General Hospital star Daniel Goddard reveals the soap roles that got away 

General Hospital star Daniel Goddard is seeing his story heat up as Dr. Henry Dalton's been getting more screen time lately. He appeared this week on air with Genie Francis's Laura, which was a reunion of sorts since they played mother (Genevieve) and son (Cane) on The Young and the Restless. What fans may not know is that Goddard was up for other roles, too!

General Hospital, Daniel Goddard, soap hopper

Before landing the role of Cane, Goddard was under consideration for the part of Dr. Patrick Drake on GH, which went to Jason Thompson in 2005. Thompson now plays Billy Abbott on Y&R, Goddard's former series.

"Isn’t that ironic?” Goddard shared with Soap Opera Digest. He read for the part, which went to Thompson, and then, Goddard landed as Cane Ashby (now played by Billy Flynn, who is still airing as Chad on Days of our Lives).

Ironically, there's a twist in all this -- Goddard's Henry is sharing screen time with Braedyn Bruner's Emma, Patrick's daughter! So, there's this bizarre kind of crossover moment," the actor points out.

Goddard is philosophical about how it all played out. He remembers sitting in GH casting director Mark Tescher's office, thinking he may not have been the best fit for Patrick. He'd gone back twice for the part, but in the end, it went to Thompson.

Kimberly McCullough (ex-Robin) and Thompson went on to make soap opera history as supercouple Robin and Patrick, affectionately called "Scrubs" by their fans (as both characters are doctors).

What's meant to be will be

Patrick wasn't the only role that Goddard tested for around this time. He was up for the part of Brad Snyder on As the World Turns. That role went to fan favorite actor Austin Peck (ex-Austin). He also tested for the role of One Life to Live's Nash Brennan, which went to Forbes March.

Nearly going to Oakdale brought Goddard to the attention of CBS executives, who arranged for the actor to have a meeting with Lynn Latham, who was writing and producing Y&R at the time. That led to Goddard being hired as Cane.

The revolving door of daytime never seems to stop spinning. Goddard had a hunch that when the late Billy Miller exited his role as Billy on Y&R, his part would eventually be played by Thompson. "I spent a lot of time with Jason, updating him and downloading him on who Billy Abbott was going to be and the relationship that Cane and Billy Abbott had," Goddard explained.

Trending

Those intel sessions led to some bonding between the two men. It reminded Goddard that everything happens for a reason. "You get a role because you’re meant to play it, and you don’t get a role because there’s somebody else who’s meant to play it," Goddard muses.

Catch all-new episodes of General Hospital on ABC and Hulu

×

Was this article helpful?

Thank You for feedback