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General Hospital Alum Speaks Out ‘to Clear the Air’ About Possibly Reprising a Former Role
Saturday, June 26th, 2021
Talk of a Supernatural prequel being in the works naturally led Matt Cohen fans to think that he’d be working on it.
On June 24, our sister site Deadline broke the news that Supernatural star Jensen Ackles (ex-Eric, Days of Our Lives) and wife Danneel Ackles (Shannon, One Life to Live) had teamed up with The CW to develop a possible prequel series called The Winchesters. Since said series would focus on the young versions of John and Mary, aka Ackles and Jared Padalecki’s on-screen parents — and Matt Cohen had played young John — folks naturally assumed that he’d be front and center if the show made it to air.
It ain’t necessarily so, though. So on June 25, the General Hospital alum took to Instagram, saying, “To clear the air. I’m not involved. Of course, I would be honored.
“Jared said it best,” he added. “There is a long road to developing a show ahead for Jensen and Danneel and The CW.”
And whether Griffin’s former portrayer plays young John again, he’s just stoked to know the show may go on in some fashion. “I am as excited as you all are to watch the Winchester story continue,” he concluded his post.
Already, The Winchesters has generated a good deal of drama, owing to Padalecki’s upset over the way that he learned pal Ackles was charting the course for another Supernatural series. (Our sister site TVLine has also the details of that tiff, as well as how it was finally resolved.)
While we wait to see whether The Winchesters gets locked and loaded, amuse yourself with the below photo gallery that counts down other soap alumni who, like Cohen, have hit it big in primetime.
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Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
1/15
<p>This soap alum hasn’t stopped working since her last appearance as Layla Williamson on <em>One Life to Live</em> in 2011. Recurring roles on <em>Gossip Girl</em> and <em>The Game </em>are among her numerous credits, but it’s her seven-year run as Candace Young on <em>The Haves and Have Nots</em> and concurrent gig as Alicia Johnson on <em>Mixed-ish</em> (a spin-off of the popular <em>Black</em>–<em>ish</em>) that land her on this list.</p>
Image: Lisette M. Azar/CBS
2/15
<p>The <em>Guiding Light</em> and <em>Another World</em> alum’s resumé is full of recurring roles on several well-regarded primetime series. But his career really caught fire when the blood-sucker craze produced <em>The</em> <em>Vampire Diaries</em>. Wesley played Stefan, one of two smoldering vampire brothers, in the eight-season series, firmly entrenching him in the zeitgeist.</p>
Image: J. Graylock/JPI
3/15
<p>Sometimes one show is all you need for success. That sure has been the case with <em>One Life to Live</em>‘s former Adriana Cramer. Yes, she had a couple of guest spots on other series, but she found a regular home on <em>Brooklyn Nine-Nine</em> for eight seasons as Amy Santiago. She’ll also be joining <em>OLTL</em> alum Nathan Fillion later this year while voicing a character for <em>Marvel’s M.O.D.O.K</em>.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
4/15
<p><em>Heroes </em>was a hit right out of the gate giving NBC its highest-rated premiere in five years. One of the actors playing a super-powered human in that series was none other than the <em>Guiding Light</em> alum who played a young Lizzie Spaulding. Her next role might not have caught the same lightning in a bottle, but her work as the country-singing phenom Juliette Barnes on <em>Nashville </em>produced a passionate, if smaller, fan base over six seasons — especially when her character was paired up Avery Barkley, played by <em>General Hospital</em> alum Jonathan Jackson (Lucky).</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
5/15
<p>She returned to daytime, as a <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/general-hospital/news/579282/general-hospital-jackie-templeton-returns-holly/" target="_blank">recast Jackie Templeton</a> on <em>General Hospital,</em> 36 years after she played<em> All My Children</em> sweetheart Jenny Gardner. But in between those roles, she steadily wowed primetime audiences with recurring parts on pop culture touchstones like<em> L.A. Law</em>, <em>CSI Miami</em>, and <em>Army Wives.</em> Of course, her most prominent role was that of Diane Russell, whom she played on the boundary-breaking <em>NYPD Blue</em> for eight years. </p>
Image: Howard Wise/JPI
6/15
