Port Charles has recently said goodbye to some of its favorite residents — and villains.
At least 11 actors have exited General Hospital since January 2026, including longtime stars like Jon Lindstrom and Kirsten Storms.
But on the ABC soap, where characters have a habit of returning from the dead, cast shakeups simply come with the territory.
“When you inherit so much history and so many front-loaded characters and stories, you can’t just abandon them,” executive producer Frank Valentini told the Associated Press in April 2023. “You don’t burn the ship. You turn it around.”
So, who has left Port Charles so far this year? Here’s a look at every actor who has exited General Hospital in 2026.
Nathan Dean as Ethan Lovett
Six years after General Hospital fans said goodbye to Ethan Lovett, Nathan Dean returned to the soap for a brief stint.
The actor reprised the role for a few months — during which Christian Howard took over — before the character was written off once again in August 2026, per Entertainment Weekly.
Dean told TV Insider the previous month that he was initially asked to return for three years, but couldn’t make that commitment for personal reasons.
In the show, Ethan flees Port Charles under mysterious circumstances, leaving plenty of opportunity for him to come back once again.
Kirsten Storms as Maxie Jones
Storms retired her starring, decades-long role as Maxie Jones in July 2026, with her character relocating to Australia with Damian Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) and their kids.
The departure followed a temporary absence the actress took from General Hospital in 2025 when she moved to Tennessee. Storms started reappearing in episodes in February 2026.
Bradford Anderson as Damian Spinelli
Spinelli’s relocation to Australia meant that Anderson also exited the show in July 2026 with Storms.
The actor spoke about his character’s trajectory in an episode of Stone Cold and The Jackal that same month, telling with his co-host and former castmate Steve Burton, who plays Jason Morgan on the show, that he would like to continue to be on-screen in some capacity.
“Why can’t I be in your head, dude?” he said. “Or somebody’s head ... Put me in someone’s head!”
Gary James Fuller as James West
In July 2026, James West was recast after young actor Gary James Fuller — who had played the character since 2023 — injured himself on a bicycle, per Soap Opera Digest.
Easton Winn took over the role for two episodes, until James moved to Australia with his mother, Maxie, and Spinelli.
“Thanks for taking such good care of James while I was away,” Fuller wrote in an Instagram post addressed to Winn. “It makes me really happy to see the character I love getting to play in such good hands.”
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