It’s been almost two months since Daniel Goddard made his big daytime comeback as General Hospital’s Dalton. Though many of his fans may have hoped for a return to The Young and the Restless as Cane, he’s been making the ABC soap his new home — but not without some initial reservations. The actor recently chatted with Woman’s World magazine about just that, as well as how he landed the Port Charles role and more…
Having left the CBS soap in November 2019, Goddard had been out of the daytime game for nearly six years. When he received an invite to read for the role of Jack Brennan, which Chris McKenna, another former Y&R star, ultimately landed, Goddard had a lot of hesitation due to fear of not being good enough and of letting down his fans. “And in a bizarre way,” he shared, “it felt like those 12 years or so on Y&R amounted to nothing, because I was back to auditioning.”
However, he took that fear and allowed it to empower him to be the best version of himself. And even though he had a lot of fun, he thought he missed the mark, not having auditioned in four years. But boy, was he wrong… Though he didn’t get role of Brennan, Goddard was stunned to hear that executive producer Frank Valentini wanted him for a new role — the mysterious Professor Dalton. “I’ve never got an offer for anything!” he admitted. “I’ve had to fight an uphill battle for every acting role I’ve ever gotten.”
Feeling blessed to be back in the game, the actor also felt as if it was “a bit like a do-over” then went on to talk about one differences between the two soaps. While Young & Restless gives its stars a whole script, including what the other characters are saying, General Hospital only gives the pages the actor is involved in. Back in the day, he would read scripts four weeks ahead so he knew where things were going for Cane but now… Goddard trusts the process and just allows it to play out. And as an added bonus, he’s crossed paths with Genie Francis (Laura) and Tristan Rogers (Robert), who played his Genoa City character’s parents, Genevieve and Colin. Those past connections have made him feel comfortable.
So, who exactly is the man behind Dalton? Goddard doesn’t know himself but looks forward to the “villainous” possibility and discovering what brought the character to this point in his life.
