Ahead of His General Hospital Return, Rick Hearst Receives a Heckuva Shock About His Place in Port Charles

It was the great philosopher Ferris Beuller who once said, “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.” So Rick Hearst has learned since making tracks back to General Hospital, where he’ll reprise his role of Sonny’s half brother, Alexis’ ex and Molly’s father Ric on August 19.

Over the weekend, the Emmy winner (for his work as Alan-Michael Spaulding on Guiding Light) attended a performance of a play in which on-screen daughter Kristen Vaganos (Molly) is starring. Afterwards, he took pictures with her and his new castmates and got the surprise of his life.

“It’s funny,” he captioned his Instagram post. “One day you wake up and you realize you’re the elder statesman in the middle of all the bright young talent. It’s a beautiful place to be. Thanks for fun night out, guys!”

The daytime vet, who’s also appeared on The Young and the Restless, The Bold and the Beautiful and Days of Our Lives, isn’t likely to have any trouble whatsoever playing pop to Vaganos; heck, he already sounds like a proud dad. “Hats off to my TV daughter for her hilarious performance in the Rogue Theater Machine Company production of Human Error now playing at the Matrix Theater in Los Angeles,” he cheered. “Run, don’t walk, to catch this limited engagement. Bright and intelligent cast will have you [laughing].”