THE SCOOP
More than 15 years since the character was last seen on screen as part of the spinoff series “General Hospital: Night Shift,” with original star Antonio Sabato Jr. reprising the role, “General Hospital” has decided to bring back the John “Jagger” Cates character to Port Charles with actor Adam J. Harrington now portraying the part. Ironically, Harrington’s middle name is actually John.
Harrington debuted on the daytime drama series during the Friday, February 2 episode, wherein Jagger, now going by his first name, John, met Carly (Laura Wright) outside of the newly christened Bobbie’s eatery, which is named after Carly’s late mother, Bobbie Spencer (played by the late Jacklyn Zeman).
When last seen in 2008, Jagger (Sabato Jr.) had become an FBI agent and was a single father to an autistic son whom he named after his late brother, Stone Cates (Michael Sutton). The father/son duo eventually relocated back to San Francisco, where Jagger jump started his law enforcement career in 1994 shortly after marrying Karen (then played by Cari Shayne) when the then happy couple left for greater pastures following the exits of their portrayers from the series. In 1995, Jagger made a brief return to Port Charles to spend time with his brother, who was dying of AIDS. Shortly after Stone’s death, Jagger again returned to San Francisco. The role of Stone Cates II, or Stone Cates Jr., was played by the late actor Cameron Boyce (Disney’s “Jessie”)
First introduced in 1992, Jagger was part of the young adult scene that included the aforementioned Karen, Brenda (Vanessa Marcil), AJ (Sean Kanan) and Jason (Steve Burton), among characters in the age group.
With more than 100 acting credits under his belt, including roles as an FBI agent in episodes of “Bosch,” “The Mob Doctor” and “Dexter,” Harrington is no stranger to episodic television, having appeared in multiple episodes of such shows as “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation,” “Criminal Minds,” “CSI: NY,” “CSI: Miami,” “Smallville,” “Supernatural,” “Parks and Recreation,” “Shadowhunters,” “Show Me Yours,” “Queer as Folk,” “Whistler,” “NCIS,” “The Rookie” and more recently “The Lincoln Lawyer,” among his numerous other credits.
In 2011, Harrington voiced one of the main characters in the popular video game “L.A. Noire,” where he played a detective who had a key role in the overall murder investigation spearheaded by his Vice partner Cole Phelps (Aaron Staton). In the game, Vice is a department within the L.A.P.D. that handles offenses dealing with prostitution, narcotics, lewdness, lasciviousness and obscenity. Although now outdated graphics-wise due to the game systems in use at the time, the game was an innovator in utilizing the likeness of its cast, where the characters’ voices matched the actors portraying them. The game went on to sell over five million copies worldwide.
Check out photos of Harrington’s debut on “General Hospital” below.
Laura Wright as Carly Spencer and Adam J. Harrington as John “Jagger” Cates on “General Hospital”
