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Nikolas Cassadine

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Nikolas Cassadine (full name Nikolas Mikhail Stavrosovich Cassadine) is a fictional character on the longrunning American soap opera General Hospital. The role was originated by Tyler Christopher, who played the character from 1996-1999, and then after a four-year hiatus resumed the role in 2003 and is the current actor. Stephan Martines played the role from 1999 to 2003, and Chris Beetem temporarily took over the character in December 2005.[1]

In 2006, Tyler Christopher was nominated for a "Best Supporting Actor" award by the Daytime Emmys.[2]

Brief character history

Nikolas is a Russian Prince and the current head of his family's legacy, Cassadine Industries. A single father to son Spencer following the death of Nikolas' fiancė and mother of his son, Courtney Matthews. Currently he has reunited with his ex-wife and true love, Emily Quartermaine and continues to juggle his business with the matters of his family.

Early years

Nikolas is the son of Laura Webber and the late Stavros Cassadine. His mother, Laura, had been kidnapped by Stavros as an act of revenge for the events that led to the death of his father Mikkos Cassadine. Laura and her husband Luke Spencer had been involved in these events and Stavros took Laura to the Cassadine family island in Greece where he held her prisoner until she agreed to be his wife. Although she fought against this at first, she initially agreed to it when the confinement became too much to bear. Stavros was a tyrant who had a nasty temper and a penchant for drinking and debauchery. To escape his tirades, Laura would often walk on the island. On one of these occasions she met Stavros' kind-hearted brother Stefan Cassadine and the two formed a close friendship. This friendship would soon turn romantic and when Laura discovered that she was pregnant, she hoped that he was the father.

Having a child changed Laura. Before she felt trapped and miserable on the island, but now she had a reason to have hope once more. When the child was born he was named Nikolas, after Tsar Nicholas II. His great-grandfather Mikhail was of noble blood and had been a close friend of the Tsar. It was only after Nikolas was born that Laura realized just what lay ahead for her son. The Cassadine family were Russian aristocrats, with connections to the royal Romanov family. They existed for hundreds of years in Russia until the Bolshevik Revolution forced them to flee to Greece. After that period they built a large economic empire of power and wealth. As the Prince Cassadine, when Nikolas came of age he would take his place as the head of the family and would have the power that came with it.

Despite all of this, Laura wanted her son to live a normal life. This made her continually curious about the life that she left behind in Port Charles and her husband Luke. Stavros had made Laura think that Luke had died but Stefan learned the truth and secretly passed the information to Laura. She wanted to see Luke, but worried about Nikolas. Stefan promised to watch out for him as Laura left to be reunited with her husband. After running away, Stavros followed her back to Port Charles only to die by falling down a flight of stairs. Laura fully intended to go back to the Cassadine island to get Nikolas, but his grandmother Helena Cassadine threatened Laura and her family with death if she tried. Although Laura initially stayed away, she couldn't bear to leave her child alone to that fate and tried to see him. As a result, Helena killed Laura's mother, Lesley Webber prompting Laura to leave Nikolas behind. She would never tell her husband, children, or anyone else about her eldest son, although she would never stop thinking about him.

After Stavros' death, Nikolas' welfare first fell to his grandmother. Not wanting him to end up like his brother, Stefan usurped the family power away from his mother and took custody of Nikolas when he was seven. Helena was then sent away and told to never come near him again. Not much is known about Nikolas's childhood. From the small hints that have been given he was a naturally curious, caring and emotional child who would spend time riding his horse, Sheba, and traveling the globe with his uncle. Although his childhood is considered a happy one, it was also filled with that of isolation from children his own age and the normal everyday things that children do. Although he grew up learning to love and respect his mother, Nikolas also bore a great resentment towards her for abandoning him. He carried this resentment with him until he was in his teens.

