6 General Hospital Actors Who Have Appeared in Big-Screen Movies
6 General Hospital Actors Who Have Appeared in Big-Screen Movies
Lisa Pellegrini Thu, August 20, 2026 at 3:27 AM UTC
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Finola Hughes, Maurice Benard, and Jane Elliot ©ABC
While we love watching our favorite actors on General Hospital, sometimes we feel that their talent deserves to be appreciated beyond the small screen. Have you ever wondered whether any GH actors have appeared in theatrical movies? We have the answer. Here are six GH stars who have acted in big-screen films.
Finola Hughes
Finola Hughes had a major dancing role in the film Staying Alive | Image: ABC
Before Finola Hughes joined GH in 1985, she had a large role in the 1983 movie, Staying Alive, the sequel to 1977's Saturday Night Fever. In the film, she plays Laura, a snooty dancer who gets caught up in a love triangle with Tony Manero (John Travolta) and his good-natured girlfriend, Jackie (Cynthia Rhodes).
Hughes was a trained dancer before she landed the role, having already appeared in a London production of Cats in 1981. Her dance scenes with Travolta are amazing, especially in the final act, when they dance together in a Broadway production called Satan's Alley. Although Laura could give GH's Britch (Kelly Thiebaud) a run for her money when it comes to snarkiness, it's hard to keep our eyes off her when she is dancing, which is a testament to the fact that Hughes is just as talented a dancer as she is an actress.
Steve Burton
Burton played in a big-screen movie with Robert Redford | Image: ABC
Many GH fans may not know that in 2001, Steve Burton appeared in a big-screen movie with Robert Redford, Mark Ruffalo, and James Gandolfini. The movie was called The Last Castle, a prison drama about a battle of wills between a sadistic colonel and a general who gains the support of the inmates in a military prison. Burton portrays a captain in the film.
If you like movies that are in the vein of The Shawshank Redemption and The Green Mile, then The Last Castle is worth your time. Burton was one lucky guy to have the chance to participate in a movie with the A-list cast of Redford, Ruffalo, and Gandolfini. Here is an opportunity to see him in a different role from his GH role as "Stone Cold" Jason Morgan.
Jane Elliot
Jane Elliot appeared in a popular teen movie in 1987 | Image: ABC
If you were a teenager in the 80s, then you surely remember many of the hit teen movies from that time, such as The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink, and Some Kind of Wonderful. Jane Elliot played the lead character Keith's (Eric Stoltz) mother in Some Kind of Wonderful, which was released in theaters in 1987.
The funny thing about this movie role is that Elliot's character, Carol, is nothing like her GH character, Tracy. She doesn't hurl sarcastic zingers at Keith or anyone else in the movie. Carol is your average, nice suburban mom -- sort of like Kevin Arnold's (Fred Savage) mom in The Wonder Years. Coincidentally, that mom was played by Alley Mills, who is GH's Heather Webber.
If you love Jane Elliot in GH, then here's your chance to see her play a more mild-mannered role than that of Tracy. For anyone who loves teen romances, check out Some Kind of Wonderful.
Laura Wright
Laura Wright appeared in the big-screen film Joy | Image: ABC
You can catch Laura Wright in the 2015 movie Joy, a true story about a woman named Joy Mangano (Jennifer Lawrence) who overcame financial hardships by inventing a household product that enabled her to become a successful businesswoman. In addition to Lawrence, the film features heavyweight actors Robert DeNiro and Bradley Cooper.
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In the film, Joy's mother, Terri (Virginia Madsen), is a lover of soap operas. Sound familiar? Laura Wright (along with Maurice Benard) appeared as themselves in the movie's fictitious soap, entitled The Joyful Storm. Other real-life soap stars who appear in Joy are Susan Lucci (Erica, All My Children) and Donna Mills (Abby, Knots Landing).
Wright and Benard were cast after Lawrence saw them in GH and brought them in for an audition with director David O. Russell, who is known for his Oscar-nominated films, American Hustle and Silver Linings Playbook.
Maurice Benard
Maurice Benard appeared in a horror movie as a priest | Image: ABC
Joy isn't the only big-screen film that Maurice Benard has made. In 2018, he had a significant role in the horror anthology Nightmare Cinema, which starred Mickey Rourke.
The movieNightmare Cinema was comprised of five separate horror tales. In one of the stories, Benard plays a priest named Father Benedict. Yes, you read that right. A priest! After watching Benard play a mobster for over three decades on GH, it's hard to picture him as a man of the cloth, isn't it?
Fans of The Young and the Restless may be interested to know that actor Mark Grossman (who plays Adam Newman) also appears in Nightmare Cinema. Cool, huh? Two soap stars from two different soaps in the same horror movie. What more could we ask for?
Demi Moore
Robert Scorpio and Jackie Templeton on General Hospital | Image: YouTube
Remember GH in the eighties? If you were watching back then, you will most certainly remember actress Demi Moore as Jackie Templeton, whom she played from 1982 to 1984. Jackie, a reporter, was romantically involved with leading men Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Robert Scorpio (Tristan Rogers). From 2020 to 2021, Kim Delaney took over the role when Jackie returned to Port Charles.
Since Moore's departure from GH, she launched a huge career on the big screen in hit movies like St. Elmo's Fire, Ghost, A Few Good Men, and Indecent Proposal. In 2025, she was nominated for an Oscar for best actress in a leading role for her performance in the 2024 body horror film, The Substance.
But those of us who watched Moore back in the good old 80s will always remember fondly where she got her start. Right here on our favorite soap opera, the incomparable General Hospital.
Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and streaming on Hulu.
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
