General Hospital (GH) spoilers confirm that Roger Howarth is off the ABC sudser, his character Dr. Austin Gatlin Holt was shot last week and it was a fatal wound.
The scene occurred on a Friday Cliffhanger episode and GH fans hoped for the best but Howarth has confirmed on his Insta that he is off the show.
Additionally he gave an exclusive interview to SOD about his exit. Read on to find out what Howarth had to say about his departure.
General Hospital spoilers: Roger Howarth Out at GH
The outlet asked Howarth when he was told that his contract wasn’t being renewed and his subsequent reaction. The actor said that GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini called him several weeks ago with the news.
He said “it took me a minute to kind of adjust, to kind of hear the news; it took a second for me to let that settle in. And then, immediately, I realized how lucky I was to have been able to do something I really love doing for more than a decade with people who I really enjoyed working with. I’m a lucky guy.”
Roger Howarth added that the decision to kill off his character was “made by people who make these kinds of decisions for a living. For me, I felt it was very much like the scene in Moneyball and Jonah Hill had just told me I’ve been traded. I feel very respected and supported.”
GH Spoilers: Austin Gatlin-Holt Leaves Port Charles
The outlet then asked Howarth about what fans perceived as a lack of story for Austin: “In terms of his involvement on the canvas and whether he was a Quartermaine or not a Quartermaine … it’s not something an actor can really control or concern themselves with. It is not our job.”
The gracious actor went on to say “I understand your question, I don’t feel like I’ve been slighted in any way or that there was bad juju around these decisions. I think that the writers and the producers and the directors work really hard to entertain a really loyal and dedicated audience … I’m really proud of myself — like, totally truthfully, honest to God, I always tried my hardest. So for me, ultimately, there’s no loss. I know I did everything I could.”
The interview also touched on Howarth’s three runs at GH, and he recalled them as great experiences. When asked to name his favorite memories Howarth said that every day he worked was a highlight and mentioned his co-stars and the fans as being special.
Howard added that working with Laura Wright [Carly], Jeff Kober (Cyrus Renault), and Michelle Stafford [ex-Nina; Phyllis Summers on Y&R] were momentous and he gave a shout out to ex-head writer Jean Passanante for salvaging the Franco Baldwin storyline after he took over the role from James Franco.
GH Spoilers: Roger Howarth’s Graceful Exit
What was Howarth’s last day on set like? He responded by saying that he “was overwhelmed with just how much I love what I do. I love telling story and I got to do it for a long time. I started my relationship with ABC when I had just had a child … and now I have a grandchild and that’s a lot of opportunities and a lot of people that I got to work very closely with to tell a good story.
“It’s not just that I felt that on my last day, I still feel that way, but I felt it pretty strongly on the set. And everybody was very sweet to me. The producers gave me flowers and I got to say thank-you and good-bye to an awful lot of people who I really admire.”
Howarth went on to describe his life today as pretty great: “Everyone I love is happy and healthy. I have a grandkid who has taken her first steps. I’m adjusting to the idea that I have a lot of potential [career-wise] and I’m not scared and I’m not anxious. This feels like a new beginning to me and I really do believe that all things happen for a reason and I have a great trust in that … I’m certainly ready for what’s next.”
And, in case you’re wondering, Howarth said he is 100 percent open to returning to daytime!
GH Spoilers: Roger Howarth Played Austin Gatlin-Holt
Before ending the interview, the actor made it a point to recognize his fans directly by saying “If you’re reading this and you watch the show, thank you so much … daytime fans are the most loyal, smartest, most discerning. enthusiastic, supportive, bunch of people in the whole history of entertainment ever and they’ve been very kind to me and very generous with their support. So I want to say, ‘Thank you for watching, thank you for all of your support and love. We’ve all tried really hard to please you and I’m glad we got to spend this time together. It was cool. I had a great time.’”
The audience would 100 percent agree, and daytime fans are hoping that Howarth returns to the screen sooner rather than later.
