Jason Thompson Says Emma’s ‘General Hospital’ Return Makes Him Miss Patrick

Jason Thompson is firmly settled into The Young and the Restless after ten years as Billy Abbott, but there is still some longing for his previous soap role, Dr. Patrick Drake on General Hospital.

Speaking with Swooon, Thompson touched on how the return of his onscreen daughter, Emma Drake (now played by Braedyn Bruner), to Port Charles in 2024 made him think about what it would be like to revisit Patrick’s life.

“It makes me a little bit jealous that I can’t be there with her a little bit, and it makes me want to know her,” he shared. “Don’t get me wrong — I’m incredibly, incredibly happy where I am, and I have no plans of going anywhere. And if it’s up to me, I’ll be doing this for the next 30, 40 years on Y&R, but at the same time, I still love that character, and I still would love to embody it a little bit.”

Thompson’s Patrick was part of a soap opera super-couple with Kimberly McCullough‘s Robin Scorpio, the pair marrying on December 26, 2008, and welcoming a daughter, Emma. Thompson last appeared in Port Charles in January 2016.

“I think back on who that little girl [Emma] has become, and I want to be a part of it,” the Daytime Emmy winner continued. “I want to learn what she loves. I want to know what our relationship is like. I want to know if she likes her dad or if he messed her up or what’s going on.”

He added, “It makes me think about all the possibilities of what could happen with her as an adult. I hear she’s doing great, too.”

Jason Thompson and Brooklyn Rae Silzer (original Emma); Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for NATAS

Thompson also revealed he is still close with Emma’s original portrayer, Brooklyn Rae Silzer. “She’s gone and become a nurse, which I think is just so beautiful in its own way,” he stated, noting how he’s “stoked” that the “Drakes are still happening” on General Hospital.

“I mean, you have the cornerstone with Finola [Hughes, Anna Devane] there, and anything’s possible with her. So, I know that Emma is in good hands even though Robin and Patrick aren’t around as much right now,” he concluded.