General Hospital has had many great, scary villains over the years. Cesar Faison (Anders Hove) and Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) come immediately to mind. Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart) was once regarded as the most dangerous of the Cassadines, but his demeanor softened after he found out he had a daughter. John Brennan (Charles Mesure) seemed like he was going to be a formidable opponent to Port Charles’s heroes, but now that he’s stationed there by the WSB, he’s been much nicer, even helping to find Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson).
Speaking of Lucky, General Hospital’s latest villain, Jenz Sidwell, played by veteran actor Carlo Rota currently has him captive. With an impressive nearly 150 credits under his belt, Rota’s well known for playing villains, so he’s right at home in Port Charles. At present, he’s on the other side of the planet, leading a group of men to find gold buried under the ground in Somalia.
Because working in mines is hazardous to one’s health, he captured a doctor named Isaiah Gannon (Sawandi Wilson) to help care for his men. Sidwell’s also a hypochondriac, so he kept the medical expert close by. Lucky is friends with Isaiah and infiltrated Sidwell’s group to free the good doctor. Isaiah got away, but Lucky is a prisoner of the mad villain who kills his own men without blinking. Rota brings fear and intimidation to the role, and he is poised to become another great GH antagonist.
His worldliness influences his projects
Rota is one of those actors that fans recognize whenever they see him on-screen. He’s well-known for playing Morris O’Brian on the Keifer Sutherland hit series 24, as well as the sleazy Charles in the fan favorite horror film Saw V, and he has several upcoming projects. GH fans hope he’ll last as a villain, or at least return after he’s defeated and Lucky rescued.
General Hospital’s Carlo Rota was born in the UK, but when he was growing up, his family traveled the world. He was raised in various countries including the Bahamas, Italy, Hong Kong, and finally Canada. His father was a world-traveling chef, which is how Rota acquired a love of haute cuisine and became a food connoisseur. As a result, he co-created a cooking series called The Great Canadian Food Show, which he also hosted. In it, he took the audience on a journey all across the country to discover foods that have had various cultural influences from different ethnicities.
He also appeared in, and was creative consultant for, a show called Little Mosque on the Prairie from 2007 to 2012. He starred in and executive produced the 2008 TV movie Othello the Tragedy of the Moor, for which he won honorable mention awards for Best Actor and Special Purpose Film in the Accolade Competition.
He has appeared in TV shows, including Grimm, Human Target, NCIS: LA, The Mentalist, CSI: NY, and Breaking Bad, among many others. His experience at playing villains is vast, and he brings gravitas to his General Hospital character, Sidwell.
