Rena Sofer talks about her decades-later return as 'Lois' on 'General Hospital'

NEW YORK -- It turns out, you can go home again. Just ask Rena Sofer. She's returning to her memorable role as "Lois Cerullo" on ABC's "General Hospital."

"At first I think it was really intimidating, what's it going to be like, who am I going to see, there are going to be people there I haven't seen in 30 years, I'll be working with Wally again, I haven't worked with Wally in 30 years," she said. "Once I got through a day, half a day, and got the nails on, and I got the voice, and I got upstairs, and people kind of enjoyed what I was doing, I went ok, I'm good, and it's just been so much fun since then.'

Her character returns to Port Charles because she wants to help her daughter Brook Lynn through the tough time she's experiencing after getting fired from her job at "Deception."

Not everyone is happy to see Lois, although her on-screen former husband Ned, aka Eddie Maine, played by Wally Kurth might be. Fans will have to wait and see! Sofer was also married to Kurth in real life and they also share a daughter, just like their on-screen counterparts.

"It was like we never stopped working together!" Sofer said. "Eddie Maine absolutely enjoyed Lois and I think that was the best part of it. He enjoyed her so it just allowed her to be herself."

As many familiar faces as Sofer has encountered, there's also a whole new generation of "General Hospital" stars, like the one playing her daughter Brook Lynn, Amanda Sutton.

"She is so much fun and we went out to lunch before I started the show, me, Amanda, and Wally. Just to kind of meet and talk and find out, what have you guys said about Lois over the years? How have you reacted to your mom and what has she meant to you?" Sofer said.

When it comes to things she's missed and excited to bring back, one thing comes to mind...her nails! Lois was known for having over-the-top nails that always matched her outfits. Sofer is excited to reintroduce fans to this artform.

"We found an amazing nail artist, Amber Studer, who sat down with me for hours and we went through all of my wardrobe," she said. "We wanted just to the edge of tacky, but still not tacky."

Through it all, Sofer is a soap pro with some two decades of experience on "General Hospital" and another popular daytime series. Once she left the world of soaps the first time, she had guest starring roles on some of TV's most iconic series, like "Seinfeld" and "Friends." Still, even with scoring roles in film and primetime TV, there was an important reason Sofer's heart stayed with soaps.

"It's a really great place to be a mom," she said. "I really wanted to be a full-time stay-at-home mom. And I had a schedule where I could take my daughter to school and I was able to pick her up after she was done most of the time. That's what was really wonderful about that."

You can watch Sofer as "Lois" on "General Hospital" starting this week on ABC.