The Teen Years

Fifteen-year-old Nikolas first came to Port Charles after donating his bone marrow to his sister Lesley Lu, who had been diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Nikolas had known growing up that he had a half-brother, Lucky, but was unaware that he had a little half-sister. Curious, he left his hospital bed to see her. He developed an instant bond with her, the same of which cannot be said for his brother. The two met in their sister's hospital room and formed an instant animosity. Lucky hated Nikolas due to everything that he had ever been told by his father about the Cassadine's and for the fact that his mother never told him he even had a brother. The two would often fight and try to undermine the other's confidence with revealing family secrets. One such secret, that Helena killed Laura's mother Lesley, stunned Nikolas who ran away from home. Before leaving he snuck into the Spencer home to say goodbye to his sister. Lucky caught Nikolas and the two engaged in a heated argument that resulted in Nikolas falling down the stairs and ending up in the hospital.

During his hospital stay he became good friends with Bobbie Spencer. Bobbie was by Nikolas' side when Laura told him that there was no place for him in her life, leaving him utterly devastated. Most of Port Charles met the Cassadines with suspicion given their past and Luke's constant ramblings. It was hard for Nikolas to find someone to confide in. That changed one New Years Eve when he was befriended by Emily Quatermaine. Nikolas had accompanied his aunt Alexis Davis to the Quartermaine residence but didn't want to come in. Emily, who had seen Nikolas around town, immediately went to speak with him and the two became fast friends. Emily and Nikolas spent a great deal of time together. He taught her fencing and horseback riding and she introduced him to hip-hop music, dancing and other normal teenage activities.

As time wore Emily became Nikolas's best friend and she began to develop feelings for him. Soon after, Laura discovered that her mother was indeed alive, having been saved by Stefan from his mother's plot, and was in a catatonic state resulting from a complication from the drug he used to fake her death. When Laura went to visit her mother, the house they were in exploded and both were presumed killed. This left Nikolas devastated and Luke held the Cassadines responsible. With the whole town against him, Nikolas turned to Emily, Bobbie, and another friend he had made while in the hospital Katherine Bell, to cope with his loss. However they soon realized that it had all been a lie and that Luke and Laura had faked the explosion and left for parts unknown. When they returned to town, they were met by everyone with great hostility, especially from Nikolas. who felt betrayed.

He was comforted by Bobbie, who had married his uncle Stefan and became his step-aunt. Although their marriage wouldn't last, she continued to be a source of maternal affection to him. For the first time people began to look past the Cassadine demeanor and see him for the young man that he was. Nikolas began to gain new respect from the people of Port Charles, including his brother, who after a series of events had come to see Nikolas in a new light. The two became friends and vowed to not let the events of the past and their families' feelings towards each other dictate how they felt about each other. Although she loved her son very much, Laura would continually hurt him by her inability to accept him into her life. Eventually, to spare him further heartache, Stefan drove her out of town and out of his life.

When Laura returned a year later, she was tired of Luke telling her to push Nikolas away and became determined to forge a relationship with her son. Although earlier in his life he would have met this gesture with mistrust, a recent near-death experience had left him eager to form that bond. A lot had happened while Laura was away, causing her relationship with her husband to be strained. When an accident was said to have killed Lucky, Nikolas was devastated and came to regret all the lost time he had with him. He drew closer to Laura and his sister, who in turn, did the same.

The Cassadine Prince

Nikolas' foray into adulthood was not easy. Almost a year after Lucky was believed dead, it turned out that he was indeed alive and had been held hostage by Helena. During Lucky's time with Helena he came to see Nikolas as his brother and cared for him as such. The two strengthened their bond and for the first time thought of themselves as real brothers. Nikolas would need his brother's strength when it was revealed that his father, Stavros, was indeed alive and had been kept within an inch of death by his grandmother. Soon Stavros awakened and plotted to reclaim what had been taken from him. After months of dirty deeds, Stavros would again die, this time doing it in order to save his son's life. When it was all said and done, Stefan had felt that Nikolas was old enough to take over the family legacy and he became The Cassadine Prince.

The first few years after taking over the reins of the family business were filled with great diffuculty for Nikolas. Stefan, whom Nikolas had never been away from for very long in his entire life, had decided to leave for Europe. He was also haunted by his father's death, so much so that he would continually resort to Cassadine-like behavior, causing him to fear that he would turn out like his father. The biggest blow came when Laura, after accidentally killing her adoptive father Rick Webber had a complete mental breakdown and went into a catatonic state. Laura was eventually sent to a mental hospital for long term care. Nikolas took immediate custody over his mother's welfare and has been responsible for paying for her hospital stay.

