Tyler Christopher’s Comeback: The Perfect Role for the Alum of General Hospital and Days of Our Lives
Friday the 13th was a lucky day for fans of the Emmy winner.
When Soaps.com reported that, following a stretch of bad-to-worse times, Tyler Christopher was headed back to showbiz, the Internet was set aflame. Partly because we misidentified his Days of Our Lives character as Stefan Cassadine instead of DiMera — force of habit since that was his character Nikolas’ uncle on General Hospital (yep, we’ll own our massive screwup; it happens) — and partly because folks were just plain excited by the prospect of the Emmy winner’s return.
“I’m ready to start over again,” the actor Instagrammed, “and get back to work.”
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Ah, but where would he find that work? He could theoretically return to primetime — he is by no means a stranger to it. But it’s daytime that has known and loved him best since his soap debut back in 1996.
Christopher’s former roles would seem to be no-gos. At Days of Our Lives, Stefan DiMera (see, we got it right this time) was recast with his former General Hospital colleague Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny) and then written off. Barash now plays Stefan’s heretofore-unknown twin brother and is, in a word — well, two — killing it.
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Immediately after Christopher’s General Hospital exit, that part was briefly recast with Nick Stabile (Mark, Sunset Beach). When Nikolas was resurrected in 2019, it was primetime mainstay Marcus Coloma (South Beach, Major Crimes, etc.) who brought him to life.
So if Christopher is to make a comeback in daytime, that theoretically leaves two soaps to consider: The Young and the Restless and The Bold and the Beautiful. At the former, his role is clear: He’d be a fantastic leading man for fellow Emmy winner Amelia Heinle, whose Victoria has gone without a love interest for longer than makes any sense at all. We know that she’s a mover and shaker, but all business and no pleasure makes the tycoon a dull girl.
“How you doin’?”
Credit: John Paschal/JPI
We wouldn’t cast him as just any fella, though. We’d cast him as Brooks Prentiss, the son of 1980s supercouple Lance and Leslie, and — how’s this for complicated? — the adopted son of Leslie’s sister, Lorie. That way, Christopher would come in as a legacy character — and not only that but a legacy character who might pave the way for the return of cousin Theo (whose exit doesn’t make any sense to us as it is).
At The Bold and the Beautiful, Christopher could — and, if you ask us, should — play the father of Forrester photographer Oliver Jones (whom we’re always eager to see return to the canvas, as charming as Zach Conroy is). Sick of seeing his boy’s career stuck in neutral, Papa Jones could take out a loan the size of the Himalayas, step in and start his own fashion house to compete with Forrester — yes, the same story we always wished the show would play with Spectra.
When the upstart design firm’s trajectory seemed to be pointed from riches to rags rather than the other way around, Daddy-O could decide to offset the losses with a lucrative marriage — to, say, Quinn, the former wife of Eric Forrester (and her sizable alimony checks), or Katie, the ex of Bill Spencer (and her also not-inconsiderable alimony checks).
“What if I just replaced the Naked Cowboy in Times Square, Pop?”
Credit: Sean Smith/JPI
Needless to say, Christopher’s alter ego would ultimately find himself seeing hearts in his eyes as much as dollar signs when he looked at his wife of financial convenience. But the getting-there would be super romantic and unpredictable — and you know the actor would play the hell out of it. Christopher could have chemistry with a wall, for Pete’s sake!
What do you think? Could you see Christopher in either of these roles? Or do you have a better one in mind? Hit the comments with your suggestions, and when you’re done, be sure to check out the below photo gallery of soap-hoppers like Christopher — those stars who can score on whatever show they land on.
