Colin Cassidy has a recurring role as grandson of ‘General Hospital’ icons Luke and Laura
At just 23 years old, Colin Cassidy is already making waves in Hollywood – most notably with his role as Aiden Webber on ABC’s long-running soap opera General Hospital. But before he was part of daytime TV royalty, Cassidy was just a kid from East Greenwich, dancing through theater rehearsals, surrounded by a tight-knit and cheering family.
Cassidy moved to Los Angeles in January 2021, shortly after graduating from The Met School in Newport during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Forgoing college because classes were largely online, he decided instead to take a risk: “I always knew I was going to have to leave the nest eventually,” he said. “It was either going to be New York or L.A.”
“It was scary, of course, to see him go all the way to L.A. at such a young age,” said his mother, Alison Carcieri-Cassidy. “But Colin has always been determined. We knew he needed to follow his dream, and he’s done it all on his own with a lot of grit and grace.”
While he didn’t immediately plunge into the industry, Cassidy found his footing two years in when he joined the Gloria Gifford Conservatory in Hollywood. “That’s when I really started to learn about what I needed to do to take the correct steps,” he explained. Through the class, Cassidy met his current manager, Lloyd Weintraub, who began submitting him for a variety of roles—from student films to commercials. On his 23rd birthday, Cassidy landed an audition for General Hospital, a turning point that came full circle just weeks later when he got the callback and an offer for the role.
Cassidy plays Aiden Webber, the teenage grandson of General Hospital icons Luke and Laura, and son of fan-favorite couple Lucky and Elizabeth. “It’s crazy to be part of that lineage,” he said. “They are like a well-known family and I kinda have to hold up that Spencer-Weber royalty.”
Though his role is recurring, Cassidy says it offers the unique opportunity to revisit a character over time. “It’s like I always have that character to dive back into . . . to come back into this world and work with this cast and crew again.”
Long before his soap opera debut, Cassidy found his love for acting at age five when he joined a children’s acting seminar at East Greenwich High School called Showstoppers. “I remember vivid memories of getting up on stage and making people laugh,” he said.
“He was always doing little shows for us, trying to make people laugh,” Alison said. “It wasn’t about showing off—it was about connecting. That spark was there from the very beginning.”
His passion continued through his time at Eldredge Elementary, Cole Middle School, and briefly at East Greenwich High, where he performed in Les Misérables and High School Musical before transferring to The Met. His early acting credits include Knockout Blonde and Merry Ex-Mas, two Verde Productions films shot in Rhode Island. “It was really cool that we had a production company in my hometown,” he said. “I used that as reel footage for submitting to auditions.”
Cassidy credits much of his persistence and passion to his family. “If I didn’t have a family who supported me that much and encouraged me . . . maybe I wouldn’t have stuck with it,” he said, recalling how his extended family would fill rows of seats and cheer him on at local performances.
“We’ve always been his biggest fans,” Alison said. “When he told us he got the part on General Hospital, we were in the car and just screamed with joy. It was like winning the lottery – because he’s worked so hard and has the heart for it.”
Even now, with his family on the East Coast and him in L.A., their support hasn’t wavered. “They send me pictures and videos of them watching the show,” he said. “I always have their support.”
Looking ahead, Cassidy dreams of tackling dramatic film roles in the vein of Leonardo DiCaprio’s early career – The Basketball Diaries, Catch Me If You Can, Romeo + Juliet. “I like those character-driven, dramatic movies,” he said. But he’s open to anything. “I’d love to be part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe one day. I want to dip my toes in every body of water.”
His advice for young actors from small towns?
“If you’re excited about something, just do it. Do it all. Do it as much as you can. Learn as much as you can. There’s so much to learn in this industry, and filling yourself with knowledge will only help in the long run.”
