When General Hospital announced that All My Children alum Cameron Mathison (ex-Ryan Lavery) had joined the ABC soap opera in April, the powers that be did their best to keep a shroud of secrecy over which character the Home & Family co-host would be playing. However, fans -- and Soap Central -- pretty much guessed right away that it would probably be Drew Cain, who has been presumed dead since his plane crashed near Afghanistan two years ago.
Well, the cat is now officially out of the bag: Drew is indeed coming back to the canvas courtesy of Mathison, who has finally been allowed to reveal that he has taken over the role of Sam's (Kelly Monaco) long-lost lover.
In a new interview with EW, Mathison teases that there is a "good reason" that Drew is being resurrected and reveals that the character -- who was previously played by Steve Burton (Jason Morgan) and Billy Miller (ex-Billy Abbott, The Young and the Restless; ex-Richie Novak, AMC) -- will return in a jam on Monday, August 16.
"I don't see Sam -- I actually call her to say I'm in trouble," the actor teases of his first scene. "She's obviously incredibly important to him. They've got a child together, which the audience already knows, and that daughter is everything in the world to him. He reaches out to Sam because he really believes that help will follow."
Mathison's lips remain zipped as to what else viewers can expect from Drew when he hits the canvas, but he does reveal that even though the character has a lot of history being played by two other people, he feels like he still has the ability to make his own mark on Jason's twin.
"I feel like there's enough that has been sort of untapped," he says. "There is an opportunity for me to bring my own take and version of this great character."
All My Children fans might be wondering if Mathison's version of Drew will be anything like the actor's long-time Pine Valley character, Ryan Lavery. Time will tell if viewers will see any similarities, but the actor himself doesn't think there will be much overlap.
He tells Soap Opera Digest, "It's a great opportunity for me as an actor, and I'm super-excited about it. It's different [from what I played as Ryan], and also, in some ways has aspects of it that really play to my strengths, too."
To watch Mathison's first GH scene -- in which he is heard, but not seen, placing a distress call to Drew's ex-wife Sam while she's on a date with Dante (Dominic Zampgrogna) -- click here.
Mathison starred as AMC's Ryan Lavery from 1998 to 2011, earning two Daytime Emmy nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in 2002 and 2005 for his work on the ABC soap opera. During his thirteen years in Pine Valley, Mathison had romances with several of the soap's leading ladies, including Susan Lucci (Erica Kane) and Rebecca (Greenlee Smythe), the latter of whom might be making a return to GH as Hayden Barnes in the very near future.
Mathison joined Hallmark Channel's Home & Family in 2018 as a replacement for Mark Steines opposite co-host Debbie Matenopoulos. He also previously served as feature correspondent for Good Morning America, Entertainment Tonight, and Extra. He also co-hosted the 35th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards.
What do you think about GH casting Cameron Mathison as Drew Cain? Did you correctly guess the character he'd be playing? What do you think the GH writers have planned for Drew's return 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.
