Jason Thompson Explains Why He Left Port Charles For Genoa City

Once in a while everyone is indeed of a little change, right? Well, that’s one of the reasons why Jason Thompson decided to pack up his bags back in the day and make the ultimate switch from General Hospital to The Young and the Restless. As many fans can recall, Jason used to play Patrick Drake back in 2005 before he took the part as Billy Abbott on Y&R in 2005. Here’s what he has to say about it.

Jason Thompson Explains Why He Left Port Charles For Genoa City

Speaking to Soap Opera Digest in a new interview, the handsome actor says that back in 2005, he wasn’t really looking to get into the daytime television world. But after getting a call from casting director Mark Teschner, that all changed. He said, “It wasn’t something that I was looking to really do, but I walked in and I read and Jill Farren Phelps, who was the executive producer at the time, she was in the room with Teschner and I was the first person to ever read for Patrick Drake…. So I walked in and I read and Jill said, “Jason, that was a kick-ass audition.” And then she kind of got embarrassed and said to Mark, “Oh, I’m sorry, can I say that?” I was like, “No, no, please, that’s very nice of you. You usually don’t get that very often,” so, you know, those golden nuggets keep with you every once in a while…. And then I got a callback, and then it went from that to, like, “Oh, man, I really want to kind of get this now.” 

Jason Knew He Had To Make The Switch

At the time, Jason admits that he had no idea that he would end up becoming a household name in the soap opera world. And while he has nothing but fond memories about his time at General Hospital, Jason says he knew he needed to make the switch to The Young and the Restless when the opportunity presented itself. He said, “It’s a different set, it’s a different setup and it’s getting a little uncomfortable again, but I needed to change up personally and emotionally for myself. I just got married, we were on our honeymoon and I didn’t know where I was going yet exactly. Very late in this process I maybe thought about coming over to Y&R but I didn’t know anything about it yet, so it was a little bit daunting.”

In the meantime, let us know what you think by leaving us a line with your thoughts in our comments section below. The Young and the Restless airs weekdays on the CBS network. Check your local listings for times.