The long way home

Steve Burton Discusses -His Exit From GH And His Surprise Reprisal Of His First Daytime Role.

- Mara Levinsky

Last fall, Steve Burton left the role of GH's Jason, which he had played on and off since 1991 when the show implemented a vaccine mandate. For many fans, the shock of his departure had yet to wear off when, in April, came word that Burton, whose daytime career began with the short-term role of Harris Michaels on DAYS, would be reprising the character for the second chapter of the Peacock streaming series DAYS: BEYOND SALEM. Here, in his first in-depth interview since the news broke, Burton discusses the unexpected path his career has taken these last few months.

Soap Opera Digest: When you exited GENERAL HOSPITAL, was the thought of doing another daytime show or in this case, the streaming companion series to a daytime show - anywhere on your radar?

Steve Burton: When I left GH, I literally was not auditioning for anything. I got sent a lot of auditions. My agent really doesn't like me — no, he does, but he's like, "Are you going to audition for anything?!" [I] didn't really plan on [auditioning]; I was just taking that time to work on myself and grow and be with my kids and then this opportunity came, and I thought it was super-interesting because it was a limited series and it was on Peacock and it was streaming. When I met with Albert Alarr, the co-executive producer, who's an awesome guy, months ago, he was like,