William Lipton‘s return to General Hospital was a welcome surprise — but what inspired the visit to Port Charles?
“I was scrolling through my phone and I got a text from two of my favorite people on the planet, [casting director] Mark Teschner and [executive producer] Frank Valentini, asking if I had any time later in the year to come back and say hi to my GH family,” Lipton, 21, recalled to TV Insider on Tuesday, December 17. “Obviously, I was super stoked to receive that message, and I was happy that they were willing to work with me and my kind of insane schedule to make it happen.”
Lipton previously played Cameron Webber from 2018 until 2023. Despite no longer being on the soap opera, the actor was thrilled to return for a handful of episodes during the holiday season.
“I mean, from the beginning of my sophomore year of high school to my sophomore year of college, my life was coming to Prospect Studios,” he said about the “nostalgic” part of being on set. “It was just a really special feeling seeing all the people that I would see at the front gate, who gave me a big hug when I came back. My ID still works, which was a shock.”
Lipton felt right at home after reuniting with his General Hospital cast and crew.
“General Hospital has been there during some immense moments in my life and has oftentimes been those immense, incredibly important moments in my life,” he continued. “And just to be able to relive that, walk through the halls, see all the friendly faces, and catch up with all the amazing people, I’m very grateful that I got to experience that again.”
While he initially “wasn’t super nervous,” Lipton wasn’t sure what to expect when cameras started rolling.
“I came up to the stage to shoot feeling very confident,” he shared with TV Insider. “I was like, ‘OK, cool. We’re back in the groove.’ And then as soon as rehearsal was done and we’re ready to shoot, I was like, ‘Oh, geez.’ My heart kind of dropped. I was like, ‘OK, this is how they do it. I forgot about that.’ It’s just constant filming and there’s no time to be left behind. You have to be on it.”
Lipton originally took a break from General Hospital to focus on his studies. He has since taken a break from college to work on his music and film The Runarounds for Prime Video, which is part of the Outer Banks universe.
The brief stint on General Hospital allowed Lipton to reconnect with former costars including Eden McCoy, Becky Herbst and Maurice Benard.
“I really tried to make sure that I let everyone know what an incredible, positive impact General Hospital has had on my life,” he said. “It is giving me my fondest memories and the fact that they were not just willing to have me back, but excited to have me back, meant a great deal to me and to my family. I have so much love for those people and I’m getting a little choked up, but they’re the best.”
Lipton continued: “I’ve really enjoyed my experience there and the fact that I got to continue it, even for just a little appearance, warms my heart so much.”
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.
