Jacob Young's February premiere as Luke and Laura's presumed-dead-son Lucky Spencer on GH naturally stirred up memories of Young's predecessor, two-time Daytime Emmy Award winning actor Jonathan Jackson, who voluntarily exited the role a year ago.
Saying GoodBye
The decision to leave, on a professional level, it was another matter all together. "It was difficult to say goodbye to everyone," Jackson tells Update, "I got along so well with the crew, all the actors, everyone. But I knew it was the right time and that it was something that I wanted to do. I didn't have second thoughts, but it wasn't like I was saying, ‘Hallelujah, I'm out of here!' It was a very calm moment. It was time to see what was out there."
Purple Haze
Jackson immediately went to Toronto to film "Purple Haze", an ABC movie of the week that airs on April 17. The handsome star plays a college hockey athlete drawn into the world of drugs by the woman he loves, played by POPULAR's Carly Pope. "I really liked this movie because it's honest in its portrayal," shares Jackson, who had to learn to ice skate for his role in this project. "My character's life falls apart. He goes through withdrawal, a very horrible process. I hope that it shows the reality that doing drugs is just not worth it."
The actor has also completed roles in the film ‘The Smiling Suicide Club' and ‘True Rights'. In the first project, Jackson plays Toby, who gets caught in a love triangle. "True Rights" deals with a group of producers trying to get the rights to people's real life stories. Jackson plays "an obnoxious military-type guy" sought after by the producers. The actor's brother Richard Jackson stars in the project as a film director, documenting the producer's efforts.
Segueing into the world of movies was made easier for Jackson since he'd completed a few films while still playing Lucky. "As an actor, I like to approach the two mediums (soaps and films) the same way," says Jackson. "I like having to be on my toes with the fast pace of GH and working on films where you have more time to think about things."
Published reports say that Jackson was willing to return to Port Charles temporarily if the writers wanted to write out Lucky and Liz together. "I guess it wasn't in their plans. And I don't think if anyone knows (at this point) if Becky's staying or not."
Seeing His GH Family
While Jackson's life as Lucky is over, my relationships with GH pals are not. "I stay in touch with many people from the show," shares the actor , including Tyler Christopher, Maurice Benard, Steve Burton and Anthony Geary. "I like to go down to the studio set and see the hair and makeup people, too. Tyler and I play basketball together quite a bit."
Like Christopher, Jackson is no longer a daily fixture in the world of soaps. However, he is still recognized fondly and often by loyal fans.
Appearing in such films as "The Deep End Of The Ocean" has opened the actor up to a whole new set of admirers. "I was pretty young, 11, when I started GH," recalls Jackson. "People would approach me about the show and they felt like they knew me - and I'd never met them. That took some getting used to, especially given that I was as young as I was. I remember to talk to different people."
Jackson has interests that appeal to him behind the screen, including composing music and screenwriting with Richard. "We're writing a lot together," reveals the young artist. "We're interested in writing different things, young romantic dramas, comedies and epics - the whole range."
