General Hospital legend Michael Easton isn’t a newbie in the acting realm. Before he joined the ABC soap, he was already known for various roles. These include John McBain on One Life to Live and Caleb Morley on Port Charles.

The actor has also appeared in several primetime shows, from Ally McBeal to VR.5. Let’s not forget that he got his start on Days of Our Lives. However, his first gig as DOOL’s Tanner Scofield didn’t go as smoothly as expected. Take a plunge to catch the whole tea!

Michael’s Firing From Days of Our Lives Explained!

The General Hospital actor sat down with Maurice Benard (Sonny) on the State of Mind podcast in his first interview since leaving the soap. The guys discussed how Easton initially broke into television when Days of Our Lives was still on network television.

Moreover, Easton embraced the role after being spotted by someone from NBC during a play he had written. Surprisingly, that first meeting wasn’t great, but it ended up being a pivotal moment for him.

Easton recalled, “I asked her, ‘What did you think of the play?’” Then, “she replied, ‘That might have been one of the worst plays I’ve ever seen. But you’re not a bad actor.’” Additionally, NBC sent the GH alum on numerous auditions, one of which was for DOOL.

Easton mentioned the network flew him out first class to audition, after which he did a screen test. Ultimately, “I found a message on my answering machine saying, ‘You start on Friday,’” Michael remembered.

Interestingly, the soap actor ended up spending the next seven months living out of a motel. Then, he finally got an apartment, but sadly, Days didn’t work out in the end. Michael admitted, “I got fired. I was difficult, and they were difficult with me for being difficult.

“Still, the star doesn’t blame the soap for firing him. “I would have fired me too.” Luckily, getting fired from Days wasn’t the end for our beloved soap actor. We all know that he spent the next decade doing primetime series work.

Easton joked to Benard that he turned the situation into a running gag and would go to meetings and mention it. “Good news: all my pilots get picked up. Bad news: they all get canceled after one season.”

In 2001, primetime’s loss became daytime’s gain. The GH fame appeared on Port Charles as Caleb’s kinder alter ego, Michael Morley, for the very first time. And the rest, as they say, is history! Keep an eye on Soap Opera Daily for more exciting updates on General Hospital celebs. Don’t forget to catch the full interview on YouTube!