General Hospital Comings & Goings: Ethan Recast; Christian Howard Replaces Nathan Dean

Christian Howard Is the New Ethan Lovett

A newcomer to daytime, Christian Howard was born and raised in the United Kingdom and began training in a variety of martial arts when he was 13.

In addition to acting, he has notched credits as a stunt man, fight choreographer and screenwriter and was the stunt double for one of his early acting inspirations, Jean Claude Van Damme, in the 2012 film Alien Uprising.

Howard’s best-known role is Ken Masters in a series of live-action projects based on the Street Fighter video game franchise.

In his debut episode, the actor shared scenes with Maura West (Ava) as the show continues to flirt with an Ethan/Ava pairing.

Dean— who was then known professionally as Nathan Parsons — originally joined the Port Charles ranks in January 2009 as the charming con man who was ultimately revealed to be the secret son of Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) and Holly Sutton (Emma Samms).

He exited in 2012 but made short-term comebacks in 2013, 2015 and 2020.

In 2023, James Ryan played Ethan for a two-day stint in scenes with Emma Samms and Jane Elliot (Tracy).

Dean’s latest return kicked off on April 17, 2026. In the storyline, Ethan came back to town with a secret connection to the mysterious Delilah Wilson (Lily Cardone), the young woman who passed away after giving birth to a daughter.

Her newborn, Phoebe (Luna and Lucia Creighton), became the foster child of Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) and Chase (Josh Swickard), who are seeking to adopt her.

Ethan initially claimed to be the baby’s father, but later admitted to Ava that Phoebe is not his biological child. The true identity of her father remains unknown.

Dean’s last appearance as Ethan aired on Friday, July 17.