After months of manipulation, betrayal, and scheming, Drew’s luck finally ran out on General Hospital. On the September 2 episode, the once-heroic Navy SEAL was gunned down in the back — twice — leaving fans with a brand-new whodunit to unravel. With enemies stacked against him, nearly everyone in Port Charles had a motive, and Drew’s fate now hangs in the balance. But for Cameron Mathison, who has played Drew since 2021, stepping into the role of the man everyone loves to hate has been a journey all its own.
Drew’s Dark Descent
Drew’s (Mathison) fall from grace has been a slow burn. Over the past year, he’s blackmailed Portia (Brook Kerr), tried to sever Scout’s (Cosette Abinante) connection to Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) family, and even abused his power as a congressman to sic fraud investigators on Stella (Vernee Watson). Mathison explained to Soap Opera Digest that this downward spiral wasn’t accidental. “Obviously, everybody hates me like crazy, but at the same time, they had to do that for the last four or five months,” he stated. He further noted that it wasn’t just enough to have people dislike Drew, “They have to have people want to kill me!”
For the actor, this transformation has been both challenging and oddly liberating. Mathison admitted that he’s found playing such a despicable version of Drew surprisingly therapeutic. “I try to be a really nice human and a good, solid person in my life, and I’ve gone through a lot of big life challenges in a very short stretch of time,” he shared. Taking on Drew’s worst impulses has become an outlet, “almost like my little fantasy escape.”
Falling Hard for the Storyline
With Drew at the center of a major ‘Who Shot Drew?’ storyline and September 3 teasing his shooter’s identity being at large, Mathison is leaning fully into the chaos. He compared it to one of television’s most famous cliffhangers: ‘Who Shot JR?’ from Dallas. For him, being the target only adds to the thrill. “I don’t care if you are the punching bag for all of Port Charles, you’re still the center of the story, and that feels really cool,” he noted.
When it came time to film the shooting, he approached it with verve. “It’s not every day that you get to take a gunshot on camera, and I really wanted to get that right and fall hard.” Knowing how much viewers despise Drew right now, he relished giving them the drama they craved. “They all want to shoot Drew!” he quipped, adding, “Everybody wants Drew shot and dead. So I wanted to make sure that I gave them my all.” (See if you agree with the possible list of suspects.)
