Kin Shriner: Kin Shriner reflects on the General Hospital actors who shaped his career

Kin Shriner has played Scotty Baldwin on General Hospital for so long that the character has aged, shifted, hardened, softened, and occasionally gone off the rails right alongside him. Although he hasn’t been on for a while, he’s still beloved by fans. Shriner recently looked back on the iconic actors who shaped his journey.

Lessons from the early days of General Hospital

Shriner recently appeared on The Locher Room, where he talked openly about the people who helped define his time on GH. One story stuck with him: Gerald Gordon, a major presence on the show early on when he played Dr. Mark Dante, once took him to lunch and explained that longevity in daytime only works if the audience grows with you. Shriner has carried that advice ever since, letting Scotty evolve instead of freezing him in time.

That mindset extended to how Shriner viewed the early production days. GH was live, fast, and unforgiving. There were no safety nets, no endless resets. You showed up ready, or you dropped the ball. That pressure didn’t teach him theory. It taught him how to decide and move on.

He talked about how strange it felt becoming part of the pop culture before anyone had language for it, when you just knew people were watching because suddenly he was everywhere. Autograph lines wrapping around restaurants. Fans tracked him down at private homes. It was thrilling, strange, and impossible to process in the moment, but it made clear that the work mattered to people watching at home.

The actors who left their mark

General Hospital's Scotty and Bobbie. | Image Source: JPI

Then Shriner talked about Anthony Geary, and the admiration was immediate. He described Geary as someone who took ownership of Luke Spencer from day one, reshaping dialogue, appearance, and energy until the character felt genuine. Shriner noticed it instantly. This was someone playing the long game before anyone else realised there was one.

Tristan Rogers (Robert) came into Shriner’s life with a different kind of impact. A rogue, by Shriner’s telling, Rogers never had to push for it. He was naturally funny, a little unpredictable, and even years later, just thinking about him was enough to make Shriner smile.

Then there were the friendships that felt like family. Jackie Zeman wasn’t just Bobbie Spencer. She was adventurous, warm, always up for a laugh, whether that meant hopping on Shriner’s motorcycle or heading out on his boat. Leslie Charleson (Monica) was someone Shriner practically lived alongside in those early years, bonding over shared nerves, Elvis stories, and the strange intensity of starting something that would last a lifetime.