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Marcus Coloma Did Not Film His Final General Hospital Scenes Due to ‘Health Issues’; Plus More Details On His Departure

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: ABC

On late Tuesday afternoon, a rep for Marcus Coloma (Nikolas) offered up a statement on just how Marcus Coloma wrapped up his time on General Hospital.

It has been previously reported that once Coloma learned he had been let go he refused to film his final GH scenes as Nikolas Cassadine.  However, he would last be seen on-air in late January.

However, according to Deadline, Coloma, and ABC and General Hospital, came to an agreement “that he should not film the remaining few days of the year” following “health issues with his recent Covid exposure”.  That exposure has kept him away from being at the set recently.

In addition, Coloma’s rep is claiming that Marcus was not fired from the ABC daytime drama series, but simply his contract had run out.  Coloma reportedly signed a three-year deal back in 2019 which was now fulfilled by the network.

Deadline shared the letter in full (below) which is addressed to Coloma’s fans and colleagues:

Dear Friends and Fans of Marcus Coloma, “As mentioned in a statement provided by ABC, we wanted to confirm that Marcus ‘will no longer be playing the role of Nikolas Cassadine. His last airdate will be at the end of January.’ Marcus has wrapped his 3-year contract with General Hospital and has thoroughly enjoyed working on the show with such a talented group of actors, writers, producers and directors. Unfortunately, due to health issues with his recent Covid exposure, the network graciously agreed that he should not film the remaining few days of the year.

Marcus has been thrilled to bring nearly 300 episodes of the iconic and complicated character of Nikolas back to life. “I was immediately taken with the family feel of the ensemble cast,’ said Coloma. ‘And I fell in love with the extremely passionate fanbase. Their outpouring of love and excitement, week after week has been unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before. I will always be grateful for their kindness and support.”

So, what do you think about these clarifications from Coloma’s rep noting that Marcus did not tape his final scenes due to a recent Covid exposure and he was not fired, but his contract came to an end? Comment below.

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OK, well I suppose if your contract is not renewed it is perhaps not technically the exact equivalent of being fired. But really it’s splitting hairs. The upshot is the same: Those in charge either didn’t want him personally or the character of Nikolas on the show anymore. And that’s showbiz, as they say.

It was nice of him to give a shoutout to his fans and say something flattering about his castmates — after unfollowing them all on social media. One thing’s for sure: His publicist has earned his paycheck today with some professional damage control.

I’ve seen it widely reported that MC unfollowed his castmates, but I think that’s all been blown out of proportion. Who someone follows is private. I think someone just made that up and it took off. My social media is locked down, I’m sure an actor on a soap where the “fans” can (& are) horrible human beings, is locked down too

Sorry but don’t believe it. Plus your REP makes a statement? Marcus is on social
Media all the time with live videos. He could have spoken his own words there. He previously said he couldn’t comment due to something ?? Contract runs out is nothing big at all.

exactly.

I agree. Why did it take 2 weeks for PR to come out with this story? I smell damage control. Oh what a tangled weave…

Many months ago on social media Marcus mentioned that his GH contract was up soon. So, from what is now known, GH did not renew the contract. That’s not the same as being fired and I hope more people understand that. Also, Marcus is a great person and is active on Instagram so I’m sure with his great acting skills and large fanbase, he will find new employment quickly.

Not renewing someone’s contract is the exact same thing as firing them. “We don’t need you anymore”.

It is the same as being fired if Nikolas isn’t being killed off.

It sounds like a face saving cover story to me. I think GH and ABC are being very generous to him by letting this be the official story.

Like I said before, I will miss him as Nikolas. I liked what he brought to the character. I will accept a recast as long as they don’t bring Tyler Christopher back and if they do end up going that boring route please do not revisit the huge snoozefest that is Nik and Liz!

Question remains. Will GH kill Off Nikolas Cassadine, recast, or bring back Tyler Christopher who is the Original Nikolas Cassadine.

My odds:
60% recast (new actor, not counting temporary time by Adam Huss)

30% Tyler Christopher returns by May sweeps

10% kill off (dead-dead like AJ, Emily and OG Georgie)

Although Genie would knock the grief plot out-of-the-park, one would think Frank wouldn’t make that mistake again.

Would love to have Tyler Christopher back playing Nicholas!

All about covid

If the Covid exposure claim is real, why did he abruptly stop following his cast mates? Why is this statement coming out weeks later?

In soaps, not being offered to have your contract renewed is the equivalent to being dismissed. To use semantics and say he wasn’t “fired” is just a technicality.

Wondering if the months long shutdown in production in 2020 caused contracts to be extended by a few months. Coloma started airing in Nov 2019 and his last air date will be Jan 2023.

