ABC/Ricky Middlesworth
Josh Swickard (Chase) and Amanda Setton (Brook Lynn) will both miss sharing the GH stage with Gregory Harrison (ex-Gregory).
ALS claimed the life of Gregory Chase, it was confirmed to viewers on-screen during the May 21 episode of General Hospital, a turn that marks the end of actor Gregory Harrison’s run as Finn and Chase’s father. According to Josh Swickard, who plays the younger of Gregory’s two sons, the relationship he developed off-screen with his TV dad ran just as deep as the one they shared on-screen. “Sometimes when you’re working on a show like this and someone plays your dad, it spills over,” Swickard tells Digest. “He really felt like a father figure to me in so many ways. Still does. He’s such a good human being. He’s been around the block in life, in Hollywood, and then some, and he’s just a wealth of knowledge. And he’s a humble human being.”
Swickard adds that Harrison was a great teacher when it came to both reel-life and real-life lessons. “Just every time I work with him, I learned something new about the craft and something new about life,” he confessed. “So I’m sad to lose him. And if there are any tears shed on screen… there wasn’t much acting going on.”
Amanda Setton, who plays Gregory’s daughter-in-law Brook Lynn, echoed those sentiments about Harrison. “I’m going to miss him a lot. I have such genuine love and respect for Gregory,” she shares. “I think he’s an incredible person and an incredible actor and a true artist who cares so much. He is always so prepared, so professional, so collaborative, so detailed, and specific with his prep and his choices. I will miss working with him, getting to be around him and learn from him.”
Not surprisingly, Harrison’s last day on the set was a “sad, somber” one, according to Setton. “I will treasure the time I had with him,” she says. “I just adore him so much.”
While their professional relationship may be over — at least for now — the personal friendship that Swickard and his TV brother Michael Easton (Finn) cultivated with Harrison is continuing. “He lives out by the water, and we’ve set some surf dates in the future,” Swickard reveals. “So we’ll stay in touch. And we said that we’re all going to go dinner soon. We’re trying to keep things on the books so we can all keep up with each other.”
