MEET GH'S NEW SPENCER

Nicholas Chavez made his Port Charles debut as Spencer Cassadine on July 1, but the Denver native’s journey to GH actually began back in April, when he sent in a self-tape audition. Shortly thereafter, “My manager reached out and said, ‘Hey, they’d like you to screen-test out in Los Angeles,’ which was amazing news and is kind of unusual in the industry, because it’s usually a self-tape, then an audition and then a callback and then you go screentest. To jump right from A to Z was a pretty daunting experience, and it all happened maybe within the span of a week.”

Chavez had previously lived in L.A. in pursuit of his acting career, but when the pandemic hit, “That sent me packing and I came back to Florida,” where his family resides. “I took a few jobs just to save up some capital so I could make another run at Los Angeles as soon as the world reopened. I was auditioning, doing everything I could get my hands on, from independent films to features to TV to commercials and voiceovers.” The role of Spencer was the first time a soap had crossed his radar, and “the second that this opportunity presented itself, I was completely and totally ecstatic,” he reports.

At his screen test, Chavez recalls, “There were a ton of guys there. I mean, usually when you go to screen-test, it’s like four or five people. There were 12 to 15 guys there and they were all gorgeous. They were all just stunning! And so I’m looking around and I’m like, ‘Jeez, this is some stiff competition!’ I kept telling myself that all I can do is be who I am, ‘They’ll pick who they pick but I am who I am and that’s what I’m going to give them.’ I screen-tested with the tour de force that is Maura West [Ava] and that was just absolutely incredible. It was just such a welcoming environment and everyone was really supportive and Maura was so fantastic to work with. She’s a really generous actor and scene partner so she gives you a ton to go off of and it really helps make the scenes feel alive.”