Abrupt recasts are part and parcel of our beloved soap genre, but it took General Hospital fans unaware when they found a new actor standing in Ethan’s shoes instead of Nathan Dean…whose interestingly timed Instagram post may have offered the reason for the swap months ago.
Oh, soaps. You’re a daytime drama character going about your merry way when suddenly you run into a strange young adult who you find out later is your kid. That’s what happened to the legendary Luke Spencer (the departed Anthony Geary) in 2009 when he discovered that he had a son in attempted burglar Ethan Lovett…and to GH viewers when they learned that Luke had enjoyed a fling with Holly (Emma Samms) back in the mid-’80s.
Now it might also be a birth announcement that’s taken Ethan’s originating actor, Nathan Dean (formerly Nathan Parsons), away from us and necessitated this week’s unexpected recast with soap newbie Christian Howard. Read on and see if you end up putting the puzzle pieces in the same order we did!
Key Takeaways
- Christian Howard has taken over the role of Ethan Lovett.
- Dean previously revealed he couldn’t commit to a long-term return.
- An earlier Instagram pregnancy announcement may explain why he stepped away.
I’ll Be There For You
After a span of 17 years in the role, can you believe that Dean hadn’t even gone into GH’s casting office to audition for the role of Ethan? He had tried out for a completely different character – and while the show decided not to hire Dean for it, they liked his performance enough that they created the role of Ethan especially for him. Dean wowed the soap world during his main run as Ethan from January 2009 to March 2012; the Lovett/Spencer scion made three return trips to Port Charles in 2013, 2015, and 2020.
This past March, Dean delighted fans with another comeback, but, according to an interview he did with TV Insider, perhaps we should have realized that the return would be short. Dean had been considering making a new set of appearances after the death of his on-screen father Anthony Geary last December – and GH wanted to sign him for three years. Telling the outlet that he had “a lot going on in my personal life,” Dean added that he was also unable to commit to even two years, as he needed to “be home with my wife.”
Baby Number 3 for Nathan Dean
“We agreed to do these next four months, see how it goes,” Dean relayed. Given he returned to set in March, those four months have elapsed, and he is indeed gone now. The departure may make sense when you consider a social media post Dean made 18 weeks ago, around the same time as the announcement of his GH return. “I’m so lucky and blessed to have this wonderful woman in my life,” says the caption to a photo of Dean holding up an ultrasound photo and his wife, Kate, wearing a Friends-inspired shirt declaring, “The one where everyone finds out I’m pregnant.”
Between Dean’s earlier statement about wanting to be close to Kate, and simple biological math, it would seem that Mrs. Dean is getting closer to delivery and that Mr. Dean had intended all along for Ethan’s return to be temporary – making a recast necessary given the state of Ethan’s storyline. One accompanying hashtag on Dean’s Instagram post, “#babynumber3,” indicates that, unlike Ethan recently revealing his first foray into fatherhood via daughter Phoebe…or not daughter, this isn’t his portrayer’s inaugural ride on the baby-go-round. You can see Dean’s post for yourself below.
Ethan-net
Dean, who was born in Adelaide, Australia but grew up in Boulder, Colorado and Austin, Texas before moving to Los Angeles to explore acting, did some voice work before landing his role as Ethan. He so electrified the soap world that Soaps in Depth declared him “one of daytime’s most riveting young actors.”
Until now, Nathan Dean has been the only actor to play Ethan – save a one-week stint in April 2023 when James Ryan shimmied into Ethan’s leather jackets. This is Christian Howard’s first week as the con man with mob ties, and Ethan is Howard’s first soap opera role. While he’s lensed any number of projects, Howard is most known for the Street Fighter franchise of martial arts short films and web series.
What are your initial thoughts about Christian Howard’s performance as Ethan? Tell us in the comments below — and don’t forget to check out General Hospital weekdays on ABC.
Photo Credit: ABC/Disney.
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