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It happens. The actors who play beloved characters move on to other roles or find friction with the rest of the cast and crew that cannot be resolved. In these cases, fans may find themselves having to adjust to a brand-new face playing a familiar role.

Even relatively short-running primetime television shows have to face this problem on occasion, but the solution of recasting is particularly prevalent in the soap opera world.

Since many of the shows go on for decades and the intense filming schedule makes it difficult for actors to work on other projects, it only makes sense that some soap opera actors would need to leave their roles before the show is done with their characters. This doesn’t mean, however, that fans are always happy about it. 

Now General Hospital fans are wondering if a character who was believed to be gone will be making a comeback. If so, will the actor playing him be recast? 

Dante could be returning to ‘General Hospital’

JEN LILLEY, DOMINIC ZAMPROGNA
Jen Lilley (Maxie) and Dominic Zamprogna (Dante) | Rick Rowell/Walt Disney Television via Getty Images

Rumor has it that Dante Falconeri could be making a comeback on General Hospital. He was a part of the show from 2009 to 2019. During that time, he had a tumultuous series of ups and downs that began with his secret paternity.

His mother, Olivia, hid the fact that her son’s father is Sonny Corinthos. She would rather the entire town think she’s so promiscuous that she doesn’t know her own son’s father than reveal the truth. 

Of course, as it often does in soap operas, the truth eventually came forward. Dante managed to overcome this awkward and dramatic family schism to have good relationships with both his parents and his siblings.

He looked headed for a rare kind of stability and happiness (at least in the soap opera world) when he settled down and married Lulu. 

As could be predicted, this happiness was not meant to last. Dante joined a dangerous mission to take down Raj Patel. Upon his return, he was severely damaged from the experience, suffering from PTSD and afraid he had been brainwashed.

In 2019, he departed from town (and the show), divorcing Lulu so that she was free to move on without him. Fans believed they had seen the last of Dante. 

Dante has been played by Dominic Zamprogna

For the duration of his role on the show, Dante has been portrayed by actor Dominic Zamprogna. It’s somewhat fitting that rumors about Zamprogna’s recasting are stirring up negative fan reactions and lots of speculation.

When Zamprogna first got the role of Dante, it was amidst dramatic speculation that the role could go to former Guiding Light star Tom Pelphrey. The potential offer was thought to be a rumor planted to nudge actor Steve Burton (who played Jason Morgan) into resigning. 

Meanwhile, Pelphrey ended up returning to Guiding Light to help the series wrap up in style, and rumors swirled that the role of Dante was being held for him.

Another character, Sonny’s son Michael, was introduced in the meantime, and fans began to wonder if the new character of Dante would ever emerge. Eventually, Zamprogna was cast as Dante, a character already shrouded in secrecy, speculation, and mystery before he ever showed up on screen. 

Fans do not want any other actor in Dante’s role

Overwhelmingly, fans have voiced their desire to both have Dante return to the show and to make sure that Zamprogna is the one playing him. Many fans expressed the sentiment that no one else can play the part as well as Zamprogna does, and they don’t want to see someone else ruin a character they love watching. 

Luckily, it seems like fans may get all of their wishes. The actor took to Twitter to drop what many are reading as a hint that he’d be willing to reprise his former role.

“Been running into a lot of #GH fans lately. I see you, and guys are awesome. Just saying,” Zamprogna wrote. Fans are “just saying” that they’d like to see Zamprogna back as Dante, and it looks like they might get their way.

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