<p>It’s been almost three decades since he played the character, but the first thing that most TV fans think of when they hear this actor’s name is MacGyver. It’s even a verb — as in “I’m going to use that paper clip to MacGyver us out of here” — that’s still used today — and it’s not due to the recent reboot. After seven seasons, <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/general-hospital/news/598189/general-hospital-jeff-webber-returning-hints-richard-dean-anderson/" target="_blank"><em>General Hospital</em>’s former Jeff Webber</a> found more cult-like fame playing Jack O’Neill for over 16 years in the Stargate sci-fi universe.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
7/15
<p>She went from seeking vengeance on <em>All My Children</em>‘s Erica Kane to being Buffy the freaking Vampire Slayer. The impact of Sarah Michelle Gellar’s iconic character is still felt in the numerous TV shows that have followed and continues to inspire her many, many fans.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
8/15
<p>Not everyone knows that this international superstar got his start as <em>Young & Restless’</em> Snapper Foster, but everyone knows who he is. Maybe for his music but more likely as the driver of <em>Knight Rider</em>‘s talking car or as the hunky head lifeguard in the ’90s sensation <em>Baywatch</em>.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
9/15
<p>Who would have thought <em>Passions</em>‘ forever romantically torn Fox Crane would end up on one of the most popular primetime dramas of this decade? His portrayer might have, or at least hoped, as he consistently worked in primetime after leaving the campy, supernatural soap. After a return to daytime as Adam Newman on <em>The Young and the Restless</em>, Hartley catapulted into the mainstream consciousness with his role on NBC’s massively popular <em>This Is Us.</em></p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
10/15
<p>The back-from-the-dead Kimberly Shaw revealing a scar under her wig on <em>Melrose Place</em> was the ultimate watercooler moment. This daytime vet’s character helped turn the show about the friendly and not-so-friendly apartment dwellers into must-see TV. Not content with just one uber-popular series, <em>One Life to Live’s</em> former Kate Sanders then leapt into more can’t-wait-to-talk-about-it drama when she starred as Bree Van De Kamp on <em>Desperate Housewives.</em></p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
11/15
<p>After leaving the role of <em>Days of Our Lives</em>‘ Eric Brady, this then-up-and-comer did well for himself by recurring on a couple of TV shows. But those breaks were nothing compared to his landing the role of Dean Winchester on <em>Supernatural </em>in 2005<em>. </em>That turned into 15 seasons, a legion of devoted fans, spin-offs, conventions and tons of passionate fan fiction written about his character. Next up, Ackles joins Season 3 of Amazon Prime’s superhero/vigilante series<em> The Boys</em>. </p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
12/15
<p>This veteran actress’ career has been one successful primetime gig after another since leaving the role of Siobhan Ryan Novak on <em>Ryan’s Hope </em>in the ’80s. From <em>China Beach</em> to <em>Under the Dome</em>, it feels like she’s never <em>not</em> worked in primetime. While she currently appears on <em>All Rise</em>, her most successful role was on the original mega-hit procedural <em>CSI</em>, where she played Catherine Willows for <em>13 years.</em></p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
13/15
<p>“Have mercy!” Any TV or pop-culture fan worth their salt knows that phrase courtesy of the actor’s <em>Full House</em> character. After eight years of playing the lovable Uncle Jesse, Stamos forged a steady career in primetime including a four-year role as Dr. Tony Gates on another small-screen phenomenon, <em>ER</em>. Most recently, <em>General Hospital</em>‘s erstwhile Blackie Parrish starred in and produced the rebooted <em>Fuller House</em> and premiered his new series <em>Big Shot</em> on Disney+.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
14/15
<p>After playing <a href="https://soaps.sheknows.com/soaps/news/597866/nathan-fillion-anniversary-one-life-to-live-debut-joey-buchanan" target="_blank"><em>One Life to Live’s</em> Joey Buchanan</a> for three years, the rising star recurred on several TV shows but earned cult-icon status as the lead on <em>Firefly, </em>even though it only lasted one season. His next lead role came courtesy of ABC’s <em>Castle, </em>where he played the titular novelist/crime solver for eight seasons. After recurring on several more successful shows, he landed on another series in 2018, playing John Nolan on <em>The Rookie</em>.</p>
Image: Jill Johnson/JPI
15/15
