One year after shocking Hallmark fans by officially stepping away from acting, Ryan Paevey has revealed he’s back in the saddle again — returning to the soap opera where his acting career began, “General Hospital.”
On August 18, 2025, Paevey told Deadline that he’s excited to “surprise fans with a meaty storyline” as he begins filming this week. It’s not clear if he’ll reprise his previous role as Detective Nathan West, who was killed off the show in 2018, five years after Paevey first started playing the character.
Paevey had been teasing a possible return to acting in recent weeks, including contemplating the Hallmark characters he’d love to revisit.
Ryan Peavey Says ‘General Hospital’ Executive Producer Reached Out to Him Via Text
HallmarkPaevey told Deadline that his return to acting started with a surprise text from “General Hospital” executive producer Frank Valentini.
He explained, “We talked a bit and he asked would I consider returning for awhile, talking story, floated different story ideas involving different time commitments of me, and I thought if we’re going to do this we should really do it and surprise the fans with a meaty storyline.”
“I was surprised by my excitement for a homecoming and reuniting with familiar faces after seven years,” Paevey continued. “I still have my last call sheet from my final taping day on January 18, 2018, tacked up in my home office.”
Soap fans have been speculating about a possible return for Paevey ever since Kelly Thiebaud, who played his character’s sister Britt, returned to “General Hospital” in July, Deadline reported. The outlet said that his return to the soap will begin airing in September.
Ryan Paevey Has Been Teasing a Return to Acting, Including Possible Hallmark Roles
Paevey’s official return to acting comes after several weeks of social media teases on social media, hinting that something was in the works. He also attended his first fan convention in several years at Christmas in a Small Town, held in Dahlonega, Georgia, in late July and thanked fans on Instagram for welcoming him back into the fold.
“It’s been a long time,” he said in a video he posted with footage from the event, joking, “I didn’t know if anybody was gonna show up for the ghost of Christmas past here.”
In a video captured at the convention by a fan, as seen above, Paevey spoke on a panel with another former Hallmark star, Chad Michael Murray. When the two were asked by an audience member which characters they’d love to revisit in a new movie, Paevey suggested two Hallmark roles he’d love to reprise.
“A third ‘Darcy’ might be cool,” Paevey said, drawing screams from the crowd. Paevey starred opposite Cindy Busby in 2016’s hugely popular “Unleashing Mr. Darcy,” which inspired a sequel two years later.
He also mentioned 2022’s “Two Tickets to Paradise” with Ashley Williams as a movie he’d love to see get a sequel, telling the crowd, “Selfishly, I wouldn’t mind seeing Ashley Williams again in Hawaii … maybe we do a part two or something like that.”
Ryan Paevey Announced His Departure From Acting in June 2024
GettyAfter deactivating his Twitter and Facebook accounts in late June 2024, Paevey issued an exclusive statement to EntertainmentNow to announce he was officially stepping away from acting and shifting his priorities after a decade of being in the spotlight.
In the statement, he revealed that a series of professional and personal challenges, from dealing with rampant online rumors and scammers to supporting his mom through a difficult lung cancer diagnosis, prompted him to take a “step back” from Hollywood.
“I am taking a step back from acting, something I’ve felt I’ve needed to do for a while now, and a decision proven to be absolutely necessary in the past few weeks,” Paevey said in his statement. “The industry hasn’t felt like the place for me in quite some time now, and my mental health has suffered from it. It’s taken me to a bit of a dark place, made me into a version of myself I don’t like very much.”
“I’ve vented some of my anger and frustration publicly, and for that I apologize,” he continued. “I’ve had many years of smooth sailing, and am very lucky to be able to say that, but the waters have been much rougher the last year or so. I know I am not unique in this; it seems nearly EVERYONE, in Hollywood or not, is going through troubled times to some degree.”
Paevey then revealed, “I’ve had bank accounts hacked, money embezzled, investments stolen….things that, while difficult, can be recovered from. But after all that, my mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. I left Los Angeles to be closer to her, and feel the need to devote more of my time, energy, and resources closer to home.”
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Ryan Paevey Returns: Back on Set 1 Year After Stepping Away From Acting