It was back in June of this year that General Hospital fans were stunned when they learned that Jonathan Jackson was wrapping up his return as Lucky Spencer after only nine months and heading back full-time to his home in Tennessee. Up to that point, it had been 10 years since Jonathan appeared as Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura’s (Genie Francis) son on the ABC daytime drama series; in a role he originated in 1993 at only 11-years-old.

Even though his return was abridged, and not how anyone wanted it to end, Jonathan still managed to rack-up some unforgettable scenes that landed on his Emmy reel, which ultimately just a few short weeks ago won him his sixth Daytime Emmy at the 52nd annual Daytime Emmy Awards. That means, other than his mentor, Tony Geary, who has the record  8, Jackson is the second-most winning male actor in daytime with 6 along with Justin Deas (ex-ATWT, GL, Santa Barbara).

Jonathan’s reel contained when Lucky’s son, Aiden (Colin Cassidy) admitted to his father that he was gay, Lucky hallucinating Elizabeth (Rebecca Herbst) to come save him from the clutches of Sidwell (Carlo Rota) while imprisoned in Africa, and Lucky’s guilt over finding out from his mother, Laura that he isn’t a donor match to save his sister, Lulu and more.

Photo: ABC

Michael Fairman TV was on the Winners Walk where we spoke to Jonathan shortly after he won the gold for the sixth time and got his take now on: his decision to exit GH earlier the planned, if a return is at all possible in the future, why Lucky seemed so wishy-washy and claimed he could never put down roots while every one he loved and loves him lives in Port Charles, and more.

GOLDEN BOY

An emotional Jackson, shared how this win hit him harder than the others in his career, “It’s very overwhelming. It’s like surreal. I’ve lived in Tennessee for the last 13 years and I was away from the show for over a decade. When I came back, it was like a whirlwind,” recalled Jonathan. “It was a lot of work. It took a lot out of me commuting back and forth, not to mention the emotional toll of it. So, to be here with my coworkers, with my beloved wife (Lisa Vultaggio ex-Hannah), I just got overwhelmed. I think when you’re younger, you’re focused on different things. And as I’ve gotten older, I’m taking it in differently. I feel more present now than I think I was in the past.”

Photo: JPI

Jonathan reflected and was very thankful of the kinds of material he had this time back, which in his eye didn’t require Lucky to be crying every day as opposed to do 10 years ago, “I hit the ground running thanks to Frank Valentini. (executive producer, GH) and the writers. I loved the kind of ‘mission impossible’-esque beginning stuff … that adventurous Luke-like material, because I was having all these memories of Tony as I was doing the scenes. That was super fun. Then, to get to have Lucky and Elizabeth reconnect and even get as close as they got to getting married again was nice. The last time I was here over a decade ago, it was mostly tragedy. I always felt that the fans wanted Lucky and Elizabeth, to get back together. And so this time around, I was very grateful that Frank and Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) and all the writers were very open to that.”

EARLY EXIT

Although, Jackson spoke of getting Elizabeth and Lucky back together, in the end, it couldn’t be, because ultimately he choose to depart GH. “It was my fault that I had to leave, because of the commuting and my family and so I felt bad for the fans about that. I truly did,” shared Jonathan. “But I was also grateful for the moments of sweetness and beauty. There’s a lot of tragedy in the world. One of the things I mentioned as I was coming back, I said, ‘look, if it makes sense, I just think a little bit of beauty can go a long way in the world right now’. So to have those moments with Lucky and Elizabeth including singing the song to her flashing back, we need those kind of moments right now, especially.”

Photo: JPI

GH fans were critical and rightfully so, at how Lucky was written saying he wanted to be with Elizabeth and his son, Aiden and family, but then countering that he needs to be free, not tied down in one place, etc. Jonathan admitted that material can be frustrating, “Yes, (I know). I’m a very different person than him, right? It’s also one of the cool things about daytime soap operas. It’s a double-edged sword because you can’t really have an ending because the show just keeps going, and going. So unless Lucky and Elizabeth left the show together, you’re never really going to  have that ending. That’s one of the things I have to kind of reconcile with mentally to go, ‘There isn’t a beginning, middle and end here. It’s just moments, you know?'”

NEVER SAY NEVER

However, Jonathan is not closing the door to another General Hospital return down the line. However, at this moment it would be hard to pinpoint when with all of his music projects and other projects scheduled to drop at thee end of 2025 and 2026. When asked would he come back and reprise Lucky yet again, Jackson revealed, “Yes, absolutely. That was part of the discussion with Frank, because my preference would be that it’s open for me to come back. And thank God they were on board with that. I mean, it’s really a logistical thing of music and other projects and if my back can hold up with all the commuting.”

MAKING HIS TV PARENTS, TONY GEARY AND GENIE FRANCIS, PROUD

For many of us, we grew up watching Lucky go from a young boy, to a teenager to a young man up right before eyes. Jackson from the very beginning could always hold his own in scenes with the iconic Luke and Laura, too.  In Jackson’s heart, Tony Geary and Genie Francis remain in his heart in everything he does to this day.

Photo: ZumbaphotoAlmay

Speaking on Tony Geary, Jackson expressed, “He’s my mentor. I owe him so much. It’s like, it doesn’t matter how old you get, you still want to  make your parents proud. I feel that about my actual parents and my life. But I feel that about Tony and Genie as an artist. It’s not just General Hospital, either. When I was on Nashville, Tony sent me a message at one point. He had seen some of the episodes, and that meant so much to me. So, no matter what project I’m working on I want to make Tony and Genie proud and put the same kind of work ethic that they put into it and the love for the craft. That’s in me because of them. So, this is a little a moment of just like, I want to make them proud and I’m very grateful.”

Now below, watch our interview with Jonathan from the 2025 Daytime Emmy Awards and for more Winner Walk conversations subscribe to the Michael Fairman Channel or click here.

So, what do you think of the remarks made by Jonathan on his recent run on GH, his decision to exit, hope he might one day return and love for Tony Geary and Genie Francis? Share your thoughts via the comment section below.