GENERAL HOSPITAL: MICHAEL EASTON BEARISH ON RETURNING ONCE FINN'S 3-MONTH REHAB STINT IS OVER

Don't count on Michael Easton returning to ABC's General Hospital once Dr. Hamilton Finn wraps his stint in rehab.

Easton announced his exit on June 26 - barely 24 hours before what would be his final GH appearance after a 12-year, off-and-on run.

"I've always been partial to the Irish goodbye. That's where you leave the party without actually telling anyone you're gone," Easton said in a video shared on Instagram.

"I've loved every minute that I've been here. I want to thank the entire cast and crew for allowing me to share their stage this past 10 years," he continued. "Most importantly, I want to thank all of you for the kindness and love you've shown me and my family. I won't ever forget you."

Facilitating Easton's sudden send-off was a storyline in which the passing of Finn's father (played by Gregory Harrison) triggered a depression that in turn nudged the good doc off the wagon. In the aforementioned June 27 episode, Finn departed for a rehab stint that is expected to last three months.

But even with that seeming end point penciled in, Easton is bearing on reprising the role.

"I think there was a finality [to my exit]," he told Soap Hub, "and there was a finality for me to it, too."

Surveying his (hasty) exit storyline, Easton told Soap Hub, "From an acting standpoint, I would have liked to have just brought a little more subtlety and nuance to it. I had to get to a point very quickly."

That said, Easton said he got to work with a variety of "really wonderful actors" during his GH run, including Harrison (who is "equally, if not more, wonderful as a human being"), and Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth) and Finola Hughes (Anna), whom he said are "both amazingly present when you're in scenes with them."

Bidding adieu to Jophielle Love, who plays Finn's daughter Violet, meanwhile "was the hardest goodbye of them all," Easton told Soap Hub. "People said that our relationship looked so natural, as if we'd known each other in past lives. I think she is going to do amazing things both as an actress and as a singer."

2024-07-05T17:54:54Z dg43tfdfdgfd