Adam Huss has stepped in to play Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital a few times over the last few years. His latest and powerful turn came at a crucial time in the dark prince’s history. The actor’s recent tour de force has earned him Soap Hub’s Performer of the Week for GH honors.
Adam Huss – Performer of the Week
Generally, actors on soaps have the benefit of getting to develop their character over weeks, months, and years. Huss, however, has had to create his version of Nikolas with not much notice as he’s joined the show sporadically. And that makes his performances, in which he’s held his own with GH talents Genie Francis (Laura), Maura West (Ava), Rebecca Herbst (Elizabeth), and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Spencer), all the more impressive.
On this most recent occasion, Huss stepped in as Nikolas as the walls were closing in around him. Furious that Ava had weaponized Spencer against him, Nikolas confronted his estranged wife at his former residence, Wyndemere. She attempted to banish him, but Nikolas insisted he was going to finish what they had started.
It’s clear that Huss bones up on GH backstory so he knows exactly what to play when he’s interacting with the people closest to Nikolas. The actor was called upon to do quite a bit of recapping in his scenes with West. A angry Nik recounted reluctantly bedding Esme (Avery Kristen Pohl), offering to take the blame for her ‘death,’ Spencer’s hatred of Ava, and the love Nik and Ava have felt for one another.
Nikolas finally cleared the air with Ava regarding one of his ‘betrayals.’ He shared that he had not slept with Elizabeth; that was a ruse to cover Elizabeth making house calls to Wyndemere to give medical care to a pregnant Esme. “There was never anyone else,” a vulnerable Nikolas told Ava. He took a step closer and added, “Except you.”
Ava claimed that Nik’s confession didn’t change anything between them but the quiver in her voice gave us the impression a door to reconciliation might be ajar. However, Nikolas had more to share with Ava. He was furious that Ava conspired with Spencer to take his child away. “How could you be so heartless?” he demanded to know. Then, Nik threatened to take Avery away from Ava — or at least wanted her to fear that that might happen.
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Ava pooh-poohed Nik’s plan to get custody of her daughter with Sonny (Maurice Benard) but Nik said that he wasn’t talking about doing it legally. He’d use his Uncle Victor’s (Charles Shaughnessy) sinister resources. “When Avery is gone, I guarantee you will feel an emptiness in your soul like I will for the rest of your life. That’s a promise,” a livid Nikolas snarled. “Don’t worry, I’ll tell Avery you said goodbye.”
Nikolas speaking in anger proved to be costly. Ava clubbed him over the head with a nearby Cassadine expensive knick-knack — but did she truly strike a fatal blow? We’ve already seen Adam Huss pop back up as Nikolas in Ava’s nightmare. If Nikolas is indeed still alive, we wouldn’t mind seeing Adam Huss continuing to play the role given how admirably he’s already brought Nik to life on three different occasions.
Honorable Mention: Genie Francis (Laura) shined as Laura confronted her grandson Spencer over his wanting to take Nikolas’s unborn child from him. Laura called out Spencer for always being such a clever young man. We got a bit teary when Laura lamented not remaining on Cassadine Island so that she could have raised the son she had with the late Stavros. That time in Laura’s life was traumatic so her regret was not something she said lightly.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. For an in-depth look at the show’s history, click here.
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