Already have an account?
Get back to the
GENERAL HOSPITAL

Catching up With DAYS and GH Alum Gregory Zarian (EXCLUSIVE)

Actor Gregory Zarian got his start playing Brent on DAYS OF OUR LIVES and later became a favorite among GENERAL HOSPITAL fans as Kate’s best friend, Julius. Currently, he can be seen in the new season of HBO’s critically-acclaimed WESTWORLD and is pre-nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Digital Daytime Drama Series for his work as Nate on VENICE: THE SERIES. “It feels amazing,” he told Soaps In Depth of the honor. “Especially with all that is going on in the world right now, it was great to get some good news.”

Playing Nate Pfander on VENICE is an interesting challenge for Zarian, having previously played the character’s identical twin, Nick, in the web soap’s previous season. “I am an identical twin and I still found myself panicking and wondering what do I do until I said, ‘Stop. There is nothing to do. you are a twin,'” the actor laughed. “My twin, Lawrence, and I are very much alike, however, there are subtle, and some distinct, differences between us. So I gave Nate some of Lawrence and my best attributes, like his kindness and generosity, and gave Nick our intellect and determination. Crystal Chappell, the creator of VENICE, just let me do my thing. She lets all of us create our characters and other than a tweak here and a possible adjustment there, it is a playground where we get to play, uncover, and discover.”

Gregory Zarian in Venice
“To do what I love and then get an Emmy pre-nomination, from my peers, for a show that I am so grateful to be apart of, is a dream come true,” Zarian exclaimed.

Zarian is also recurring as Reed Phillips, a Delos board member in the new season of WESTWORLD that premiered in March. “Working on a huge HBO series like WESTWORLD is truly magical,” he confided. “But it doesn’t take away from the smaller jobs, the indie films, web series like VENICE, etc. For me, working, no matter what the job is, the stakes are just as high. I have to turn out the best performance I can.”

The actor has fond memories of his stint on DAYS back in 1986 that launched his career. “It was very exciting, since — if I’m being honest — I really had no idea what I was doing,” Zarian admitted. “I got to work with Melissa Reeves (Jennifer) who was a sweetheart!” He also enjoyed his time in Port Charles in 2007 and 2008. “I got to work with the beautiful Megan Ward (ex-Kate),” he recalled. “We were friends way before I got cast as her best pal, Julius. Maurice Benard, who plays Sonny, is the best. He let my Julius just be himself. There was one day that I had a huge monologue and right before we started to film, he said, ‘Go for it, you got this!’ To this day, whenever I see him, I still say thank you. Also, the GH fans are amazing. They have welcomed me and Julius with open arms. I get invited back to all the GH Fan Club Past Cast events. Love them all.”

Zarian wouldn’t mind making a return to daytime, perhaps on one of the CBS sudsers, like THE BOLD & THE BEAUTIFUL. “Because it is a show that deals with the modeling world and I am very grateful for my career as a model,” he mused, “so parlaying that into a daytime character on such an iconic show would be amazing. And THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS because some of my dearest friends are on the show, including Tracey E. Bregman (Lauren), Beth Maitland (Traci), Christian LeBlanc (Michael), and Michelle Stafford (Phyllis).

“Do you hear that, Soap Gods and The Powers That Be at Y&R?” Zarian joked. “In advance, thank you!”

Watch Zarian in VENICE: THE SERIES online, check him out in upcoming episodes of WESTWORLD, and keep an eye out for the Daytime Emmy Award nominations in April to see if he’s up for a trophy! And for more on what your favorite daytime alums are up to now, keep reading Soaps In Depth magazine.

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.