His relationship with Lucky became strained over his brother's behavior. This led to a heated argument and Lucky, once again, almost killed his brother. Nikolas would survive and things began to get better for him. He rekindled the close relationship he had with Lucky and made it a point to be close to his sister in his mother's absence. During this time period he also began a romance with Emily, who had returned to town after spending time in California. Emily had recently been diagnosed with breast cancer and Nikolas became the rock that helped Emily through it. When she had recovered, the two fell in love and began a long and rocky relationship. During the courtship Nikolas and Emily endured many hardships while she married Zander Smith, Emily's first love whom she wed believing that she would die and that she owed this marriage as her last gift to him. When Emily's cancer went into remission, she lead found herself conflicted between fidelity to Zander and her feelings for Nikolas. Eventually the two could no longer resist and slept with one another. Soon after, Emily ended her marriage with Zander to be with Nikolas. Zander would later become unstable as a result of the break-up and kidnapped Emily before taking his own life; other obstacles included Stefan's interference, which also ended in his suicide.

Just when it seemed that they had a chance at happiness, Nikolas was involved in a car accident. With a serious head injury he wandered away from the accident and found himself on the doorstep of a heartbroken war widow, Mary Bishop. Mary's husband Connor, a Marine who was serving in Iraq, had been reported dead; when the amnesiac Nikolas literally showed up on her doorstep, the emotionally fragile Mary took advantage of the memory loss and convinced him that he was her husband. Mary and Nikolas lived together for months while most of the town still thought him dead. When Emily learned Nikolas was alive, she tried to make him see the truth. However, with no memory of her he turned to the only thing that he knew and loyally chose to return to his "wife" Mary. Emily decided to keep the truth of his identity from him, not wanting him to end up like her brother Jason, whose own memory loss years earlier and her family's attempt to force him to remember resulted in an unrepairable rift. Eventually the truth came out and Nikolas reclaimed his memories and returned to his life. A devastated Mary, having lost her "husband" for the second time, mentally collapsed and tried to kill Emily. Eventually this led to a confrontation between the three of them that resulted in Nikolas shooting Mary. Although the wound was not fatal, Mary later died in the hospital when her medications were switched. Although no one was ever charged with her death, Emily, who at the time was a medical student, was said to have been the last person to have access to her medicines.

The relationship hit another blow when Helena tried to intrude on their romance, causing Nikolas to throw her off a cliff. Opting to plead guilty and not have Emily go through the pain and agony of a trial, Nikolas was soon convicted of murder and he was sentenced to life in prison. Before he was sent away, he and Emily married. Determined to prove his innocence, Emily worked to find evidence that Helena was alive. During this time, Connor Bishop turned up very much alive and out for blood. He undermined Nikolas' freedom by plotting with Helena to keep him in jail while Connor romanced Emily. Emily didn't fall for it, causing Connor to rape her. Devastated, Emily dealt with her pain through an emotional retreat which led Nikolas into the arms of the Courtney Matthews. Their tawdry affair ended Courtney's marriage to Jasper "Jax" Jacks.

Despite wanting to help Emily through her ordeal, her emotional retreat became too much for Nikolas to bear and he became sexually attracted to Courtney Jacks. The two began commiserating on the docks which led to kisses and soon a sexual affair. Nikolas and Courtney had many a problem due to Jax's inability to let go of Courtney. When Courtney learned that she was pregnant, it was uncertain whether Nikolas or Jax was the father as she slept with both of them within hours of each other. A DNA test was run to find out. Jax was named the father but he had tampered with the tests. Nikolas was the real father. Jax decided to keep this a secret to protect Courtney and the baby from Helena.

Fatherhood

After a bout of jealousy over Emily moving on, Nikolas was prompted to propose to Courtney and they made plans to raise the child as their own.

Courtney left town for awhile after Nikolas was unable to keep his eyes off of Emily on her date with Sonny. Courtney, seeing she would never truly have his heart, fled out of town to collect her thoughts. While she was away, she was kidnapped by Nikolas' evil grandmother, Helena, who wanted to raise her child as the Cassadine heir. Courtney managed to escape and returned in secret to Port Charles. As the due date neared, an outbreak of encephalitis hit the city and left both Nikolas and Courtney ill. The two were reunited and planned to continue with their plans to get married and raise her child. As her condition worsened, Courtney learned that in order to save her son, she had to undergo an emergency C-section and that it would come at great risk to her life. Despite the risks, Courtney had the operation and gave birth to her son, whom she named John Michael in honor of her father and Jax's. However, before she could hold him, she died as a result of complications from the operation.

