On December 23, the same day Braedyn Bruner made her General Hospital debut in the role of Emma Drake, the actress who played the role on and off since 2011, Brooklyn Rae Silzer, responded to the show’s decision to recast the character in a message posted to X (formerly Twitter).
A Fond Farewell
“A little note to my @GeneralHospital family and fans who have loved me over the years B xoxo,” Silzer’s note began.
She went on to say, “To my amazing General Hospital family who have supported me and watched me grow up over the years as Emma I am forever grateful.
Although sad my time as Emma has come to an end I will cherish all of my memories and friendships made. I am so lucky to have been casted as Emma 13 years ago and to have had the opportunity to grow her character over the years.”
Silzer also voiced her well wishes for her successor as Emma, writing, “I am so excited to see how Braedyn takes care of Emma and bring new layers to her character.”
She concluded, “I am forever thankful for General Hospital and Emma will always hold a special place in my heart. ❤️”
Silzer made her GH debut on July 29, 2011, playing the pint-sized daughter of Robin Scorpio-Drake (Kimberly McCullough) and Patrick Drake (Jason Thompson), when she was 5 years old.In 2015, she told Soap Opera Digest that her favorite part of working at GH was “Everything! Everyone is so kind and sweet and they all really feel like family! I have been there half of my life and love every minute I get get to spend there.”
Silzer with Jason Thompson, who played her father, Patrick on GH, in 2015.
In 2016, the year she netted a Daytime Emmy nomination as Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series, Emma was written out of the show alongside her parents, who had reconciled and remarried — and relocated to Berkeley, CA.
Silzer continued to pop in regularly over the years, visiting her Port Charles-based grandparents, Anna and Robert.
In 2018, Silzer’s on-screen father, Jason Thompson, who had left GH and assumed the role of Billy on Young and Restless, recalled to Digest, “Playing Patrick, I learned a lot about being a father, which I honestly look back at a lot of times.
And having the moments that I had with Brooklyn, who played Emma, were some real, honest moments that we had. Being there for her as a young actress and helping her grow into an actor that could not only hold a storyline, but steal scenes, was really fun to be a part of.”
That same year, Tristan Rogers, who plays Emma’s grandfather, Robert Scorpio, also praised Silzer to Digest. “She’s as sharp as a tack, no question about it,” he declared. “She comes on to the set very carefully prepared. It’s not unlike what it was when Kimberly [McCullough] first started.
Kimberly would come on to the set fully prepared — and Finola [Hughes, Anna, Emma’s grandmother] and I weren’t always completely prepared! We had our own way of doing things and Kimberly fit right in with that.
It didn’t throw her in the slightest that we got off script. Brooklyn is cut from the same cloth. She comes in, knows her character, understands Grandma and Grandpa, and just slides right in with us.”
Silzer last played Emma in 2023, and told Digest at the time that she was applying to nursing school. She also noted how fun it was to play an older version of the character, saying, “I had really fun scenes and they kind of brought out a different side of Emma.
I’m kind of more mature [as Emma] and they made me really smart, actually. It was cool to play a smarter character and to [find out] she’s working in a lab, since that’s something I obviously want to do in real life.
It was just cool to see how they’re developing Emma’s character. She’s not that different, but she has evolved from when she was little.”
Disney/Christine Bartolucci
Silzer last returned in 2023 and shared scenes with on-screen grandparents Tristan Rogers (Robert) and Finola Hughes (Anna).
