Viewers knew that Adam Huss was going to play some emotional father/son reunion scenes when Nikolas showed up at Spencer’s on General Hospital. Huss reveals to Soap Hub that he got love from not one but two of his TV offspring. He also weighs in on what he senses has been a turning point regarding his portrayal of the Cassadine heir.
Adam Huss: Father’s Daze
Infants and toddlers are known to be little scene stealers on soap operas, but actor Joey Clay, who plays Ace on GH (sharing the role with his twin brother Jay), actually complemented the incredibly emotional scenes between Huss and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Spencer) that aired earlier this week.
“I’ve got to hand it to him,” Huss tells Soap Hub of the familial bond that he and Joey were able to establish when Nikolas and his son were finally brought together. “That kid gave me a real gift. His natural instincts gave me gold.” At one point, Ace reached out to his dad a beat or two earlier than anticipated, which prompted Huss and Chavez to adjust ever so slightly. “Nicholas Chavez and I just rolled with it. There was a natural gift that came out of [that moment]. That was magic.”
You’d never know it the way that Joey’s head so easily rested on his TV dad’s chest in their scenes, but Huss is not an off-screen pop. However, he is a devoted dog dad to his beloved pup Sawyer. “I haven’t had [children] yet, but I have a huge family, nieces, and my dog is like my son,” Huss shares. “I know that kind of love. I know that ‘I would die for you’ feeling. That’s the vulnerability pulsing through those scenes. To hold that baby allowed me to imagine what that day will be like when I get to hold one of my own.”
Don’t think that the actor is playing favorites with his TV sons. He has plenty of hosannas to throw at Chavez. “Nicholas is such a great actor,” Huss says. “I know whatever I’m going to get from him is gold. I felt Spencer’s vulnerability and love and frustration for me.” The two men rehearsed these emotional scenes, which allowed Huss to deliver the way he did when they got to the stage. “Nikolas was very sincere when [Nikolas] said to [Spencer] that he should come with us. I’m not sure Nikolas saw that as a possibility until [we talked].”
Huss’s appearances on GH have been sporadic since he first played Nikolas in 2021. He’s grown in his performances due in no small part to the research he’s done in between his visits to Port Charles. “I’ve looked up scenes on the Internet and people have sent me stuff,” Huss says. “I’ve seen scenes with Nikolas and Ava [Maura West], Laura [Genie Francis], and Spencer. There’s so much I can draw from to help get the character into my bones.”
The actor has gone back in his research to when scene-stealing Nicolas Bechtel played Spencer. “It’s so easy to watch him and keep him in my mind [in my scenes with Chavez],” Huss shares. The actor says he watched the late Tyler Christopher‘s Daytime Emmy-winning reel from 2016 in which Nikolas agonized over Spencer’s life after he’d been burned in a fire at Wyndemere.
“I’ve worked on finding the balance [between] the entitlement [that Nikolas feels] yet this is also all he’s ever known,” Huss says. Performers are taking a chance when they go online to check out fan reaction — especially if those thespians are succeeding someone in their role. Huss turned on his computer, rolled the dice, and came up a winner.
“I’m so grateful for the response this time around — and all along,” he says. “There’s been a growing love. I get it. I’m a TV and movie fan. If I’m watching a second season or a sequel and my favorite actor’s been recast? Yeah, I’m going to have trouble accepting it.” The grateful performer chuckles, “Maybe it’ll be different next time around!”
Huss’s supporters — and fans of Avery Kristen Pohl (Esme) — may want to check out an upcoming Coastal Entertainment Zoom event in which the two actors listen to all your burning questions! Click here for details.
“I would love to give a shoutout to the writers who’ve written such great material and also send some love to everyone who has supported me from the beginning and also to the fans who’ve come around,” Huss says. “Recent responses have felt like an embrace and acceptance…I don’t read everything [online] but after these recent scenes, I couldn’t help but read more.”
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