General Hospital star James Patrick Stuart speaks out on Valentin Cassadine's return

General Hospital never says goodbye to Valentin Cassadine for very long. Now, his portrayer, James Patrick Stuart, is back taping at the ABC studios as Valentin is back in Port Charles. Stuart is speaking out about his return to the fan favorite serial.

General Hospital, Valentin's day

James Patrick Stuart is back as Valentin Cassadine on General Hospital | Image: Disney/Christine Bartolucci

Stuart told Soap Opera Digest that he's known co-star Laura Wright (Carly) since their days in New York when he was on All My Children as Will, and she was Ally on Loving. The actor recalls that nearly a decade ago, they spied each other at the GH holiday party, and both said they'd hoped they could work together someday.

Stuart observed that once Carly showed up at his overseas prison (Steinmauer) wearing a brunette wig and glasses, pretending to be Valentin's lawyer, there such great potential for some powerful scenes.

Might there be some romantic sparks between Carly and Valentin? "Triangles are very interesting," Stuart says (Carly's in a relationship now with Jack Brennan, played by Chris McKenna). "[Carly's] continued fascination with Brennan, and Valentin's continued fascination with Anna [Finola Hughes]...Well, I guess that would be a square."

Port Charles, home again

James Patrick Stuart is back on General Hospital, sharing scenes with Laura Wright's Carly | Image: ABC/Todd Wawrychuk

Stuart was familiar with OG Brennan, played by Charles Mesure, and was a fan of that actor's work on GH. "[Chris] has found his strength," Stuart observes. "He's really got a very powerful energy -- he's very alpha, and I like watching him work."

Stuart says that he's been warmly welcomed back to the show by the entire GH company. He describes it as like getting a "nice, warm hug [that] feels really good." Once Anna is freed from captivity, Stuart hopes that he gets to share screentime with Hughes. "I love Finola Hughes up and down and sideways," the actor says. He believes that Valentin has a lifelong obsession with Anna, and it is not going away anytime soon!

Next year, Stuart marks his 10th year on GH. He says that he never could have predicted how long he'd be on the show, as his original run was only supposed to be 10 days! Quoting the late John Lennon, Stuart says, "Life's what happens when you're busy making other plans."

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