Nathan Parsons On How GH Created Ethan Lovett Just For Him & More
GH alum Nathan Parsons opened up about his early years and how the soap helped him grow as a professional actor in LA.
General Hospital (GH) alum Nathan Parsons (Ethan Lovett) recently opened up about his early life and his time on the ABC daytime drama. Read on for more details.
Chatting With Richard Gabai
A few days ago, Nathan appeared on the Party Nerds Pop-Cast with Richard Gabai and Robert Carradine. He said that he always knew he wanted to perform. Plus, he related how he grew up in Austin, Texas. Like many others, he got into sports. But then, his mom introduced him to musical theater.
When he saw shows like Peter Pan and Annie, he thought, “If you can fly on stage, that seems pretty cool.” So, he signed up for a local theater camp. From there, things snowballed pretty quickly. You probably know that he did some voiceovers and landed an agent while he was still quite young.
Working & Study
Nathan Parsons described a career path from GH to other movies. But initailly, he bounced around doing all kinds of odd jobs. He worked at “a dog kennel” and at a place called “Puppies and Reptiles.” It wasn’t a very exciting job, but it kept him busy as they had to make sure “nobody got bit” by snakes or monitor lizards during birthday parties.
However, avoiding becoming “a waiter,” he took classes at USC and started doing “student films.” That seemed fortunate because that connection eventually led him to a manager and an agent.
The ABC Soap Break
Interestingly, his General Hospital break came with a bit of a twist. He told Richard that he tried out for the role of Dante, which eventually went to Dominic Zamprogna. However, the execs seemed impressed, so “they wanted me on the show, so they were going to write me in,” Parsons explained.
In fact, they created the character of Ethan Lovett just for him. Wow! That seems amazing! Possibly, it all came down to his Australian accent, which he acquired from being born in Adelaide. So, the writers decided to run with it and he debuted in January 2009 as the mysterious drifter and con artist.
The Storyline
You might recall that Parsons played Ethan Lovett for three years. Remember, the storyline revealed that Ethan was the secret son of Luke Spencer, (Anthony Geary), and Holly Sutton, ( Emma Samms). Of course, that made him a Spencer, which connected him to Lucky and Lulu.
Fortunately, his on-screen dad, the late Anthony Geary taught him a lot about being a professional in LA. But, Parsons gave the other veteran actors a lot of kudos for helping out, as well.
After Leaving
Nathan Parsons left the show of his own accord back in 2012 but came back a few times. In fact, he appeared on the 50th anniversary in 2013. Plus, folks saw him back on GH in 2015, as part of Geary’s exit storyline. Finally, in 2020 he reappeared when Ethan showed up to mourn Holly.
Although Parsons moved on, he believes that General Hospital stood him in good stead despite the workload being very heavy. He explained that scripts with “15 to 30 pages” arrived only a couple of nights before shooting.
A High Pressure Environment
Sometimes, when they arrived at the set, new pages waited in little shelves outside the dressing rooms.
“You show up, you pull out the new pages, and you’re like, ‘All right, I have an hour to get fully ready, learn all of these pages, go up, and I have to shoot all this in the next couple hours,'” he remembered.
As for mistakes, he told Richard that it’s a bit like “live theatre.” After all, if there is a mistake, you can’t undo it. Actors simply keep going and hope like crazy that the other actors “stay in character” and go along with you.
Admitting To Young Arrogance
After leaving daytime, Parsons moved into primetime. He landed roles on shows like Bunheads, True Blood, and The Originals. Plus, he also starred in the western movie, Justice, which Gabai directed.
Looking back, Parsons admitted he was pretty “arrogant” when he left General Hospital. At the age of 21, he thought he knew it all, but reality hit fast. For a while, he struggled for acting parts. But, he didn’t stop going for auditions, which he loved. And that finally led to more work.
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