Chad Duell, the Daytime Emmy-winning actor, who stepped away from the pivotal role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital, opened up about: his previous decision to leave the series after nearly 15 years, where’s he’s at now after time away from the demands of a daytime soap opera, and took a stroll down memory lane with some of Michael’s most-acclaimed storyline during his run, during a livestream chat on August 19 on You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel.

Viewers last saw Duell on-screen as Michael in January of 2025, and with his successor in the role, Rory Gibson making his debut at the GH Nurses’ Ball in episodes that aired later in May. It was clear that during the conversation, Chad was a bit surprised that the GH brass decided to recast him when he thought he was just taking some much needed time off.

Burn-out of the daily grind of being on a soap was definitely a part of Chad’s decision to take a break. Duell explained “People know when you’re doing something for so long or your character is kind of in the same place for so long or doing the same stuff over and over again, you do get a a little burnt out, you get a little stiff, stale, a little stiff at times. I didn’t want that to be any sort of lasting impression. I have 15 years of a body of work of I’ve done on that show, which is fantastic.”

Photo: ABC

WHILE CHAD WAS AWAY GH RECAST MICHAEL CORINTHOS WITH RORY GIBSON

Chad shared, his mindset when leaving GH was, “I’m taking some time away, we’ll see what happens.” Then he added, “Obviously, they decided to go in a different direction with Michael when I was gone. I didn’t think they were going to bring somebody back in my place. But you know, it’s the business. You never know what can happen.”

Duell also shared he has not watched a single episode of General Hospital since he left the series, but now feels he reenergized following the loss of his father and stepping away from the GH, “I’m in a place now mentally, where I’m ready to sink my teeth into it again.”

Courtesy/ABC

Even though he is no longer Michael on GH, Chad was very happy with his final storyline where Michael was set on fire when a bomb exploded at Sonny’s (Maurice Benard) penthouse. “It was fun to put him in a dangerous situation, because I was wanting Michael to be in something scary instead of trying to be a hero character or just things happening around him, but to be the center point of tragedy happening to him. (I always saw) Michael as the heart of the (Corinthos) family.”

When Michael was badly burned the show chose not burn his face, which normally a soap does when they are recasting role and switching actors. Chad weighed-in, “They didn’t burn my face because I told Frank Valentini (EP, GH) I’m willing to come back. It was just a little bit of a break. So, I assumed that if they would have burned my face, they could have brought somebody back looking different than me… if that’s what their plan was.”

Courtesy/ABC

MEMORABLE MICHAEL STORYLINES

One of Chad’s most memorable performances was the in the storyline of Michael’s rape while he was sentenced to prison in 2010 and the confession of it in 2011. “It was so well-written and I was very nervous,” recalled Chad. “When I get really nervous about something, it ends up being really good when I do it, because it just means I care a lot about it”

“I have to put a lot of effort and work into it, and I really want it to be good.  I was working with Dominic  Zamprogna (Dante) and Steve Burton (Jason) a lot during those scenes, and Laura Wright (Carly). It was great working with Steve and Dominic, especially, during that storyline.

A NEW SOAP ROLE FOR CHAD?

As to a future soap opera role, Chad is open to the idea and would love to jump back in to a juicy role, “I know people over at The Bold and the Beautiful, and The Young and the Restless. They know that if they’re interested, I would love to come in for a screen test or something, and they can see what I’m doing.”

Meanwhile, Chad has been busy putting out new music under the moniker Duelly and during the interview he explains how he creates his EDM tracks and much more. You can stream his latest single, Static in the Quiet Room on Spotify, Apple Music and You Tube Music.

You can check out the full conversation with Chad Duell below.

Now let us know: what show would you like to see Chad cast on down the line? BTG, DAYS, B&B, Y&R, or a new role on GH? What did you think of his thoughts on the casting switch while he was away in the role of Michael? What was your favorite Michael storyline during Chad’s 15-year run on the ABC soap opera? Let us know via the comment section.

On General Hospital, Ric Lansing (Rick Heart) is about to fall back into dangerous old patterns by the foreshadowing during the Wednesday, August 19 episode. After first coming to see his brother, Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and telling him of his plan to propose to Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) his longtime love tonight, Sonny has concerned.

Next, Sonny reminds his brother of what has happened in the past, when things have gone south with Elizabeth and wonders if it’s too soon for him to propose to her. What Ric did not tell Sonny is that he has seen the developing closeness between Sonny’s son, Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) and Elizabeth, which is propelling his urgent need to propose.

Meanwhile, Dante ran into Elizabeth at the park during a break from their mutual team softball games. She needs help with a bookcase after the game at her house. Dante wants to put it together for her. Later, Dante arrived at Elizabeth’s house, limping after injuring his knee during the game. Head nurse Liz wanted to check out the injury as much as Dante protested, which required him to take off his pants.