Marcus obviously wants to find new work and doesn’t want a reputation as being difficult. Let’s just wish him well.

Where is proof that he stopped following his cast mates? Or are you just spreading gossip spread by others. My social media is locked down – I’m sure his is too. We don’t know who he follows or doesn’t follow.

Not gossip – an easily checkable stat that was widely mentioned on other sites.

On Twitter you can easily see who someone follows – the account doesn’t show if you mark it private. Just checked and Marcus has stoped following anyone.

And, yes, as Em checked, he’s still following Kin and Mo on IG as they regularly make videos together.

It’s just a fact that Marcus stopped following his castmates. I believe the first reports that Baby Wah Wah threw a tantrum upon learning his contract wasn’t renewed and refused to film his last scenes to be true. Why did it take 2 weeks for his PR agent to come up with the real story? Clearly, they’re trying to rebuild the bridges Marcus burned.

on Instagram he’s still following kin n marcus

Weird how in Marcus Coloma video he released talking about his departure from the show sounded more like he was fired kinda thing than this article is letting on to believe.

Think it’s an excuse to cover up letting Marcus go

nope.

Sounds like ABC could create a new soap called “Behinds the Scenes”

With all that has happened to the once beloved ABC soaps… they would have lots to write about. I do however, appreciate that GH is still on the air.

I do remember back in an interview he did in June it was said his contract was up in a few months…but he was hoping it would be renewed and said it was up to the powers-that-be, so I knew it was because his contract wasn’t renewed. If he’ll no longer be playing Nikolas, unless they’re killing the character off, (which I hope don’t do. Then-writer Carlivati getting rid of AJ was hideous), then it’s the same thing as firing him.

No offense but he isn’t important enough to have a PR team, plus, his social media activity shows other than what this statement says. This is damage control for him to try and take the narrative time, but it isn’t working for me. Can’t cover up the unprofessionalism of walking off-set and refusing to film.

If they are keeping the character than why recast! Marcus did an amazing job! So much storytelling for his character also. Definitely more to this story. I’m very disappointed this happened.

I love marcas so much I am going to miss watching him playing nikolas I want to see Adam Huss to take over the role and I want him back and on contract and on the opening can you please help me out thank you so so very very much

He fulfilled his contract and it wasn’t renewed so it’s not exactly the same thing as getting fired but they chose not to renew it so they chose not to hire him again. He did fulfill his contract and I hope maybe he will show up on one of the CBS soaps. I have a feeling that his contract was not renewed because they are bringing back Tyler Christopher I know many say they will never do that but I’m not so sure about that especially if the fans want it. TC had mental health struggles which he admitted, he got help for and now he’s trying to stay on the right path. I think he deserves another chance.

I hate to see him go. He made that role his own. Bring him back!

the statement was by his pr team. and with him not finishing his scenes his pr had to come out with something because i heard he was very angry that Disney didn’t renew his contract. he n covid 2 months ago. his pr team have to protect his career.

Exactly. I give ABC a small amount of credit for allowing Marcus to use this “health issue” ruse to cover what actually happened. Career saving indeed.

I wish Tyler Christopher would reprise nikolas

GH sucks we all know nutty Esme is going to shove him off a cliff and we’ll be told he died but they’ll bring in the guy who replaced this nic when he was sick or Tyler.. GH writers need to pay those 2 year olds that’s writing for them more money GH you need new writers for years, new producers, new owners, then maybe GH could be saved. You drag out so much BS and take FOREVER to finish the storyline or it doesn’t get finished. You have literally ruined sonny’s character, he is nutty Nina’s twin. You could send him and her to outer space on a one way ticket. Sonny’s character has been dumbed down so bad I don’t see a comeback. Send them away

Why would he delete all the GH people from his social media like that? That’s what tip everyone off that he may have been let go. I don’t understand why nobody clarified when the original announcement was made that he had not refused to film his final scenes. People have been talking about this for a few weeks now.

Unless Tyler Christopher is coming back letting him go is a bad move in my opinion. He did a great job with the character! I’m sad to see him go.

Rather have performed 3 years instead of being let go. He was hired to do a task under contract and completed the obligation specified under contract.

Wish him well moving forward.

Covid? Lol. Covid is a cold.

Well, JJ, over a million people who had COVID would like to have a word with you. Unfortunately, they cannot because they are dead.

OMG. Tell that to the families of the millions who died worldwide. Or, those like Emma Samms and the many still suffering long term effects.

Maybe you got it and luckily had a mild case. Not all were so fortunate.

Right… and Hell is just a sauna.

JJ,
You sound like an ignorant idiot!

