Michael Easton Announces He’s Leaving ‘General Hospital’ After More Than a Decade on the Soap
Michael Easton is leaving General Hospital after more than a decade on the soap opera.
“I’ve always been partial to the Irish goodbye. That’s where you leave the party without actually telling anyone you’re gone,” Easton said, 57, in a Wednesday, June 26, Instagram video. “But I thought you all deserved better, so I just wanted to let you know that I just filmed my final scenes here at General Hospital.”
Easton, who originally starred on One Life to Live, joined the sister soap opera in 2012 for the crossover episode, bringing detective John McBain to Port Charles. The actor appeared on General Hospital off and on until he joined the cast full-time in 2016 as a new character Dr. Hamilton Finn, a role which scored him a Daytime Emmy nomination in 2018.
“I’ve loved every minute that I’ve been here. I want to thank the entire cast and crew for allowing me to share their stage this past 10 years,” he reflected in the Instagram clip. “Most importantly, I want to thank all of you for the kindness and love you’ve shown me and my family. I won’t ever forget you. And as I walk out here for the last time, and with apologies to the great Lou Gehrig, I feel like the luckiest man on the face of the Earth.”
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In the caption for Easton’s video, he expressed his appreciation to the fans for their support over the years.
“Thank you for your kindness,” he penned. “My heart is filled with love and gratitude. #gh #goodbye.”
News of Easton’s exit comes shortly after two familiar faces are getting prepared to return to General Hospital. On Monday, June 24, Us Weekly confirmed Bryan Craig will reprise his role as Morgan Corinthos, who died eight years ago on the drama, as a guest star for one episode this summer.
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The next day, General Hospital fans were surprised again after Jonathan Jackson announced he would be coming back to play Lucky Spencer after a decade.
“I’m super excited and can’t wait to dig in and see what’s going on in Port Charles,” Jackson, 42, said in a Tuesday, June 25, Instagram video. “Excited to see Genie Francis and so many others. Just wanted to say thank you to all of the fans over the years — your persistence and love has certainly played a part in all this. Thank you also to Frank Valentini and everybody at ABC also for welcoming me back. Sending much love and I guess I’ll be seeing you all fairly soon.”