Courtesy/ABC

RIC BEGINS TO UNRAVEL

Outside Elizabeth’s widow, Ric arrives with a bouquet of roses and the engagement ring. When he leers through the widow he is shocked to see Elizabeth rubbing Dante’s leg while Dante is in his boxer/shorts. He storm troops into the house, demanding to know what is going on here? Both Elizabeth and Dante look surprised by his reaction. In the pick-up of today’s Thursday, August 20 episode (see GH video teaser below), viewers will learn the upshot for all three characters.

A VENGEFUL PAST

As longtime GH fans know, Ric has done some horrible, vengeful things in regards to Elizabeth starting back in 2003 after she lost her baby after Ric’s ex, Faith Rosco pushed her down a flight of stairs. Ric accused Sonny for the accident and to get revenge, Ric kidnapped Carly (who was married to Sonny at the time), and stashed her in a panic room below the house where he was living with Liz.

On top of that, Ric fed his wife Elizabeth birth control pills to keep her from getting pregnant so that they could raise Carly’s baby together after it was born. Eventually, Elizabeth found Carly in the panic room but ended up having a pulmonary embolism. When she woke up in the hospital, Elizabeth was all confused by what happened, and Ric convinced her that her vision of  Carly was just a bad dream. Eventually, Elizabeth learned the horrifying truth and divorced Ric.

Years later, Ric noticed the connection between Elizabeth and “Jake Doe” who eventually turned out to be Drew (Billy Miller) A jealous Ric hired Hayden Barnes to show up and claim to be “Jake’s” wife. Elizabeth stepped aside, and when Ric planned to propose to Elizabeth at the 2015 Nurses Ball, Carly exposed his manipulations, and Elizabeth dumped him yet again. And those are just two examples of the lengths Ric will go to for Elizabeth!

So, we ask you, given the history of Elizabeth and Ric, how do you see this playing out with Dante in the picture? How will Ric derail their growing bond? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.

The entertainment world has been mourning the loss of Hayden Panettiere, who died on Sunday at the age of 36. Panettiere, who was so familiar to daytime drama fans in the roles of a very young Sarah Roberts on One Life to Live and Lizzie Spaulding on Guiding Light, also starred as an adult in the primetime music city soap opera, Nashville as country and western singer, Juliette Barnes.

Panettiere’s leading man in the series, was none other than six-time Daytime Emmy-winner, Jonathan Jackson (ex-Lucky Spencer, General Hospital) who played musician Avery Barkley.

The actress’ death is still under investigation in Greenville, South Carolina, now calling in the DEA  after the Greenville County Coroner’s Office said there was “no signs of trauma that were discovered that would have contributed to the death.” Hayden’s body was released to her family on Tuesday, August. 18. It is believed Panettiere died of an “overdose.”

Photo: ABC

WE GREW UP IN THE INDUSTRY

Jonathan Jackson took to his Instagram on Wednesday night, August 19 to share poignant words in remembrance of his Nashville co-star. “I have no words to express the loss of our beloved Hayden,” began Jackson. “She had such a bright light within her. She was a sensitive soul. Incredibly funny and witty. Amazingly gifted, with a great sense of empathy and compassion. We both grew up in the industry, although she started even younger than me, but we shared that. A silent knowing of how intense the struggles can be.”

Panetierre started in show business in 1990 at only 11-months-old, while Jackson was cast on General Hospital in 1993 as Luke (Anthony Geary) and Lauras’s (Genie Francis) son, Lucky when he was 11-years-old. Jonathan drew on the parallels in their lives for his remembrance to his late former co-star.

“She was an absolute joy to work with. Focused, spontaneous and brilliant,” continued Jackson. “The most important thing between friends and coworkers is trust, and we had this. Elisa (formerly, Lisa Vultaggio) and I both love and cherish her deeply, like our own sister. She holds that place in our hearts. My prayer for her every day we worked together was that she would know how loved she is, and that she would find the peace that she was looking for.”

WE LOVE YOU, HAYDEN

Sadly, Jonathan concluded with, “It’s not possible to express the shock and grief that so many of us feel right now. Our humble prayers are with her family. May God’s angels carry you to your place of rest and true peace. We love you Hayden. You will always be in our hearts. Always.”

Nashville ran for four seasons from 2012-2016 on ABC, and then moved to CMT for its final two seasons from 2016-2018. The actors on the show could also sing and like Jackson, Hayden had a powerful singing voice that was showcased in the series as well as her undeniable acting chops.

Michael Fairman TV previously shared more of Panettiere’s Guiding Light and Nashville co-star tributes here.

So, what did you think of Jonathan Jackson’s very touching tribute to Hayden Panettiere? Did you love them as Juliette and Avery on Nashville? What have you thought about the ongoing investigation into Hayden’s death? Share your thoughts via the comment section.

 

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