Chad Duell Reveals He Didn’t Originally Audition for Michael on GH

It’s been over a decade since Chad Duell took over the role of Michael on GENERAL HOSPITAL, so it might be hard for some fans to picture anyone else in the role. But could they picture Duell playing another role entirely? Because that very nearly happened back in 2010!

“I’d read for [casting director] Mark Teschner a few times,” Duell told Soap Opera Digest. “He just kept bringing me back for different things. This time in particular, I was originally reading for a different role, a love interest for Kristina, who, of course, is now my sister on the show!”

When GH reached out to him, the young actor assumed the callback was for the character he’d auditioned for, but he later discovered it was for a completely different role, that of Michael Corinthos, who at the time was being played by Drew Garrett.

“There were only two of us in the room and it felt like, ‘Oh, this is pretty serious!’” Duell recalled. “I felt confident going in there and a few days later, my manager told me, ‘Hey man, I have some crazy news.’ That’s when I found out that, ‘It’s not the part [you thought it was.] They like you enough to make you one of the main characters in one of the families on the show.’ It was so surprising, but I was excited because it seemed like it was a much more stable character to be playing on the show.”

And now, 13 years later, that job has not only turned out to be pretty stable, but Duell’s performances have earned him six Daytime Emmy Award nominations in both the Younger and Supporting Actor categories over the years. He took home the trophy for Supporting Actor in 2015, and fans are now eagerly awaiting the end of the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes so the 2023 Daytime Emmy Awards can be held and everyone can see if he takes it home again this year!

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