‘General Hospital’ Spoilers And Speculation: Who Will Take Over Role Of Dr. Patrick Drake?
Jason Thompson is leaving the role as Dr. Patrick Drake on General Hospital. Spoilers have not yet detailed exactly when Thompson will finish his time on GH or what will happen to his character. Will the show recast the role or send him sailing off into the sunset? There is some fresh buzz making the rounds on this that may be of interest to fans.
Celeb Dirty Laundry shares that according to ABC Soaps in Depth, the show will be recasting the role of Dr. Patrick Drake after Jason Thompson leaves. Thompson originated the role and has been on GH for years now, but he has shared that he is ready to move on and try new things.
Fans could have envisioned the show going either way with this character, as Drake has been a central character on General Hospital for a decade now. However, with the big revelation that Jake Doe is really Jason Morgan, some could see where it would be easy to let Drake fade into the woodwork.
It is not clear at this point whether the show will have someone immediately step into the role of Drake, or if they will let the character rest a bit to perhaps make it easier for a recast to step in a bit later. However, it certainly comes as good news that Patrick will apparently continue to be a character present in Port Charles.
General Hospital spoilers indicate that there are several established soap actors rumored to already be in contention for the role of Patrick. At this point, however, it’s hard to know how reliable this supposed list is. Some of this may be wishful thinking on the part of fans, but these supposed frontrunners could certainly be viable options for taking over the role.
Dinner on #Route66 in Flagstaff. Texas…here we come! pic.twitter.com/sLd4tWMiCT
— Michael Muhney (@michaelmuhney) June 29, 2015
Per Celeb Dirty Laundry’s General Hospital spoilers, the show is heavily considering Michael Muhney, Chris McKenna and Jeff Branson for the role of Patrick Drake. All three actors have a history with The Young and the Restless, and soap fans know that GH loves to scoop up former Y&R talent.
This isn’t the first time that fans have buzzed about adding Muhney to the GH cast. His departure nearly a year ago from Young and Restless in the role of Adam Newman fired up soap fans, and many were angling to get him cast as Jason Morgan or another GH character months ago. Would ABC go ahead with the idea of bringing Muhney on board after all the talk that’s been circulating?
Having a little fun for #DreamLoudOfficial @BradEYoung pic.twitter.com/9EwgBFA36N
— Chris L. McKenna (@ChrisLMcKenna) June 5, 2015
As for the idea of Chris McKenna, it’s not a stretch to think this possible casting plan has a lot of potential. McKenna’s departure from the role of Detective Mark Harding had many Y&R fans up in arms. Viewers were upset to see him leave, and the way the character was killed off seemed, to many, to be rather convoluted.
While McKenna has done plenty of primetime work, he also has a solid history of soap work, having also worked on One Life to Live for several years. As Soap Central noted at the time of McKenna’s Y&R departure, the actor was shocked and disappointed to leave the role of Harding. He has made it sound as if he would be open to returning to the world of soaps.
Branson also was on Guiding Light, in the role of Shayne Lewis, and All My Children as Jonathan Lavery. He’s obviously got the soap experience to step into a heavy-duty role, but would viewers buzz over his casting like they surely would over either Muhney or McKenna?
Of course, the show may hold off on immediately recasting the character of Dr. Patrick Drake. There is also the possibility that they could go with someone entirely different than this rumored short list of contenders.
As for Jason Thompson, Daytime Confidential indicates that he may head over to Young and Restless to take over the role of Billy Abbott. Burgess Jenkins recently confirmed that he was leaving that role and Y&R will most certainly be recasting that spot.
What would you like to see General Hospital do in terms of casting with the character of Dr. Patrick Drake? Would you like to see Michael Muhney, Jeff Branson, Chris McKenna, or someone else step into the role?
[Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images]
