Jonathan Jackson, who plays Lucky Spencer on General Hospital, recently reflected on his exit from the long-running soap opera. Introduced in 1993 as the son of Laura Webber and Luke Spencer, the character has been portrayed by Jackson since his inception. After being away from the show for over nine years, Jackson made a full-time return in August 2024. However, just nine months later, his character is departing once again, leaving fans curious about the real reason behind his sudden exit.
Here are all the details.
Jonathan Jackson says he hoped for a longer stay on General Hospital
In an interview with TV Insider, Jackson opened up about how he and the GH team made their best attempts to keep him on the show longer, but it ultimately didn’t work out. He clarified that earlier, there was no intention of departing this soon. He said, “It was more of a real, sincere attempt from myself and from General Hospital to make it work for a longer period of time. The hope was to be able to stay on longer.”
Shedding light on the real reason for his exit, he revealed that he had earlier wanted to experiment if he could strike a balance between work and family. However, his constant travel from his home in Tennessee to his workplace in California eventually became a challenge.
“There was always that possibility because it was a bit of an experiment on my part to see if I could make it work with the family dynamic. There were moments where I thought, ‘I think I can find this balance with the family and time back and forth,’ and then you just have to pray about it and try to do what you feel is right. We gave it our best shot, but we weren’t able to keep it going,” he added.
Additionally, he mentioned that he tried to take one day at a time and did his best to make things work. He also appreciated executive producer Frank Valentini for keeping an “open mind” and bringing Lucky’s journey this far. Faced with increasing challenges in maintaining a work-life balance, Jackson ultimately decided to exit the show.
