Lisa Niles is a fictional character from the ABC soap opera General Hospital. The character first appeared in November 2009 portrayed by actress, Julie Mond. Mond was replaced by Brianna Brown in early 2010. Brown last appeared in the role in October 2011. The character is known for being a villain to popular characters Patrick Drake and Robin Scorpio.
Casting It was announced in October, 2009 daytime newcomer, Julie Mond, was cast in the role of Lisa Niles, the ex-girlfriend of Patrick Drake. Mond first appeared on November 18, 2009. In December of that year, it was announced Mond was let go from the series as the character would be taken in a new direction, and her storyline would be altered. She was replaced by Brianna Brown, who first appeared in the role on January 6, 2010. Brown said of how she got the role, "I was very fortunate. I didn't have to audition. I was offered the role because of previous work that I'd done and because I was up for a role on Guiding Light long ago. I ended up not taking it at that time but ironically it was the same casting director — Mark Teschner. When my representation told Mark I was interested in being on a soap, Mark got really excited because he knew me from ages ago. He showed the reel on my website to the executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and to the head writer Bob and they really liked what I had done. We sat down, had a meeting to discuss the character and they gave me the role in the room! It was an ideal [situation]!" In June 2011, it was announced that under new head writer Garin Wolf, Brown would depart from the series. However, Brown started reappearing on a regular basis in September of that year. In October 2011, it was revealed Lisa would be killed off, as the start of a whodunit storyline on the series. This resulted in Brown last appearing on October 31, 2011.
Development Lisa Niles was introduced in late 2009 as the former girlfriend of Patrick Drake. Her storyline originally consisted of causing tension between Patrick and his wife Robin. This slowly evolved into Lisa seducing Patrick, which received the attention of several media outlets, including TV Guide. Head writer at the time, Robert Guza said of the direction the storyline was going in, "Lisa is going to get very obsessive with Patrick and we will go into a Fatal Attraction story. This is not a Glenn Close sort of thing. Lisa is not a psycho. She won't be boiling bunnies. But that's not to say she won't be acting out in a big way. Lisa was never able to emotionally let go of that connection she had with Patrick back in school. When that is resurrected for one night—and Patrick says it can never happen again—she tries very hard to accept that. And she fails. Miserably. We have a good long way to go with this story—in fact, we might easily get another year out of it. Patrick's refusal to continue [having sex] is not what sets Lisa off. Rather, there's a very small psychological event that will happen some weeks later. It gets her very perturbed.” Brown said about her character breaking up one of the show's most popular couples, " I was warned right away that it was a major relationship that my character would be breaking up. And I was forewarned: 'People are going to hate you'." She also said of the opportunity to play Lisa as more of a villain, "But when I originally signed on, what I was so excited about and why I decided to take the role in the first place was because it was a Fatal Attraction storyline. So I loved the idea of getting to play that. I loved the idea of getting to play a villain because I normally don't get cast as a villain. It's been so much fun. Jumping in front of cars and then blaming someone else for it and drugging people. Who gets to play that? It's so out there!" Brown also said of playing a character that is loose in morals, “I don't want to say she doesn't have a conscience, but she bends the rules.” Lisa's death in October 2011 marked the beginning of a high-profile mystery storyline. The investigation of murder gave viewers a chance to try the solve the crime along with the police, and determine which of the several suspects was the real murderer. Jill Farren Phelps said of the plot line, "This is Lisa's worst, most insidious plan yet. And it ends very badly for her. Lisa's death—apparently by blunt-force trauma—will leave every one of the passengers looking guilty. Each of them ends up having the motive, the means and the opportunity to kill her. It's a very cleverly told mystery."
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