Valentin Cassadine has been coming and going from General Hospital for years. Between international prison stints and on-the-run moves, he alternately slinks around Port Charles or is a prominent member of society. During Valentin’s last extended break from the show, his portrayer, James Patrick Stuart, chose to take a break from Hollywood, but not one that will keep him from our soap opera screens.
A Life in the Pacific Northwest
When Valentin hightailed it out of Port Charles with Charlotte for life on the run, Stuart, who has been a recurring GH player since first joining the cast in 2016, used that time to make a major off-screen change. Stuart and his wife, Jocelyn, left Los Angeles behind for life in Portland, from where he frequently shares photos of his new hometown.
In November of 2024, the actor tweeted a pic of himself and his mother, writing, “This lovely woman who looks like my sister is my mom visiting from England. I got show her a few of the prettiest parts of my new home state of Oregon.”
Stuart, who is the son of Chad Stuart of the British rock duo Chad & Jeremy, was acting in Hollywood as a kid on shows like Galactica 1980 and Happy Days, before getting his soap opera start in New York City in 1989 on All My Children, per IMDb He later joined the Hollywood scene again, working in movies and episodic television, until landing the role of “the most evil Cassadine of them all” in 2016. As fans know, Valentin turned out to be anything but evil and extremely complicated.
It was Valentin’s sporadic appearances for the last few years that gave Stuart the opportunity to move and make a new home. “[It] did actually give Jocelyn and me a chance to remodel our house, move in and settle into the Pacific Northwestern vibe,” the actor told Soap Opera Digest in 2025.
Valentin began living in Carly’s (Laura Wright) attic last December and has been a constant on-screen presence ever since, but Stuart hasn’t given up on Oregon living. He just commutes. As he posted in March, “Home in Portland after a full week filming @GeneralHospital. Had a blast working with @lldubs… Hope you’ll be watching.”
