friends in 2009 before transitioning into the world of commercials and would commute from Texas to Los Angeles until 2023, when she made the move to L.A. full-time. Her past credits include small films like Break and V/H/S/Beyond, according to IMDb. Then, GH came along.

Bruner took the audition process seriously and understood she would be taking over a beloved legacy character if she landed the role.

"Part of the audition process for me was going back and watching old episodes and YouTube videos of what I could find of Robin and Patrick and what their relationship was like with Emma and also what Emma’s relationship was like with Anna," Bruner said in an interview with TV Insider. "I started with her birth scene and then as she’s grown up to understand her relationships with everyone in Port Charles. Pulling from that has been really important for me."

The actress has nothing but great things to say about all the cast members she has worked with so far but is especially grateful to Finola Hughes, who plays her grandmother, Anna Devane.

"And any time I have a question, she answers me," Bruner said. "After she found out I got the job, she called me and kind of gave me the lowdown on everything, which was really nice. And she’ll text me and call me and she’s just been incredible; such a joy to work with."