How ‘General Hospital’s’ Latest Doc Gives New Life to a Port Charles Legend

General Hospital marked its 16,000th episode in a big way when Steve Burton returned as Jason Morgan. It seemed like his fellow first-class passenger who escorted him back to Port Charles was only dropping in, but by the end of the hour, the audience learned he was Dr. Tristan Roberts, the new surgeon on staff at GH.

Tristan Roberts Reporting for GH Duty

Dean Geyer, best known for the primetime series Glee, made his soap opera debut as the doctor with a very familiar name. Even casual fans of the 63-year-old ABC soap would recognize the name Tristan Rogers, the late actor who brought WSB super spy Robert Scorpio to life on and off since 1980 until his passing from cancer last year.

When news first dropped that Geyer had been cast as a character with this name, fans immediately knew that this couldn’t have been a coincidence. Geyer has confirmed that it was not.

“That crazy first day that I had on set, I think Finola Hughes, Anna Devane may have been the one to come up and give me the backstory on that,” Geyer said in an interview with TV Insider. “And at the time, I wasn’t sure whether it was kind of an ode to him, but then I heard from Frank that that’s exactly what it was, and he was a much-loved character. Obviously, I’ve got a lot to live up to. I think the name really holds a lot of value and nostalgia for the fans, so hopefully, I do that justice. It’s really nice to know that I was somehow involved in bringing his memory back to life.”

Geyer, who per IMDb was born in South Africa and moved to Australia as a teen, even sports Rogers’ signature Australian accent, allowing him to feel even more familiar to GH fans.

While there is no official word on who Dr. Roberts will be paired with in the months to come, Geyer dropped a bit of a hint when he revealed the two actresses he screentested with, Kelly Thiebaud and Eden McCoy. Will Britt and Josslyn soon compete for a man? Tune in to find out.