Before Courtney's death, Jax admitted to her that he had rigged the paternity test to make him appear to be the baby's father, when in fact it was Nikolas. Angered, she wanted to tell Nikolas the truth but died before she could say anything to him. Jax made the decision that he would raise the child himself. Still reeling from his split with Courtney and the revelation that Nikolas was the baby's father, Jax decided to keep the child's paternity a secret. He continually toyed with Nikolas, who was grieving for Courtney, by permitting him to see her child and then changing his mind. Despite continually being plagued with doubt over his decision, Jax convinced himself that he was doing what was best for Spencer by keeping him away from Helena. When he became involved with Carly Corinthos Jax had made the decision that he and Carly would raise Courtney and Nikolas's son.

As the months passed Jax and Carly's behavior in regards to the baby raised the suspicions of Courtney's physician, Dr. Meadows, who secretly ran another DNA test on the child. Robin Scorpio, a doctor and longtime friend of both Jax and Nikolas, discovered the truth about Spencer. Robin continually struggled with whether to keep Jax's secret, and therefore keep him safe from Helena, or to tell Nikolas, who secretly wished that John was his son. Her decision was made easier by Carly, a bitter rival of Robin's, who would continually attempt to undermine her relationship with Patrick Drake. It was Carly's behavior that eventually lead Robin to tell Nikolas the truth after learning she rigged a DNA test that Nik had ordered on John to make Jax appear to be the father. During John's baptism, Robin told a shocked Nikolas the truth and despite Carly's many attempts to convince everyone Robin was lying, a cornered Jax confessed.

Angry and betrayed that he was denied the precious moments of his son's first months, Nikolas blasted Carly and Jax for their behavior and reclaimed custody of his son, whom he renamed Spencer in honor of his brother Lucky, and sister Lulu. The baby's new name symbolizes Nikolas's wish to end the war between the Spencers and the Cassadines forever. Having a child has not been easy but Nikolas is slowly getting the hang of it. With the support of his extended family, Nikolas has begun to take up the fatherhood mantle with ease. When his grandmother took a recent interest in the child and vowed she would do whatever it took to take Spencer away from him, including killing Nikolas if it came to it, drastic measure had to be taken. Nikolas took his son and the boy's nanny Colleen away to a safe location to protect Spencer from Helena. Nikolas returned and has since been growing closer to his soulmate Emily. They have been bonding over baby Spencer and Nikolas has expressed his desire to have Emily as his baby's mother figure. Alfred the butler see's the true love is still there between these two and has been working overtime playing matchmaker, neither Emily or Nikolas seem to mind. Although Nanny Colleen is none to pleased. Little does Nikolas know that Colleen is working for Helena.

