Actors You Almost Forgot Were HUGE on Another Soap Opera

Actors go from one soap to another all the time, but few have more than one iconic role. You know them so well on your current favorite that you practically forget they could have possibly played another character. Here is a list of some of those actors and their previous roles – find out where your favorites were before or where some of your faves may now be.

The Young and the Restless
You know him as Jack Abbott, and you have for years but before Y&R, Peter Bergman was insanely popular on another show. He played Dr. Cliff Warner on ABC’s All My Children in the early 80s. In fact, Cliff and Nina were almost as popular as Luke and Laura.

It feels like Neil Winters has been a part of Genoa City forever. However, actor Kristoff St. John enjoyed tremendous success on the NBC soap opera, Generations in 1989. The show didn’t last long and was sadly way ahead of its time.

General Hospital
He may be your favorite mob boss in Port Charles, but GH isn’t Maurice Benard’s first soap job. Prior to playing Sonny, the actor enjoyed huge popularity as Nico on All My Children in the late 80s. While it’s hard to imagine a time when Nancy Lee Grahn’s Alexis Davis wasn’t appearing in a Port Charles courtroom, there was a time when the actress played another character in a courtroom. Only this one was on/in Santa Barbara as Julia Wainwright. The love story of Mason and Julia was legendary.

Days of Our Lives
Vincent Irizarry is wowing fans as Deimos now, but he enjoyed immense popularity on not just one other show, but two (yes, he’s appeared on more but these two were HUGE). He broke onto the soap scene as Lujack on Guiding Light and later returned as his own twin, Nick. He also was extremely popular when he was paired with Finola Hughes (Anna, GH) on All My Children where they played David and Anna (yes, the same Anna).

It’s hard to see John Aniston as anyone other than Victor Kirikis, but before he landed in Salem, the actor was Martin Tourneur on Search for Tomorrow. The gambler was the fourth husband of heroine Jo, played by the legendary Mary Stuart.

The Bold and the Beautiful
John McCook has been holding down the fort as Eric Forrester since the show premiered, and it’s hard to imagine him in any other role. In fact, he enjoyed insane popularity as sexy heartthrob Lance Prentiss in the early days of sister show, The Young and the Restless. Paired with DAYS’ Jaime Lynn Bauer’s Lorie, they were huge!