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Nicholas Alexander Chavezis currently earning a new wave of fans courtesy of Netflix’sMonsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, the second season of Ryan Murphy’sMonsteranthology series. If you follow him on Instagram, his followers doubled in a single day following the premiere of the miniseries, and now he is the subject of many TikTok supercut videos from fans of the Netflix show who are mostly wondering,“Where did this guy come from?“Truth be told, Chavez didn’t come out of nowhere if you are a fan of the daytime dramaGeneral Hospital.
Now in its 61st year, it can be hard for the soap to discover brand-new talent destined for big things, but they did with Chavez when he joined the show in 2021. It was clear that Chavez’s talents were bigger than walking the halls ofGeneral Hospital, and it was only a matter of time before someone took an interest in giving the actor the opportunity that would set him on the path of potentially becoming a big star.
BeforeChavez joinedGeneral Hospital, he had the typical Hollywood story of a person with big dreams and aspirations simply waiting for his moment to be discovered. Born in Houston, Texas, the actor attended the Mason Gross School of Arts at Rutgers University for two years before deciding to take off to Los Angeles to give acting a full-time shot. Chavez came to Los Angeles hungry and eager, but the universe had other plans, not only for him but for the entire world. The COVID-19 pandemic hit everyone hard in 2020, including Chavez, forcing him to relocate to Vero Beach, Florida, where he put his acting dreams on hold and took up working at a car dealership. Despite the setback,Chavez did what many actors did during COVID, and that was to send in self-tape auditions, with one of them setting the stage to change his life forever.
General Hospital
Nicholas Chavez Becomes Spencer Cassadine in General Hospital
One of those self-taped auditions was sent to the ABC soapGeneral Hospital, which was looking to age up one of its characters, Spencer Cassadine. The character is the son of Nikolas Cassadine, a legacy character most notably portrayed by the late Tyler Christopher, but, at the time, was being played by Marcus Coloma, who was cast in the role back in 2019. The last timeGeneral Hospitalfans saw Spencer, he was a young boy played by Nicolas Bechtel. However, it’s common practice in soaps toquickly age charactersplayed by children when situations dictate more mature storylines. When Spencer returns from a long stint at boarding school,he’s now played by Chavez as a young adult, and famed soap casting director Mark Teschner once described how the actor came under their radar.
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“Nicholas sent his self tape in from Florida and the rest is history. He had a meteoric impact on the show. You always have an expectation and the hope that they’re (the actor) going to nail it and run with it. But sure, there are actors, you think, ‘They’re gonna be awesome,’ and than all of a sudden it goes another level. With Nicholas Chavez, we knew he’d be amazing, but you know, who knew? Well, we did.”
Chavez was quickly thrown into a lot of stories as Spencer. Upon his return to Port Charles, his goal was to punish his father, who faked his death and made everyone believe he was dead so he could quietly reclaim the Cassadine inheritance from Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart), who took it right from under him. Nikolas, now married to Ava Jerome (Maura West), a woman who played a role in escalating this betrayal, hopes to reunite with his son, but Spencer has other plans.
He begins to impersonatea serial killernamed Ryan Chamberlain (Jon Lindstrom), who once stalked Ava and murdered her daughter to get them to separate. Helping him in this mission is Esme Prince (Avery Pohl), his current girlfriend and someone he met at boarding school who has her own secret reasons for wanting to help Spencer with his schemes. However, it wasn’t all evil plotting that drove Spencer during his new beginnings atGeneral Hospital. He also met someone completely by accident who would play a major part in elevating the character and making Chavez part of one of the most popular pairings on the show in recent memory.
The Evolution of Chavez’s Character in General Hospital
Eventually, Spencer meets Trina Robinson (initially played by Sydney Mikayla and now played by Tabyana Ali), and they have a classic push-and-pull relationship that has definedclassic love stories, whether on soaps, primetime television, or movies. Trina has a more modest upbringing compared to Spencer’s more lavish lifestyle, buttheir chemistry is instant. Even though Chavez would have to build that chemistry twice since Mikayla vacated the role during his tenure on the show, the journey of the love story became a big hit with fans as they struggled with their feelings for each other and outside forces that tried to keep them apart.
At times, Trina’s parents didn’t trust Spencer because of his schemes against his father, which were later revealed, or it was, most notably,a love trianglethat pitted good-girl Trina against scheming bad-girl Esme. The odds were frequently against the pair, which played a major part in making the union so popular with fans — so much so that they shipped them with the nickname “Sprina,” something that continues to stick today as their fans frequently still make posts about their union on social media.
Chavez proved through this pairing and his overall portrayal of Spencer that he had incredible range. He could play the romantic lead, but the character was someone with deep-rooted pain because of the betrayal he felt regarding his father choosing to stay away for so long. Chavez had moments that exceededsoap opera acting, which is not to say that soap acting is bad, but there is an unfortunate stigma attached to it that suggests it is lacking compared to acting you might see in film or primetime television.The actor seemed to find the truth in every big moment he was given, constantly outshining the other performers on the show, whether they were young newbies or seasoned vets.
Daytime Emmy-Winning Glory Paves the Way for Monsters
His work inGeneral Hospitalled to Chavez earning a Daytime Emmy Award in 2022 for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series. During his acceptance speech, he mentioned how he was selling cars before Chavez landed his role onGeneral Hospital, and what you saw was someone humble and thankful for the opportunity to perform, merely happy that he had a platform to showcase his love for acting.You were truly witnessing a star on the rise, one that wouldn’t be contained to the confines ofGeneral Hospital.
During his time onGeneral Hospital, there was an open call for the second season ofRyan Murphy’sMonsteranthology series, which focused on the Menendez Brothers.Chavez went out for it while on contract on the soap opera and eventually landed the part of Lyle Menendez. There was a lot of talk about Chavez’s tenure on the soap at that time. Would he finish out his contract? Would he leave for a few months to film the show and then return? Most saw the writing on the wall. Chavez was about to take off and, without an ounce of disrespect, leaveGeneral Hospitalbehind him.
In true soap opera fashion, it was made to look like Spencer died at the hands of Esme while trying to protect Trina. They never recovered Spencer’s body, something done to maybe bring him back if he wanted to return. There is no doubt that Chavez appreciates the opportunity thatGeneral Hospitalafforded him, but once helanded on Murphy’sGrotesquerieright afterMonsterswrapped,it was clear that the actor was moving on to the next stage of his career.
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Chavez is not alone in a league of actors that once began their careers on soaps. OnGeneral Hospitalalone, Demi Moore got her big break on the show in 1981 before becoming a megastar, while John Stamos put in time there before heading toFull House. Sarah Michelle Gellar became a Daytime Emmy winner onAll My Childrenbefore slaying vampires onBuffy The Vampire Slayer, while Julianne Moore took on dual roles onAs the World Turns, with herselfearning an Emmy, before becoming a future Oscar winner.
Most actors who don’t try to push aside their humble beginnings always say that soap operas are a great training ground for actors. The stories are ever-evolving, so you must have the skills to keep up with the pace. Chavez is just another example of someone who got his feet wet in this world, and now he’s on to another level that he seemed destined for. It’s time for people to know who he is, beyond fans of the long-running soap where he got his start.General Hospitalis streaming onHulu.Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Storyis streaming onNetflix.
