Inside General Hospital Stars Steve Burton And Bradford Anderson's Tight Friendship
Stoic hitman Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) has faced death many times on "General Hospital," but could always rely on computer hacking genius, Daman Spinelli (Bradford Anderson) — aka The Jackal — who time and again pulled Jason's bacon from out of the fire. With his use of archaic words and expeditious speech pattern, Spinelli became unlikely friends with Jason, whom he often refers to as "Stone Cold."
Similarly, the actors have become besties ever since Anderson debuted in 2006. Burton left the show in 2012 and returned in 2017 but was let go in 2021 for refusing to adhere to the show's COVID-19 vaccine mandate, and fans were worried that he would be recast. Fortunately, that didn't happen and once the mandate was lifted, it didn't take long for him to return to "GH," in a stint that's thankfully longer than we expected.
In a June 2013 interview with Soap Opera Digest, Burton referenced the odd pairing of his and Anderson's characters, remarking, "The relationship [the characters] formed, I don't think [the producers] were expecting it, and [Anderson] and I started working together so much that we just became really great friends, also." Burton recalled that because of Spinelli's wild dialogue, it was thought the character wouldn't last long, no matter who was cast. "But Bradford came in and nailed it and there was such a great juxtaposition of him being ... I don't know, I want to say him being the crazy and wacky guy and me being the straight guy."
Burton, Anderson, and other GH alum formed the band Port Chuck
In their Soap Opera Digest discussion, "General Hospital" stars Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson said they knew they had something when the crew were often in stitches after a scene. "People would laugh because Spinelli would try to touch me or hug me or do something stupid, and I'd just stare at him," he stated, quipping, "It just worked!" Anderson felt that Spinelli needed other characters to react to him to make scenes funny, and Jason's serious looks at him were humorous fodder.
As their real-life friendship blossomed, the two formed a cover band with "GH" alums Scott Reeves (ex-Steven Webber) and Brandon Barash (ex-Johnny Zacchara) in 2010. They called the group Port Chuck — a riff on the show's city, Port Charles. Reeves is an accomplished musician, while Anderson has some great singing chops due to his background in theater and musicals. Although Port Chuck officially broke up in 2019, the gang has reunited occasionally, including in 2021 and 2022, for online performances.
Anderson told SOD that while the band was on tour, he and Burton were the ones ensuring their bus accommodations remained clean. Burton remarked that during those times, "We were on the bus with freakin' 11 slobs, and he and I were the only ones who were cleaning!" All kidding aside, he noted that the two enjoy traveling together, and they continue to tour with their comedy show, "Stone Cold and the Jackal."
Burton and Anderson have a popular podcast
"General Hospital's" Steve Burton and Bradford Anderson have come a long way since first realizing their onscreen pairing as Jason Morgan and Damian Spinelli was gold. The two are so close that they've created a touring comedy show aptly titled "Stone Cold & The Jackal," named after their character's nicknames for them. They continue touring nationwide, entertaining thousands of fans with song parodies, comedy sketches, "GH" jokes, and more.
The two started a wildly fun podcast entitled "That's Awesome!" in which they would discuss their lives and the show and often have guests. It became so popular that in November 2023, it morphed into the "Daily Drama" podcast, joining the website of the same name. Their format expanded to include discussions about, and guests from, all of the remaining network soap operas, and their website includes current news about soaps in general. Even though Burton left "GH" in 2021 — laterally moving to "Days of Our Lives" from 2023 to 2024 — the BFFs continued their podcasting and touring.
In September 2019, Burton and Anderson appeared on the "Dishing with Digest" podcast to discuss their friendship both on and off-screen. Burton summed up the path the two are embarking on, noting, "We've been on a journey, and it's only getting better for us as friends." He further remarked that they're thankful for the fans, adding, "It's such a great journey right now."