Rick Hearst Returns To General Hospital As Ric Lansing!

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Rick Hearst, who won two Daytime Emmys as Outstanding Supporting Actor for his 2002-09 run on General Hospital , is returning to the show as Ric Lansing. He last appeared on the show from 2014-16. TV Insider was the first to report the news.

The actor will report back to work on Monday, July 29, GH’s first day back in production following its summer taping hiatus, with his comeback scenes slated to air during the week of August 19. In a video posted to his Instagram, Hearst spoke directly to his fans, saying, "Hey everybody, it's Rick Hearst and I'm sure you've all heard the news by now — but if not, I am on my way back to the halls of General Hospital to reprise my role as Ric Lansing. I'm super-excited about it; it definitely came as a pleasant gift and a surprise. I'm looking forward to being able to take [on] the story that's going to be coming up. It's a lot of exciting stuff. Of course, Ric tends to be in everybody's business all at once and always has his own agenda!

"It'll be a lot of great and wonderful, exciting story points for you guys to follow," he continued. "Please tune in, and again, thank you for your support all these years and for being such dedicated fans of the show and of me. So thanks very much, guys! Be on the lookout."

In his interview with TV Insider, Hearst indicated that Ric's return is tied to the current storyline of the daughter he shares with Alexis, Molly, who is expecting a baby with domestic partner TJ via surrogate, her half sister Kristina. Hearst explained, "I kind of look at it as, ‘Daddy’s home and here to take care of his daughter and anything that entails.’ ” He added, "I have a feeling there’s going to be some friction by virtue of the fact that one daughter is parented by Alexis and Sonny, and the other daughter is parented by Alexis and Ric. That alone is enough to create a mad amount of drama of who’s going to side with who. And it’s going to be entertaining.”

In 2023, Hearst reflected on his time on GH, noting that when he was first approached about the role, “The part of Ric wasn’t really filled out… I got the call to come in for consideration for the role from [Casting Director Mark Teschner], who said this is a pivotal role and you’ll be working closely with Maurice [Benard, Sonny], and these two actors needed to jibe, and make sure the chemistry was believable.” After landing the part, he said, “I opened in a South American prison and the rest was history.”

As longtime viewers know, Ric was ultimately revealed to be the secret half brother of Sonny via their shared mother, Adela. The character, who had memorable romances with Elizabeth and Alexis (which begat their daughter, Molly), was also the instigator of the infamous yarn in which pregnant Carly was held hostage in a panic room. Hearst told Soap Opera Digest in 2023, “Tamara Braun [ex-Carly] was the perfect dancing partner, as well as Rebecca Herbst [Elizabeth]…. I loved working with Maurice and Becky and Nancy [Lee Grahn, Alexis]. It was a wonderful time and I cherish it.”

Hearst was a well-established player in the daytime world before he joined GH. He began his soap career on Days of Our Lives , playing Scotty Banning from 1989-90, before moving to Guiding Light , where he assumed the role of Alan-Michael Spaulding from 1990-96. For his GL work, Hearst took home his first Daytime Emmy as Outstanding Younger Lead Actor. From 2000-01, he appeared on Young and Restless as Matt Clark, while on Bold and Beautiful , Hearst played the role of Whipple “Whip” Jones III in 2002 and from 2009-11. The actor walked down memory lane about his daytime journey as a guest on Digest ’s podcast, Dishing With Digest , in 2022; check that out here.

When Hearst returned to GH as Ric in 2014, the character eventually resumed his relationship with Elizabeth, but their reunion went bust when it was revealed that Ric had hired Hayden Barnes to pose as the wife of “Jake Doe” (later revealed to be Jason Morgan, then revealed to really be Drew Cain) in an effort to stamp out Liz’s growing feelings for “Jake.” Ric then colluded with Madeline Reeves to bilk Nina out of her fortune, taking Madeline as a lover and conning Nina into a short-lived marriage, which was annulled.

Are you excited that Ric is coming back to Port Charles? Sound off in the comments below! And for a refresher course on Ric's life and times, click here .