General Hospital

Five Fast Facts About General Hospital’s Donnell Turner

Published by

Garren Waldo

5 years ago

Donnell Turner burst onto the General Hospital scene in 2015 playing the man Hayden hired to see if Nikolas Cassadine really had her shot or not. Turner was an immediate hit with the audience and his rough edges were smoothed over so that Curtis was refashioned into a leading man.

Aside from the obvious — a killer physique, a great smile, and a glowing personality — what do fans know about actor Donnell Turner? Read on to discover five fast facts about this talented actor.

A Natural Athlete
Turner lists martial arts as his favorite form of exercise. However, he also enjoys yoga, kickboxing, knife combat, nunchaku, firearms training, and basketball. Before deciding to commit himself full time to acting endeavors, Turner played semi-professional basketball as a point guard.

Backside
Some of Turner’s earliest television work required him to act as a stunt double for two of primetime tv’s biggest stars, namely E.R.’s Eriq La Salle and Criminal Minds’ Shermar Moore. He also doubled for Jesse L. Martin in the film adaptation of RENT.

He Just Plays One on TV
It’s a bit ironic that Turner plays a private detective on a soap opera called General Hospital because he played doctors on two other daytime dramas. He had a short-term recurring role on Days of Our Lives as Dr. Aiden Williams and he guest-starred on The Young and the Restless as “Doctor.”

First and Foremost A Fan
Long before he joined the cast of General Hospital, Turner was a devoted fan of the soap. Like so many of his contemporaries, Turner developed a case of Luke and Laura fever and he names the Spencer spouses as his favorite characters.

Hoping to become a Port Charles player, a young Turner began a correspondence with GH casting director Mark Teschner, though he wouldn’t be cast for a number of years.

He’s A Giver
Turner is a big believer in paying it forward and during his downtime, he tours the country as a motivational speaker. He also founded The Turnaround Project, which aims to assist the homeless and underserved. Its mission statement is one close to Turner’s heart — It’s Never Too Late To Turn It Around. General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.