When Bradford Anderson first stepped onto the General Hospital set nearly 19 years ago, no one quite knew what to make of Damian Spinelli. With his rapid-fire dialogue, hacker jargon, and offbeat energy, Spinelli felt like an odd fit in Port Charles. What was supposed to be a three-month gig has now stretched into almost two decades.
“I came out of musical theater,” Anderson said. “In that world, you’re lucky if a job lasts a month or two. When I booked General Hospital, I never imagined it would turn into this.”
I’ll confess: at first, I hated Spinelli. He felt too goofy, a distraction from the plot. But if the show was looking for comic relief, they struck gold. Other soaps—Days of Our Lives, The Young and the Restless, and more—eventually introduced similar offbeat characters. Spinelli, however, is the one who endured, evolving from comic wildcard to fully realized, emotionally grounded fan favorite.
“That evolution had to happen,” Anderson said. “No character stays the same for 20 years. You have to think about how someone like Spinelli would grow—not just because I’ve grown up, but because the character has more responsibility now.”
A trained song-and-dance man with impeccable comic timing, Anderson found his perfect counterbalance in longtime scene partner Steve Burton (Jason Morgan). Their odd-couple chemistry became legendary—Spinelli’s verbal chaos bouncing off Jason’s stoic intensity. Offscreen, that partnership expanded into music, comedy, and a long-running podcast. Formerly titled Stone Cold and the Jackal, their show is now known as Daily Drama and boasts more than 370 episodes.
On January 17, Anderson and Burton bring their live comedy show, Stone Cold and the Jackal, to Portland’s Helium Comedy Club.
“It’s a full show,” Anderson emphasized. “Ninety minutes of music and comedy. We both do stand-up. I sing parody songs and non-parody songs. There’s audience participation, General Hospital stories, and jokes about ourselves, our characters, and the show.”
This isn’t a typical soap appearance or Q&A.
“If you’ve been to a soap event before, this is not that,” he said. “This is a comedy show. People sometimes wonder, ‘How could Steve Burton be funny?’ Trust me—when you see someone who’s been stoic on television for years laughing his face off, you can’t help but laugh with him.”
As Anderson approaches his 20th anniversary on General Hospital, the milestone still feels surreal.
“Three months turning into 20 years is mind-boggling,” he said. “The genre allows for that. Stories can change in real time. It’s a world where people come back from the dead—so anything’s possible.”
That flexibility allowed Spinelli to stick, especially because of his effect on other characters.
“What made Spinelli useful was the reaction he brought out in others,” Anderson explained. “Jason, Sam, Maxie—it wasn’t just who Spinelli was, but how he changed the people around him.”
Even when Anderson briefly stepped away from the show—most notably to appear on Homeland—General Hospital welcomed him back. Temporary recasts filled the gap, including Blake Berris, whom Anderson praised for making the role his own.
“Trying to imitate someone else is always a recipe for disaster,” Anderson said. “Temporary recasts are a thankless job, and I really respect anyone who does it.”
Over the years, Spinelli’s growth has been most evident in his relationships, particularly with Maxie Jones.
“He’s figured out what’s important,” Anderson said. “Different sides of him come out with different people. That’s real life. You’re not the same person with everyone.”
As for current storylines and possible romantic triangles?
“Fun,” Anderson laughed. “That’s the goal.”
Beyond the show, Anderson says one of the greatest gifts of the podcast has been getting to truly know his colleagues.
“You work with people for years but don’t always get deep conversations,” he said. “The podcast allows that. We’ve learned so much about people we thought we already knew.”
That connection extends to the audience—many of whom have been watching General Hospital for decades.
“We meet people who say they’ve been watching for 40 or 50 years,” Anderson said. “It’s incredible to realize how long we’ve been part of people’s lives.”
He added that the live shows create a rare, welcoming space.
“You’ll have something in common with everyone in the room,” he said. “People start talking about when they started watching, who got them into the show—their mom, their grandma. You walk in alone and leave with friends.”
Nearly 20 years after Spinelli first typed his way into Port Charles, Anderson remains grateful—for the character, the fans, and the unexpected longevity of it all.
“We’ve always known how valuable our audience is,” he said. “Now everyone else is finally noticing.”
UPDATE: Ironically, after our interview, news broke that GH icon, Tony Geary had passed from complications after surgery. Geary was living in Amsterdam with his partner of 30 yrs and husband of 6 years, Claudio. Later, Anderson posted this on Instagram: “Tony was magic. The first scene I ever had with him I remember looking into his eyes and feeling connection, appreciation, and a dash of mischief. We loved to talk theater and share New York stories. So many of us owe him so much. Saying he’ll be missed doesn’t even come close.”
On January 17, Anderson and Burton bring their live comedy show, Stone Cold and the Jackal, to Portland’s Helium Comedy Club at 2:30p. For Tix, click HERE.