Non of this makes sense. Renew his contract. Not fire him. Marcus Coloma wouldn’t take to social media and say he is sad over this. Something else is going on. If he couldn’t go to work because of Covid, then he can film his parts when he goes back to work. Come in on the weekend like the rest of working society. If you’re missing days,the PTB shouldn’t mind. It’s not like you’re taping more scenes. It is too fishy for me. Something behind the scenes is going on. If he got fired, then Marcus is not bound by policy.

Why would Marcus unfriend his cast mates on SM everything went down like his reps stated. Anyway, As you wrote in the worsts of 2022, NC has fallen farther than Esme off the parapet of of crappy storylines. Is the character off the show or being recast?

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‘General Hospital’s’ Dominic Zamprogna Shares He Was ‘Happy to Hear’ of The Triangle Storyline Developing Between Dante/Elizabeth/Ric

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Dominic Zamprogna

General Hospital’s Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri) opened up about the burgeoning love triangle forming between his Port Charles alter-go, Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst) and Ric Lansing (Rick Hearst) after recently aired scenes, plus his hopes for the future of a Dante and Liz pairing, during his appearance on the Sunday, April 23 edition of the That’s Awesome podcast with Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Bradford Anderson (Spinelli).

On last week’s episodes of GH, Ric has made the decision that he wanted to propose to his ex-wife, only when he showed up at Elizabeth’s front door, he misread the scenario he walked in with Liz tending to Dante’s injured leg from the softball game. From there, the legal eagle’s jealous streak is reemerging which may cause him to act out and do something unforgivable, or will he take the high road? Stay tuned.

Speaking with Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson about where Elizabeth stands in the annals of the long-running soap, Zamprogna said, “She’s up there with Steve and Maurice (Maurice Benard) as one of the most legacy-filled people on the show.”

Courtesy/ABC

HOW DANTE AND ELIZABETH CAME ABOUT

Dominic jokes it’s a far cry for where Dante and Elizabeth previously, recalling, “We had some scenes together years ago and we were both laughing. Becky’s like, ‘Well, I guess we’re not going be paired up anytime soon.’ I remember we laughed immediately after they yelled ‘cut,”‘and said to each other, ‘Well, so much for that!'”

Fast-forward to early 2025 and as Zamprogna remembered it, “Elizabeth Korte (co-head writer, GH) came up to me at the General Hospital Christmas party, and I think it was a year and a half ago and she said, ‘We’re going to have you in scenes with Elizabeth,’ My internal monologue is going, ‘I’m not with Lulu (Alexa Havins) anymore and Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) gone, so maybe they want to see if this works.’ I didn’t want to get scenes with Becky and try to find the chemistry. I just wanted to play whatever honestly was written and came across for both of us and hope it was what people liked, and I don’t know if it is … or not.”

Knowing how beloved Elizabeth is to the GH faithfuls, Zamprogna added, “She got a big fan base with Ric … and a big fan base with with Jason … and you know, you’re going to piss somebody off. But, didn’t Ric drug Elizabeth and put Carly in a panic room?”

Dom and Liz

Photo: ABC

DANTE AND ELIZABETH PAIRING COULD STIR UP STORY FOR OTHERS IN PORT CHARLES

In closing, Dominic felt that the wide-reaching tentacles of a Dante and Elizabeth relationship is something he is 100% down for. “The triangle thing; I was happy to hear it was with Ric and her, because I felt it’s important to have her the top of it as opposed to Dante, Lulu and Elizabeth.”

Zamprogna added, “When you get into relationships on a soap, things seem to fizzle out a little bit, The buildup is what’s the fun part, and the getting to know each other, and the people who are affected by this coming together. When with this case it’s going to affect: Ric, Sonny, Lulu. There’s so much more story here. To me, it’s going to be a fun story to play.”

You can check out Dominic’s visit to That’s Awesome with Steve and Bradford below.

Now weigh-in: Are you rooting for Dante and Liz, or Dante and Ric at this juncture of the story, or neither guy  for Elizabeth? Let us know your thoughts and picks via the comment section.

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GH and OLTL Alum Patrick J. Gibbons Reveals the Story Behind Writing Trina’s Song on ‘General Hospital’ (Exclusive)

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Patrick J. Gibbons

At the conclusion of today’s August 21 episode of General Hospital, Trina Robinson (Tabyana Ali) sings a lullaby to baby Dez, that went into a montage to close out the episode as her father Curtis Ashford (Donnell Turner) reports to Pentonville and winds up in his jail cell.

However, in a fun fact, the song entitled, “A Lonely Heart To Give” was actually written by none other than former One Life to Live and General Hospital actor, Patrick J. Gibbons.

