The name Steve Burton has been on everyone's lips since news broke that the daytime actor would be returning to General Hospital after a five-year absence. With former The Young and the Restless star Billy Miller (ex-Billy Abbott) now in the role of Jason Morgan, the question of who Burton will play remains a mystery. And speaking of Y&R, it turns out Burton's final moments on the CBS soap weren't exactly saccharine. In a new interview with Soap Opera Digest, the fan favorite actor reveals that his scheduling at Y&R got a little stressful as the years wore on.
"With Y&R, they were very generous with the schedule when I first started," he shares. "They were awesome to work around my schedule, which doesn't happen often, so I was super-grateful, but production needs to tell a story and when you're working around a guy, or you can't work him a certain day, it becomes a thorn in the side of people. That's just the bottom line. It never got contentious or anything, and I flew back and forth pretty much every week for four years. I was just like, ‘Maybe it's time. It's time to be home for a little while.' It was a great run, a great four years for me, but it was time."
As with any good soap opera storyline, people want there to be drama when it comes to how Burton feels about GH having recast Miller in the role he played for 20 years, but he insists he was accepting of the show's decision to recast the role when he left Port Charles in 2012.
"Look, you have to be realistic. I don't own the character. I played the character for a long time and I created the character, but if you decide to leave, they can go do what they want," he says. "You're giving them carte blanche to go hire whoever they want to play your role. They waited a while and obviously, Jason was a big part of the show... so it makes sense. You want to tell story, so you're going to bring somebody else on. People want there to be drama with Billy and me, but there just isn't!"
For Burton's full interview, check out Soap Opera Digest.
How do you feel about Burton's attitude toward his Y&R schedule and GH recasting the part of Jason after he left the show? Who are you hoping Burton plays this time around in Port Charles? We want to hear from you -- so drop your comments in the Comments section below, tweet about it on Twitter, share it on Facebook, or chat about it on our Message Boards.