Romance

  • Katherine Bell: Nikolas met Katherine, the older woman he developed a crush on, when he was in the hospital. Katherine rebuffed Nikolas's attempts to woo her and decided to remain friends. It pleased Nikolas greatly when his uncle Stefan fell in love with Katherine and planned to marry her. However an accident set up by Luke and Alexis to kill Helena backfired and killed Katherine instead. Devastated, Nikolas grieved for her. It wasn't until years later that she turned up alive, having been saved by Helena. When she returned, Katherine was very different than she had been before. This time Katherine had a crush on Nikolas and the two engaged in a secret affair. When the truth came out, both Laura and Stefan tried their best to end their relationship. Evidence began to emerge that Katherine was only interested in Nikolas to get back at his uncle and he planned to break things off. That is when Katherine pretended to be pregnant and convinced Nikolas to marry her. At their engagement party, Helena, who was tired of Katherine's games with her grandson, killed her for good. Nikolas mourned the loss of his unborn child until an autopsy showed Katherine had been lying.
  • Sarah Webber: Nikolas's first romance in Port Charles, the two had met when she when she was volunteering at the hospital. Both were very alike in personality and despite the big differences in their lives managed to form a bond. It was while with Sarah that Nikolas began to rebel against his family legacy. He would continue to defy his Uncle Stefan's and followed his wishes, one of which was attending regular high school, despite the fact that he was already taking college classes, so that he could be closer to Sarah. However, despite never entering into a physical relationship, the two became very close. Sarah was soon devastated after a mob shooting, meant to kill Jason Morgan, injured and nearly killed Nikolas. After surviving the surgery, Nikolas suffered a stroke that left him unable to speak properly. Unable to deal with what happened to him, he emotionally retreated and pushed Sarah away. Eventually she had enough and they ended the relationship. Years later when Sarah returned to Port Charles, she still resented Nikolas for ending their romance.
  • Robin Scorpio: Although the two never had a romantic relationship, they shared a crush that would develop into a deep and meaningful friendship. Robin was first introduced to Nikolas by Emily, who was trying to help Nikolas recover from his stroke but had been told by her family that she was too young to do so. Emily trusted Robin and felt that she could continue where she had left off. Despite protests from his uncle about her underqualifications, Nikolas and Robin bonded quickly over their unorthodox upbringings and love of France. Robin eventually would use French as a way to help him overcome the difficulty he had with speaking. As time wore on the two began to form a trust and eventually a mutual crush. Robin would be there when Nikolas was able to recover his speech and the two grew ever closer. Despite the blossoming feelings between them, Robin's feelings for her ex-boyfriend, Jason Morgan and her HIV positive status eventually led them to put the kibosh on romantic intentions. Since then the two have developed a deep and meaningful friendship with Robin being responsible for reuniting Nikolas with his son.
  • Gia Campbell: Gia was the sister of police detective Marcus Taggert and the two met after Nikolas made her his housemate. The two had an immediate attraction. Nikolas was most attracted to Gia's spunk for life while Gia like the air of mystery that surrounded them. Although they would become engaged and she would helped him thru the ordeal with their father, the craziness of his family became just too much and she ended their relationship.
  • Emily Quartermaine: Nikolas' second wife. The two met as teenagers and became very good friends, although Emily wanted so much more. Nikolas, at the time only thought of her as a friend. Nikolas didn't fall for her until years later, when Emily had breast cancer. Nikolas pretended to be her fiancee so that she could spare her boyfriend, Zander Smith, the pain of watching her die. During this pretend phase Nikolas fell deeply in love with Emily and her old love for him was renewed. Eventually neither Emily nor Nikolas could deny their feelings and decided to file for divorce from their spouses and be together. The two had a drama filled courtship dealing with constant life-or-death situations. But, eventually their dreams were realized and they married. The constant danger finally caught up with them as Emily was raped by Connor Bishop and her inability to allow Nikolas to help during her difficult recovery period. Emily's inability to be intimate or open up to Nikolas prompted him into Courtney Matthews's bed. After a failed romance with Sonny, Emily realized that she was still in love with Nikolas. She began to test the waters with her former husband and eventually the two decided to reunite. The two have managed to rekindle their love affair and have decided to raise Nikolas' son, Spencer, together.
  • Courtney Matthews: The most recent affair Nikolas had was with Courtney. The two met on the hospital roof, shared their marital woes and soon entered into a sexual affair. The affair ended both of their shaky marriages.Courtney died during the encphilites outbreak. During their relationshp they produced a son (originally thought to be Jasper Jacks's) Spencer Cassadine.
  • Lydia Karenin: Nikolas's first wife. The marriage was arranged by Stefan to help the family in a time of financial need. They did consummate the marriage and Lydia fell in love with Nikolas, but he was in love with Emily Quartermaine and divorced her to be with Emily.
  • Mary Bishop: Mary's husband Connor was presumed dead in Iraq, so when she found an amnesiac Nikolas on her doorstep, desperation led her to tell him that he was Connor. They lived together for several months, and went through a "re"marriage before the truth came out. Despite being intimately involved, their relationship was based on Mary's deception and therefore was not legally a marriage.

Family & relationships

Parents

Sibling(s)

Children

Grandparents

Aunts & Uncles

Cousins

Marital status

Past marriage(s)

Flings & relationships

References

  1. ^ Soap Central profile
  2. ^ 2006 Emmy nominees
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