Steve Burton Opens up About Leaving GENERAL HOSPITAL

Fans were stunned when Steve Burton was let go from GENERAL HOSPITAL because he declined to follow the vaccine mandate laid down by ABC/Disney for their employees. But the actor looks at it as just another stepping stone in life taking him to the next part of his journey.

“It’s always going to be my home,” Burton admitted to Soap Opera Digest. “That’s where I’ve been my whole life, so obviously I have great feelings toward the show. I’ve always been very grateful for the opportunity there, leaving and coming back, the people there, the cast and crew.

“You never want to leave your home,” he continued, “especially when it becomes kind of unexpected. They had to do what they had to do, I had to do what I had to do. There’s no hard feelings. I will always have awesome memories of the show and the people there, and all of that. I have never, ever had a bad thing to say about GH.”

And while Burton confided he wasn’t really auditioning much, when the opportunity came to reprise his DAYS OF OUR LIVES role of Harris Michaels for the second series of its BEYOND SALEM spinoff, he decided to give it a shot. “Life is truly about attitude and mindset,” he explained. “For me, leaving GH in 2012, I believe it was — people don’t like to hear it — but it was a great thing for me because I really got to discover myself more and have a lot of personal development.

“I’ve always taken the high road with things but now, it’s like, I don’t have any animosity towards GH. I just don’t!” the actor added. “I’m so grateful. I’m in a place where I’m in such a grateful state and I’m just grateful for the opportunity. I was grateful for being there, I was grateful I won an Emmy for being on THE YOUNG & THE RESTLESS [as Dylan] and GH, I’m grateful for the opportunity at BEYOND SALEM. Gratitude really is everything. This has been one of the hardest stretches of my entire life and one of the best.”

BEYOND SALEM series 2 premieres on Monday, July 11, so be sure to stream the five-episode mini-series to see Burton back on screen again. And who knows… perhaps another return to Port Charles could be in the future? We’ll just have to wait and see!