When General Hospital star Jonathan Jackson returned to the long-running ABC soap in 2024, fans were eager to see what storylines awaited the beloved son of Luke (Anthony Geary) and Laura (Genie Francis). Now, Jackson is reflecting on that comeback and the story he is most grateful to have told.

The Emmy-winning actor attended the 52^nd Annual Daytime Emmy Awards, where he took home the trophy for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. While there, he spoke with soap journalist Michael Fairman about his win and most recent time on General Hospital.

Reflecting on his most recent return, Jackson said, “I hit the ground running thanks to Frank [Valentini, executive producer of General Hospital] and the writers. I loved the whole Mission Impossible-esque beginning stuff.”

The Emmy winner said those scenes reminded him of the more adventurous storylines that his on-screen father, Luke Spencer, once had. “I love that adventurous Lucky,” Jackson recalled. “It was very Luke, and it was weird because I was having all these memories of Tony as I was doing the scenes. So that was super fun.”

During his return, Lucky reunited with his ex-Elizabeth Webber (Rebecca Herbst), in a storyline fans had highly anticipated. “Then to get to have Lucky and Elizabeth, reconnect and even get as close as they got to getting married again was nice,” Jackson said.

Jackson contrasted the 2024 storyline with his previous return in 2009, which saw Liz in a controversial affair with Lucky’s half-brother Nikolas Cassadine (the late Tyler Christopher). “The last time I was here over a decade ago, it was mostly tragedy,” he said. “I also felt that the fans wanted Lucky and Elizabeth to get back together. So, this time around, I was very grateful that Frank and Elizabeth [Korte, head writer] and all the writers were very open to that.”

The actor candidly admitted that his own schedule ultimately cut the storyline short. “It was my fault that I had to leave because commuting and my family.” Jackson explained. I felt bad for the fans about that. I truly did.”

Despite the shortened run, Jackson said he was thankful for the chance to revisit the couple’s history, “I was also grateful for the moments of sweetness and beauty,” he said. “There’s a lot of tragedy in the world. One of the things I mentioned as I was coming back, I said, ‘Look, if it makes sense, I just think a little bit of beauty can go a long way in the world right now.’ So, to have those moments with Lucky and Elizabeth, singing the song to her, flashing back, it’s like we need that those kind of moments right now, especially.”

General Hospital continues weekdays on ABC and weeknights on Hulu.