Fans were stunned when news broke that, after just nine short months, actor Jonathan Jackson would be stepping away from his role of Lucky Spencer on the ABC soap opera General Hospital. Now, the Emmy-winning actor has opening up about whether this exit was always part of the plan, what he took from this opportunity and what exciting projects he has lined up in the future, and fans have shared their reaction to this news.
The actor recently spoke with TVLine about his exit. When asked if this was always meant to be a short term return, Jackson shared, “It was more of a real, sincere attempt from myself and from General Hospital to make it work for a longer period of time. The hope was to be able to stay on longer.”
The actor was making the commute from his home in Nashville, Tennessee to Los Angeles, California, where the show was filmed and attempting to balance his responsibilities at home with this job. Jackson continued, “There was always that possibility because it was a bit of an experiment on my part to see if I could make it work with the family dynamic, there were moments where I thought, ‘I think I can find this balance with the family and time back and forth,’ and then you just have to pray about it and try to do what you feel is right. We gave it our best shot, but we weren’t able to keep it going.”
Fans took to X (Formerly Twitter) to show their support for Jackson. One user posted “Glad he did an exit interview and was appropriately complimentary of RH. The commute was never a match for his family life, which he should have already known, and the show did not set him up for success with the writing. Neither party should call on the other again, imo. #GH“, while another added “Keep the door open for JJ to drop back in whenever he can. IMHO he will always be an essential part of #GH.” Though some fans also shared their frustrations. One user posted, “Maybe, just maybe, don’t contract sign those who live in another state, 31 hours away and is half-way across the country. That might help the situation a bit, as well.”
Reflecting upon his recent time on the show, Jackson shared, “It’s always kind of nostalgic when I’m away from the show for a while and I come back, in some ways, it’s always a bit overwhelming, because there aren’t that many situations in life that you get to go and enter into this world where a lot has changed and a lot has stayed the same. Seeing a lot of people in the crew, people you’ve known off and on for so many years, there are just those amazing connections. And then on top of that, you have the character you’re playing that has this history, and you get to work with so many people again.”
“Wishing him all the best, also very sad to see Lucky leave PC. The love between Liz and Lucky is so special.” Shared one user on Instagram
While Jackson may be leaving General Hospital the actor is staying busy. Jackson added “I’ll be releasing a solo album later this year. I have at least one book that’s coming out later this year as well, a book of poetry and an anthology of poems that I’ve been working on for at least 15 years now. It’s called Anthology of Longing. And then there’s another book that came out in 2014 called The Mystery of Art, but this is almost like a second installment to that concept, an exploration into the art of story and how that relates to history and faith and poetry, and all that kind of stuff. So, that one’s scheduled to come out later this year. And then next year we’re going to be going to the UK and Europe, with Nashville touring, which is going to be really exciting. So, music and books and whatever other projects come along.”
“I’m really sad to see him go.. he’s always been a favorite of mine! Good luck @jonathanjacksonhq We will miss you 😘” Added a fan on Instagram.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC and streams weeknights on Hulu.
