6 General Hospital Actors Who Originally Auditioned for a Different Role

Lisa Pellegrini Tue, August 18, 2026 at 2:56 AM UTC

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Michael Elizabeth, and Ethan ©ABC

As General Hospital fans, we've spent so many years watching our favorite soap actors onscreen every day that it's difficult to envision them playing any other role. But surprisingly, some of the GH actors originally auditioned for a different part than the one they were cast to play. Here are six GH actors who initially tried out for a different part than the one they ultimately landed.

Nathan Dean

Dean originally auditioned for the part of Dante on General Hospital | Image: YouTube

We all know and love Nathan Dean as Ethan Lovett, the son of Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Holly Sutton (Emma Samms). But believe it or not, Dean originally auditioned for the role of Dante Falconeri. He was even called back twice after his first audition. Ultimately, though, the role went to Dominic Zamprogna.

But the GH writers liked Dean so much that they created a role specifically for him, and that was the character of Ethan Lovett. Dean was thrilled with this turn of events, stating, "It gives me a completely clean slate for this character. Since it was written for me, I can play with it and make Ethan whoever I want him to be."

If he had been cast as Dante, then Lulu (played then by Julie Marie Berman and Emme Rylan, now played by Alexa Havins) would have been his love interest. But since he was cast as Ethan, Lulu is his sister!

Paige Herschell

Herschell auditioned for the role of Blaze on General Hospital | Image: ABC

How can we ever forget the role Jacinda (Paige Herschell) played when she first entered the GH canvas? Portia (Brook Kerr) and Nina (Cynthia Watros) hired her to drug Drew (Cameron Mathison). Some of us still chuckle when we remember him yelling, "Body shots!"

But did you know that Herschell didn't originally audition for the role of Jacinda? She read for the character of Blaze, Kristrina's ex-girlfriend, who was a famous singer and who left Port Charles to go on tour. After Jacqueline Grace Lopez was cast in the role, Herschell auditioned for Jacinda. The experience was like an epiphany for her, "something that just clicked," as she recalled.

Originally, Jacinda was only meant to be on the show for a few days. But Herschell was brought back a few months later, which gave Jacinda's character a chance to grow over the course of the past year and eventually become romantically involved with Michael (Rory Gibson).

Rory Gibson

Gibson was turned down for the part of Vaughn on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Speaking of Gibson, before he auditioned to play Michael, he originally tried out for the role of Vaughn, the WSB agent who was Joss' (Eden McCoy) trainer. Gibson did a reading with McCoy, which was a basic chemistry test. Ultimately, actor Bryce Durfee was cast in the part of Vaughn.

But shortly afterward, the GH producers asked Gibson to audition for a different role, which they did not reveal at first. After talking to friends who were fans of GH, Gibson discovered that the mystery part was the coveted role of Michael Corinthos (previously played by Chad Duell).

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Lucky for us, Gibson won the role and is now gracing our screens with his dark and brooding performance as Michael. If he'd been cast as Vaughn, he would have played Joss' lover. Ironically, he was cast as her brother!

Rebecca Herbst

Herbst initially auditioned for the role of Liz's sister, Sarah, on General Hospital | Image: ABC

It's hard for us to picture Rebecca Herbst in any other role but that of Elizabeth Webber. But she originally tried out for the part of Sarah Webber. When she didn't get it, the GH writers created the role of Sarah's sister, Elizabeth, for Herbst to play. Sarah was portrayed by actress Jennifer Sky from 1997 to 1998 and by Sarah Laine in 2002.

The character of Elizabeth has been a central figure on GH for almost thirty years. Ironically, Liz has played a more important part on the show than Sarah has, considering that Sarah was the role Herbst auditioned for and also considering that Sarah was only on the GH canvas for a few years.

Daniel Goddard

Goddard first auditioned for the role of Patrick Drake on General Hospital | Image: YouTube

While Daniel Goddard was ultimately cast in the role of Henry Dalton, he previously auditioned for multiple roles on GH. In 2005, he auditioned a few times for the role of Dr. Patrick Drake, which was eventually given to actor Jason Thompson.

Goddard also auditioned for the part of Jack Brennan after Charles Mesure (the original Jack) left GH. That role went to Chris McKenna. Goddard commented on the irony of Henry Dalton's storyline that involved Emma Scorpio-Drake (Braedyn Bruner) trying to dig up dirt on him. He said that if he had been cast as Patrick Drake, Emma would be his daughter. So true!

Kelly Thiebaud

Thiebaud didn't get the original part she auditioned for on General Hospital | Image: ABC

Before landing the role of Dr. Britt Westbourne, Kelly Thiebaud auditioned for an unspecified contract role on GH. Unfortunately, the producers didn't believe that she was the right fit for the part.

But as the saying goes, every cloud has a silver lining. The producers were impressed by her acting talent and decided to give her the role of a recurring character they were still in the process of writing -- a character they described as a "bitchy doctor." And that's how the Britch came into existence.

Even though all of the actors on this list didn't get the part they originally auditioned for, it turned out for the best. In the end, they each won a part that they were better suited for, and they continue to entertain us every weekday on GH.

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital weekdays on ABC and streaming on Hulu.

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