Putting to rest a slew of rumors and speculation that sprouted after last week’s news of his upcoming departure from “General Hospital,” actor Jonathan Jackson (Lucky Spencer) said in a recent interview that his decision to leave the daytime drama series stems from too much travel between his home in Tennessee and the show’s Los Angeles studio.
Released on Monday, Jackson said in an interview with TV Insider that the plan was always for the Daytime Emmy Award winner to continue playing his popular character long-term, and he had never intended to leave the series just nine months after returning on-screen.
“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,” said Jackson to the outlet. “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.”
A father of three and married to former “General Hospital” cast member Lisa Vultaggio (ex-Hannah Scott) in real-life, Jackson is set to depart the soap opera later this week following a decision that was made fairly recently behind the scenes.
“I was trying to stay in the moment as much as possible,” Jackson notes of how his departure came to be. “That’s really where my mindset was, taking it one day at a time, but also one month at a time, and just seeing how it was feeling. I have to say that none of this would have happened at all if Frank [Valentini, executive producer] wasn’t so open and helpful to even get it this far. So that’s definitely something I’ve been extremely blessed by.”
“We were so glad Jonathan was able to reprise the role of Lucky, even if was for a limited time,” said Valentini in a statement following news of Jackson’s exit from the soap opera. “We wish him nothing but the best, and the door is always open for Jonathan to return.”
Although his return to the show was brief, Jackson shared that he enjoyed reuniting with some of his castmates, including Genie Francis (Laura Collins), Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) and Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth Webber), as well as Kate Mansi (Kristina Corinthos-Davis), who joined the show in 2023.
“When I was here in 2009 to 2011, it was more of the implosion of Lucky and Elizabeth, and it was just kind of full-on tragedy,” recalled Jackson. “This time, there was a lot of goodness and a lot of sweetness amidst the drama, and it was fun to be a part of that. And the response from the fans was really precious as well.”
Although this is the end of the road for Jackson in the role of Lucky Spencer, for now, the beloved actor is looking forward to what’s next, including an upcoming tour, the release of a solo album and a book of poetry and an anthology of poems, set for release later this year. The book is called “Anthology of Longing” and is the second installment in a concept by Jackson that began with the 2014 release of “The Mystery of Art.”
Outside of his other achievements, next year Jackson will also reunite with some of his former “Nashville” cast members for a tour set to take place in Europe, which includes performances in the United Kingdom.
