Marking a return to U.S. network soaps after nearly 30 years, veteran actor Maxwell Caulfield (“The Colbys,” “Dynasty”) will make a one-episode appearance on ABC’s “General Hospital,” playing a “shady new character.”
According to TV Insider, Caulfield portrays Apollo, a New York City gallery owner, in the Friday, May 29 episode of the daytime drama series, where he’ll interact with Ava Jerome (Maura West) and Alexis Davis (Nancy Lee Grahn), who are seeking information about Delilah, the mother of baby Phoebe, whom has become an important figure in the lives of Brook Lynn Quartermaine (Amanda Setton) and her husband, Harrison Chase (Josh Swickard) as they seek to adopt the infant.
In an interview with the outlet, Caulfield shared that the opportunity to join the soap came just as he was preparing to board a flight to the U.K. with his wife, Juliet Mills (Tabitha Lenox, “Passions”), and their daughter, Melissa, to celebrate the landmark birthday for Juliet’s sister, Hayley Mills (“The Parent Trap”).
“She had a big landmark birthday in London, and that was the day that they needed me over there at Prospect [Studios],” he shared. “You probably hear actors tell you all the time, but it’s a rule of thumb: If you want to get a job, book yourself a holiday and the phone will ring telling you to call it off. Juliet ended up going with our daughter, and I changed my ticket and stayed behind.”
It was the show’s casting director, Mark Teschner, who reached out to Caulfield, with the actor noting, “Mark Teschner, the brilliant casting director over there, has been working for a while to get a role for me on the show. In this instance, it’s just a one-off, but I was happy to take it.”
Though the role is currently set as a one-off, as he said to the outlet, Caulfield welcomes the chance to return, saying, “I got great treatment over there.” He added, “I certainly felt a lot of love and respect. It was a lovely affirmation from Frank [Valentini, executive producer] and the guys over at ABC. I had just a little taste of what it’s like to be on ‘GH,’ and it was very gratifying.”
“The true story is- I was in the makeup chair and saw Ava, Alexis, and some guy I didn’t know doing a scene on the monitor, commented “General Hospital” star Chris L. McKenna (Jack Brennan) in a post on X (formerly Twitter), which included a photo of himself posing with Caulfield. “I heard the guy say one line and I stopped, turned around, curious, (because it was clear that was an experienced actor from just a few words) and said ‘Who’s playing the maitre’d? He’s a good actor.’ Some one said, ‘You ever see Empire Records?’ And I jumped out of my chair- ‘That’s Maxwell Caulfield?!’ And I ran to go meet him.”
“I was so excited I nearly assaulted him and then texted this to all my high school friends,” he shared, referring to the photo.
I was so excited I nearly assaulted him and then texted this to all my high school friends. @maxcaulfield #CoolRider #Grease2 #EmpireRecords #RexManningDay #GH pic.twitter.com/IxiCVXCnmL
— Chris L. McKenna (@ChrisLMcKenna) May 28, 2026
In a follow-up post, McKenna said, “Um, he’s talking about me and I am BLUSHING…,” in response to a comment made by Caulfield in his TV Insider interview, in which he talked about meeting one of the show’s current cast members, later revealed to be McKenna.
“I passed one of the handsomest guys on the show in the corridor. We didn’t exchange names, but I said, ‘Oh, well, there’s a certified soap hunk,’ — 6’3”, square jaw, the rest of it — and as I was leaving, he was one of the guys who insisted that we get photographed together,” Caulfield noted, adding, “He said, ‘Come on, Rex Manning. I gotta get a shot with Rex.’” Caulfield played the role of Rex Manning in the cult classic film “Empire Records,” which was released in 1995 and has seen fans celebrate April 8 each year, dubbing it “Rex Manning Day.”
Caulfield first made a name for himself as an actor in 1980, when he landed a small role on the soap opera “Ryan’s Hope.” He later starred in “Grease 2,” a sequel to the smash-hit film starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John. Caulfield played Michael opposite Michelle Pfeiffer, who played Stephanie, the Danny-and-Sandy-type character.
By 1985, Caulfield had become a household name, portraying Miles Colby on the primetime soap “Dynasty” and its spinoff, “The Colbys,” the latter of which featured the likes of Charlton Heston (“The Ten Commandments,” “Ben-Hur”), John James (Tom Bergman, “Search for Tomorrow”), Katharine Ross, Emma Samms (Holly Sutton, “General Hospital”), Ricardo Montalban (“Fantasy Island”), Stephanie Beacham, Tracy Scoggins and Claire Yarlett, among others.
Following the cancellation of “The Colbys” in 1987, Caulfield landed several feature film and TV roles, including a role on “All My Children,” where he portrayed Pierce Riley from 1996-1997.
“I got to meet the creator of the show, Miss [Agnes] Nixon herself, at Tavern on the Green in New York City,” recalled the actor to TV Insider of the experience. “And that was like meeting The Godmother. But it was a slightly jinxed role insofar as I was the third guy to step in and play this part, and they made a very odd decision, which was to go back and tell the Pierce Riley story all over again.”
ABC
Though his casting was challenging at the time, considering he was the third actor to take on the character by that point, Caulfield says, “I enjoyed particularly seeing Mike Nader [who played Dimitri Marick on ‘All My Children’ and Dex Dexter on ‘Dynasty’] over there. Not that I had any scenes with him, but watching Mike in action was something else.”
With numerous other credits under his belt, Caulfield has most recently appeared in the Paramount+ original series “Landman” and the soap opera “The Bay,” which was created and executive produced by Gregori Martin. The actor also appeared in several British soaps over the years, playing Jim Brodie from 2003-2004 on both “Casualty” and “Holby City,” and playing Mark Wylde on “Emmerdale” from 2009-2010.