Daytime fans first met Gibbons as Sam Manning on One Life to Live. At the time, when he started on the soap, he was just 5-years-old. Gibbons played the part from 2010-2013 on ABC and Prospect Park’s editions of the show. Fast-forward to 2018, Gibbons shows up on General Hospital as Wyatt Hoover, the scout who seemed always be injured, but in the thick of the drama. Patrick had appeared on GH multiple times as Wyatt including: 2018, 2019, 2021, 2022, 2023.

Photo: ABC

FROM HIS GRANDMOTHER’S DEATH CAME THE INSPIRATION FOR HIS SONG

Now in 2026, General Hospital fans are getting to learn about another side of Gibbons’ talent as a songwriter and guitar player after “A Lonely Heart to Give” debuted today! Michael Fairman TV caught up with Patrick, who is now a senior at Penn State entering his final year as a finance major, to get the back-story of how his song wound up on GH!

Gibbons explained he wrote the song in honor of his grandmother who passed away a few years ago with whom he was, very, very close with. “Randomly, my grandmother had a downfall and passed away during the second semester of my sophomore year. I was in my dorm a lot and I was just playing with my guitar. And at the time, I was really into finger-style playing. I wrote the lyric and music to it (with a little help from my guitar teacher Lou), and my mom showed the rough demo to Frank Valentini (EP, General Hospital). He’s like an uncle to me. Frank loved it so much he said, “Finish that up. I want to hear the whole thing, and I want it on the show.”

MAKING MUSIC FOR GENERAL HOSPITAL

Gibbons and his parents took the next steps! “So now, all we needed was a female voice, because I thought that would fit the song well,” Patrick shared. “At the golf club we go to my parents were at a dinner. They liked the singer that was performing and spoke to her about the song, and she says she would like to bring it to her ‘boss’ who ended up being Eric Bazilian of the Hooters fame!” (Bazilian also wrote the smash hit song “One of Us” for Joan Osborne).

Next, “We went in the studio and recorded it and the song came together and it was beautiful. We loved it. They loved it at General Hospital and now they’re putting it the show and they are coming in with a piano, instead of a guitar. Paul Glass, the GH musical director, has been keeping us updated over the last six months of how it was coming along, and when it would air, and how GH put their own arrangement to it. I can’t wait to see and hear what they did with it.”

Photo: JPI

PATRICK’S ONE LIFE TO LIVE FAMILY

Everyone knows that the One Life to Live extended family share a very tight bond, and Patrick said he does stay in touch with a few of his former One Life to Live co-stars, especially those from the Manning family! “I stayed in touch with Kassie DePaiva (ex-Blair) and sent her little videos here and there. She was like my second mom for five years. We keep in contact with Kristen Alderson (ex-Starr) over X the most, and she can’t believe how big I’ve gotten. Like, none of them can! (laughs). I also loved working with Roger Howarth (ex-Todd) and Trevor St. John (ex-Todd and Victor Jr.), and to me since I was so young, they were just my friends, ‘Roger and Trevor,’ not Todd Manning or Victor Jr.”

It was a trip to California and a visit to Port Charles that ultimately led to Gibbons second soap role of Wyatt Hoover. Patrick explains, “In 2016, Frank Valentini invited us out to Los Angeles to visit the set of General Hospital. I think he heard me say, ‘This is so much fun. I miss being on the set.’ He goes, ‘You should come out. I’ll bring you on the show. We can make you a character.'”

A few years later, Patrick’s dream became a reality! “Then, by the summer of 2018, I was playing Wyatt, the scout, and shared scenes with Wes Ramsey (Peter August), and the best was when I shared a scene with Roger Howarth and Michael Easton (ex-John, OLTL and ex-Silas, Finn et al, GH), it was like chemistry from the old days.”

Photo: PGibbons

IT’S ALL IN THE NUMBERS

As to his future aspirations, it’s a career in the finance game that has piqued Gibbons’ real-life interest. But never say never to a return to acting. Patrick explained, “I’ve always enjoyed numbers. And on top of that, one of the biggest parts of finance is being personable and outgoing.”

He continued, “That’s one of the greatest skills I developed growing up. I really love the markets. I’m super interested. I’m never going to close the door to acting. I’m always open to that because I just love it so much. It’s such a great art.”

Take note! If there are any investment bankers or private equity folks among the GH faithful looking for a young analyst next year, Patrick’s DMs are open. You can find him on X at @PatrickJGibbons.

So, what did you think of the song sung by Trina on today’s GH that was written by Patrick J. Gibbons? Did you enjoy Patrick’s performances as One Life’s Sam and GH’s Wyatt? Would you like to see him back on GH at some point? Let us know via the comment section.

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‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Admits That He Didn’t Expect the Role of Michael Corinthos to be Recast, and Would Consider Working on Another Soap (Exclusive)

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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.”

Chad Duell

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.

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