Meet Ella Lentini, The Actor Who Made Her General Hospital Debut Slapping Ava Jerome

On "General Hospital," mysterious characters with nefarious intentions abound in Port Charles. Newcomer Ella Lentini has joined the cast as the enigmatic Betty Rutherford, who works for the equally perplexing Mason Gatlin (Nathanyael Grey). Or she works with him for an unknown criminal organization — it's unclear who these people are and what their intentions might be. Lentini seems to have not just dipped her toes into the world of soap operas, she's dove in head first. The actor is multi-talented, having written, directed, and starred in several short films, including "Piece of Cake" (2016) and "Girl Gang" (2017), among others. She's also appeared on "9-1-1" and "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit," as well. 

When Ava Jerome (Maura West) whacked Nikolas Cassadine (Adam Huss) over the head with a small statue, she believed she had killed him. With the help of her newest lover, Dr. Austin Gatlin-Holt (Roger Howarth), the two locked the body in one of the closets of her stables. But when the police came looking for Nik for other reasons, the body was gone! The two are unaware that Austin's cousin Mason has Nikolas and is keeping him alive on life support.

Now Lentini has her hands full, jumping into this dark and secretive sudser world.

Austin Gatlin-Holt has been vague with Ava Jerome about who exactly his cousin, Mason Gatlin, works for, except that it's a woman who seems very powerful in the underworld. Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) is the most dominant mafia don in the country and the father of Ava's daughter, Avery Jerome (Grace Scarola). Yet somehow, this mysterious group that's been pulling Austin's strings has gotten wind that Sonny made a deal with a federal defense contract organization called the Pikeman Group and has been allowing them to move illegal arms through his territory. Mason demanded that Ava get inside information from Sonny about Pikeman. Ava knows that no one in their right mind would double-cross Sonny and live, so she's been resistant up until now.

Ava and Sonny share custody of Avery, and Austin found a way to have the girl's current nanny fired. Now, he's tasked Ava with hiring a new one — courtesy of the mysterious Gatlin gang. Betty Rutherford arrived at Ava's home, informing her that she must convince Sonny she would be a great new nanny. When she received pushback, Betty threatened her by proving that Ava's mother, Delia Reid (Ilene Kristen), was being watched. Ava then yelled at Betty, and the newcomer boldly slapped her across the face, announcing that she's now in charge.

Lentini certainly hit the ground running with this performance, and she looks to be a promising new villain on "General Hospital."