General Hospital did a beautiful job of making fans fall in love all over again with Lucky and Elizabeth as a couple when his OG portrayer Jonathan Jackson returned to the ABC soap nine months ago after nearly a decade away. So viewers were understandably gutted by the Emmy winner’s surprise exit.
“The door is always open for Jonathan to return,” executive producer Frank Valentini told TVInsider. But, as with the role of Michael, which was recast in May with Rory Gibson stepping in for Chad Duell, the show may not be able to wait for Jackson, who has noted that he is willing to come back (if not necessarily as quickly as one would hope).
If a new Lucky has to be hired — as happened in 2000 (when The Bold and the Beautiful’s Jacob Young tapped in) and 2003 (when Days of Our Lives’ Greg Vaughan took over), “on a personal level, I would say, ‘Well, that’s too bad,’” Jackson told the website. But “that’s their decision… If they need to move on [to another actor], then I respect that.”
Jackson originated the role of Luke and Laura’s son in 1993 and, over the years, earned an impressive five Daytime Emmys for his work.
If General Hospital does end up trying to get Lucky with someone else, the below list of familiar faces may just be up to the task of taking over. Take a peek and see if you could imagine any of them picking up Lucky and Liz’s romance where Jackson left off.
