General Hospital fans aren’t the only ones happy to see Steve Burton back on the show — his costar Laura Wright is equally as excited for his return.
“It’s perfect. It’s home. It’s safety,” Wright, 53, said of Burton’s comeback in a behind-the-scenes video from his homecoming episode, which aired on Monday, March 4.
Wright plays Carly Corinthos, who has been both a friend and love interest of Burton’s Jason Morgan on the soap opera. The actress teased in the video that her character is also excited to see Jason return to the fictional town of Port Charles.
“Jason coming back into Carly’s world, it fires up the part of Carly that fights for him, and believes in him, and is next to him no matter what,” Wright said. “And not everybody can handle that.”
She noted that the secret to Jason’s appeal on the series is thanks to Burton’s portrayal and their similar characteristics.
“It’s the same thing that connects us all to Steve, and I love this so much. It’s Jason and Steve, their integrity,” Wright said, explaining why fans connect with the TV bad boy. “The character of Jason will die for the ones he loves, and that is something all of us would love to have and not everybody does. But, we understand and connect to it, because it’s something that we want.”
Burton, 53, agreed with Wright, adding, “I think it’s always the misunderstood guy, who works from a lot of pain [that fans like]. Jason is very loyal to the people he loves and will be there for them no matter what. I think people can relate to that or would love that in their life.”
He joked, “Besides the criminal activity, he’s a pretty solid guy.”
Maurice Benard, who plays Sonny Corinthos on the show, called Jason a “sweeter bad boy” than his own character. He gushed that in addition to Jason being an “honest character who has a lot of integrity,” his castmate Burton is “a damn good actor.”
Benard, 61, called Burton a “brother,” revealing that having him back on set feels “like old times.” Burton, meanwhile, told the cameras, “It just feels really good to be back on set with my people.”
Viewers were introduced to Burton’s Jason in 1991 ,and he played the character until 2012. He reprised the role from 2017 to 2021 until he was fired after a dispute over COVID vaccine filming guidelines.
At the time, Burton said he applied for “medical and religious exemptions” because he didn’t agree with being required to get vaccinated to work. His request was denied, but he hinted that it wouldn’t be the last fans saw of Jason on the soap opera.
In January, Burton teased his return to General Hospital during the 60th anniversary special. The news came days after Burton announced his exit from Days of Our Lives, which he worked on throughout 2023.
Last month, Burton confirmed his return date for General Hospital and took fans on a tour of the set. “This story is going to be sick,” he teased via a February social media video posted via the “Daily Drama” podcast’s YouTube page. “It’s gonna be awesome.”
When Burton returned on Monday’s episode, viewers learned that Jason was not dead, as they previously believed. When Burton exited in 2021, his character died after a tunnel collapse, but his body was never found. That left the door open for Jason to return alive this season.
General Hospital airs on ABC weekdays at 3 p.m. ET.
