Jonathan Jackson, Cynthia Watros & More TV Stars Who Returned to Their Soap Opera Roots
General Hospital fans sure are Lucky. Jonathan Jackson is on his way back to the ABC soap this summer, returning to play Lucky Spencer 25 years after he left his full-time gig on the show. (Bryan Craig is coming back, too, but only for one episode.)
Jackson is following the footsteps of many other soap actors who came back to for extended daytime TV stints after forays into primetime or parts on the big screen. And several of these actors reveled in Daytime Emmy glory for their encore runs!
Kristian Alfonso
Alfonso scored a breakout role when she took over the part of Days of Our Lives’ Hope Brady (then going by Hope Williams) in 1983. She stayed on the soap until 1987, then starred on the primetime soap Falcon Crest for two seasons. Alfonso resumed the role of Hope in 1994 and ended up winning a Daytime Emmy Award for the reprise.
Kim Delaney
Delaney’s first screen job was playing Jenny Gardner on All My Children from 1981 to 1984. She later starred on NYPD Blue from 1995 to 2003, picking up an Emmy Award for her work, and also joined the cast of Army Wives from 2007 to 2012. And from 2020 to 2021, Delaney played Jackie Templeton on General Hospital, succeeding Demi Moore in the part and landing a Daytime Emmy nomination.
Richard Hatch
Between 1970 and 1972, Hatch played Phil Brent on All My Children, and later that decade, he moved into primetime with a starring role in the original Battlestar Galactica. Hatch, who died in 2017, eventually did return to daytime, however, with a 1990 stint on the soap Santa Barbara.
Finola Hughes
Hughes started playing Anna Devane on General Hospital in 1985 but left the soap in 1992 for a starring role in the primetime series Jack’s Place. She later joined the cast of Blossom, playing the title character’s stepmom. Hughes came back to General Hospital in 2006 and then for good in 2012, and she’s been a fixture on the soap ever since, racking up another seven Daytime Emmy nominations.
Jonathan Jackson
Jackson starred as Lucky Spencer on General Hospital from 1993 to 1999 before landing starring roles in the 2002 film Tuck Everlasting and the 2012 series Nashville. The actor is headed back to Port Charles for what’s expected to be a “long run,” per Deadline.
Vanessa Marcil
TV fans who know Marcil from her supporting roles on Beverly Hills, 90210 and Las Vegas might not know she got her start playing Brenda Barrett on General Hospital between 1992 and 1998 — or that she reprised the part from 2010 to 2011 and again in 2013.
Cameron Mathison
From 1997 to 2011, Mathison was the face of Ryan Lavery on All My Children. He then guest-starred on primetime TV shows, co-headlined TV movies (including Hallmark Movies & Mysteries’ Murder, She Baked series), and co-hosted Hallmark Channel’s talk show Home & Family. Since 2021, he’s been starring as Drew Cain on General Hospital.
Donna Mills
Famous for playing the villainous Abby Cunningham on Knots Landing from 1980 to 1993, Mills appeared on the daytime soaps The Secret Storm and Love Is a Many Splendored Thing during the 1960s. Mills returned to daytime in 2014 for a four-year stint as General Hospital’s Madeline Reeves, offering a performance that won her a Daytime Emmy.
Rena Sofer
Sofer booked early gigs in Another World and Loving before starring as General Hospital’s Lois Cerullo from 1993 to 1997. After a jaunt into primetime — with a supporting role on Just Shoot Me! and recurring roles on Melrose Place, 24, and Heroes — Sofer starred as Quinn Fuller on The Bold and the Beautiful from 2013 to 2022 and continued playing Lois on GH in 2023.
Cynthia Watros
Watros got her start playing Annie Dutton on Guiding Light from 1994 to 1998. Then, in the 2000s, came long-running primetime roles on Titus, The Drew Carey Show, and Lost. Watros later recurred as Kelly Andrews on The Young and the Restless and started her doubly Daytime Emmy-nominated role as Nina Reeves on General Hospital in 2019.
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Kristian Alfonso has actually never won an daytime Emmy Award. She was nominated only once in 1985 for Younger Actress. But has never won.
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