General Hospital comings and goings: Jonathan Jackson returns as Lucky Spencer

After nearly a decade away, Jonathan Jackson will reprise the General Hospital role that made him famous as a child.

Lucky Spencer, Luke and Laura's prodigal son, is coming home to General Hospital and will be played by Jonathan Jackson, the actor who first brought him to life back in 1993.

"I'll be returning to General Hospital this summer as Lucky Spencer," Jackson said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. "Super excited. Can't wait to dig in and see what's going on in Port Charles."

In addition to being excited to reunite with his on-screen mom, Genie Francie, Jackson made it a point to thank the fans. "Just wanted to say thank you to all of the fans over the years. Your persistence and love has certainly played a part in all of this," he added.

Deadline was first to report that Jackson would be returning to GH later this summer for an extended stay. The actor was only eleven years old when he made his Port Charles debut as Luke and Laura's adventurous offspring. The famous supercouple had been living on the run but finally decided to return to their old stomping grounds with their son in tow.

Jackson played Lucky from 1993 to 1999 and returned a decade later, staying in the role until 2011. Fans last saw Lucky during a brief visit in 2015 when he learned that Elizabeth's son, Jake, might still be alive after they'd believed he'd perished after being hit by Luke's car several years earlier. Lucky and Luke tracked Jake down on Cassadine Island, where the evil Helena had been holding him captive.

The story also marked the end of Tony Geary's tenure on the soap until he appeared in a single scene in 2017 to help usher Jane Elliot (Tracy Quartermaine) into her then-retirement from GH.

Jackson picked up a whopping five Daytime Emmys during his time as Lucky, winning in 1995, 1998, and 1999 for Outstanding Younger Actor and again in 2011 and 2012 for Outstanding Supporting Actor. During his years away from GH, Jackson made a name for himself on the primetime series Nashville from 2012 to 2018.

When the actor exited GH in 2011, Jackson told Soap Central how dramatic soap storylines affect him.

"The storylines don't stay with me in the sense that I feel personally tormented by what my character is going through, but it does take its toll on me physically and emotionally. It's a real energy zapper and there are days when I feel like I have nothing left to give," Jackson said. "And in this medium where you're dealing with a pretty insane amount of dialogue, day in, day out, the collision of a heavy workload and increasing exhaustion can make you a little crazy."

Currently, Laura does not have any of her children with her in Port Charles. Lucky's sister, Lulu, has been in a coma since 2020. His brother, Nikolas, is currently in jail. As for Lucky, he has allegedly been in Africa for the last nine years but still has a teenage son in Port Charles. Will Lucky finally decide to forge a relationship with Aiden?

Jackson met his wife, Lisa Vultaggio, while working on General Hospital. Vultaggio played Hannah Scott from March 26, 1999, to March 23, 2001. They have three children: Caleb, Adora, and Titus Gabriel.

This is the second big GH return news to break in as many days. On June 24, we learned that Bryan Craig will be returning to the show in August for a one-day stint as Morgan Corinthos.

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How do you feel about Jonathan Jackson's return to GH? Do you think this lives up to the "big" casting news that was promised? What do you think brings Lucky back to 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.

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