Already have an account?
Get back to the
ABC

Jake on GENERAL HOSPITAL — Everything You Need To Know

Tags:

Soaps In Depth has affiliate partnerships. We receive compensation when you click on a link and make a purchase. Learn more!

Jake Spencer on GENERAL HOSPITAL has quite a complicated history so let us break it all down for you. The current actor playing Jake is Hudson West, who had previously appeared in films like Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 and television series like AMERICAN CRIME STORY and GREY’S ANATOMY. When the child was a toddler, he was played by twins Edward and James Nigbor, and when GH brought the character back in 2015, James took over the role solo but was recast a year later with West, who fans have watched grow up in the role as he continues to appear to this day.

Jake is the result of an affair that Elizabeth Webber had with Jason Morgan upon finding out that Lucky Spencer was cheating on her with Maxie. (Jason was also on the outs with Sam because he found her in bed with Ric!) Although Liz wasn’t sure who fathered her child, a paternity test revealed it was Jason. After Liz told Jason, he eventually confessed the truth to Lucky. Still, they all agreed to keep up the charade that Lucky is Jake’s father so the boy wouldn’t be affected by Jason’s involvement in the mob.

GH Liz, Lucky & Jake - ABC/Getty
Liz let Lucky believe Jake was his son.Adam Larkey/ABC via Getty Images

Tragically, Jake was hit by a car in a hit-and-run and declared brain dead in 2011. Desperate for a kidney transplant to help save the life of her ailing daughter, Josslyn Jacks, Carly was grateful when Lucky and Elizabeth agreed to donate Jake’s organs. Later, it was revealed that Luke Spencer had hit Jake while driving drunk, and the truth of his actions caused him to spiral out of control.

However, in 2015, Lucky informed his father that Jake was actually alive, so Luke headed to Cassadine Island where he was shocked to discover the boy living with Helena Cassadine. Jake was reunited with his family, but things at home were slightly confusing as his father, Jason, had amnesia and was calling himself Jake at the time. 

GH Liz and Jake - JPI
Liz got her son back from the dead!Howard Wise/jpistudios.com

Jake would occasionally act a little odd, but news that Helena had died really affected him and Liz worried he needed help. He began drawing creepy pictures and complaining that someone was watching him through the window of their home. Believing Sam McCall was the reason that his parents weren’t together, Jake claimed she was the one stalking him and even left her for dead after she fell down a flight of stairs. 

After he was hit by a car while riding his bike, Jake awoke believing he’d killed Sam, but Liz assured him that wasn’t true and Sam was fine. She also revealed that the reason she and Jason had split up was all her fault because she had lied about his true identity while he had amnesia.

During their art therapy sessions, Jake bonded with Franco Baldwin and was happy when the artist and his mother became close. But when his behavior became disturbing again talking about curses and using quotes from Helena’s book, Liz and Franco feared the worst. Jake planned to perform a magic act at the 2017 Nurses Ball with Emma Drake and Charlotte Cassadine but it was all part of Helena’s scheme to unleash the Chimera virus on Port Charles. Thankfully, Jake’s loved ones were able to get through his hallucinations of Helena to bring him back to reality and save the day.

GH Liz, Jake & Franco - JPI
Franco was a big help with Jake.XJJohnson/jpistudios.com

Then Jake’s life got even more complicated when the real Jason came back to Port Charles and it was revealed that the man Jake had thought was his father for years was really Jason’s twin, Drew Cain. Jake reacted badly to the news and insisted that Drew was his father, but over time he came to accept Jason back in his life.

Jake was also the one to tell Liz and Franco about the trouble that his little brother, Aiden, was having at school with bullies. Not only did Jake have to deal with losing Drew, but then Franco was shot and killed. Unable to believe that his father could have killed his stepfather, Jake insisted on supporting Jason as he was wrongfully accused. This caused a lot of friction between Jake and big brother Cameron Webber, who was determined to make Jason pay for Franco’s death. Thankfully, the siblings eventually made up.

Eager to see Franco’s killer get what’s coming to them, Jake was happy to hear that Peter August was finally dead. He was also pleased to see Franco’s portrait of Liz back in the house because he was concerned everyone was forgetting about him. Though Liz was a little upset at him to discover her son had been in contact with her parents, whom she had been avoiding for years!

GH Jake Anna Charlotte shot
Jake couldn’t understand why Anna shot Charlotte.Christine Bartolucci/Disney

In March 2023, Jake was part of the family celebration to wish Cameron well as he headed off to college. And in September, he began dating Charlotte Cassadine. When they joined the other kids on Halloween, Jake worried when Charlotte took off and followed her to Anna Devane’s apartment. He was horrified to discover that Anna had shot Charlotte, believing her to be an intruder! Feeling responsible for letting Charlotte get away, Jake was overwhelmed with guilt and traumatized by the shooting. He even admitted to his mother that he wanted to get involved in meetings to help with gun control.

Jake continued being a good older brother, helping reassure Violet Finn when she worried that her father, Dr. Hamilton Finn was going away because he was being sued for malpractice. And in March 2024, he caught Danny Morgan vaping and warned him how dangerous it was. He took the vape away and when Finn later found it in the house, Jake explained he had taken it from a friend he was worried about. At Finn’s urging, he also came clean with his mom, who also believed he was telling the truth.

Stay tuned to see what happens to the kid next!

Use left and right arrow keys to navigate between menu items. Use right arrow key to move into submenus. Use escape to exit the menu. Use up and down arrow keys to explore. Use left arrow key to move back to the parent list.