A Shock: Chad Duell Spills on General Hospital Hiring After Drew Garrett Firing and Rape Storyline.

Chad Duell departed the role of Michael Corinthos on General Hospital in 2025 (after 15 years in the part of the legacy character). Now, nearly a year after his final airdate in the role, Duell reflected on his tenure on the ABC sudser in an interview with The Able Show.

Discussing how he got the role on GH, Duell said:

I was reading for another character, and then basically what happened was they liked me enough to basically fire the other guy for me. And I felt such immense pressure when I first got on.

Drew Garrett played Michael from 2009 to 2010. Duell explained the challenges he faced after Garrett was let go and he was hired, stating:

But you feel so much pressure because everyone’s like, ‘What the…? He was let go.’

He remembered the show’s writer and producer watching him act, saying:

They’re watching me, like, sitting there like this, watching my first day and like, ‘I just got somebody fired. I’m here, like, oh my gosh.’ I sweated through two shirts, literally; I almost felt sick. They had me in the guy’s same wardrobe, which was ten sizes too small, so it was a whole thing.

Duell described overcoming fears and limitations was an important part of his time on the show. One of Michael’s major conflicts that he portrayed on GH came when the Quartermaine/Corinthos heir was raped in prison. Duell said:

There was the first homosexual rape storyline. I had that character; that was happening to me. It was the first time in the history of any soap that they’ve ever done that. And that was hard for me to get to.

Duell and the show’s hosts discussed how men do deal regularly with sexual assault and harassment but may not discuss it publicly. Duell explained:

But also, I know people in general are affected by this. A lot of men in general who are… I’m not talking about men specifically; I’m talking about, ’cause my character is a man, they are shamed a lot of the time to talk about it because you got to hold onto your masculinity and they’re afraid of, like… That’s the hugest issue, really, with wanting to say anything.

Watch the full chat below.