Nicholas Alexander Chavez (born September 6, 1999) is an American actor. He currently plays

Spencer Cassadine ''General Hospital'' is an American television serial drama, airing on ABC. The show was created by Frank and Doris Hursley, who originally set it in a general hospital in an unnamed fictional city. The series premiered on April 1, 1963. In the ...

on the

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

soap opera, ''

General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...

''. In 2022, Chavez won the

Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series is an award presented annually by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS) and the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It was first awarded at ...

for his work as Spencer.

Early life and education

Chavez was born in

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. He has three younger half-siblings. He lived in

Sugar Land, Texas Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around th ...

before his family relocated to

Denver, CO Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the United ...

. By age five, his parents had broken up and settled in

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...

where he split his time between his mother's home in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

and his father's hometown of

Arvada Arvada () is a home rule municipality located in Jefferson and Adams counties, Colorado, United States. The city population was 124,402 at the 2020 United States Census, with 121,510 residing in Jefferson County and 2,892 residing in Adams Cou ...

. As a kid, Chavez spent a lot of time outdoors, snowboarding, hiking and mountain biking. He described himself as a "precocious kid." At an early age, Chavez developed a bug for performing, including recreating the blessing of the

Eucharist The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...

which he saw at Mass on Sundays. He was also a member of the

Colorado Children's Chorale The Colorado Children's Chorale is a nationally recognized singing group in Colorado established in 1974, a result of the successful assembly by founder Duain Wolfe of a youth ensemble to perform in Central City Opera , Central City Opera's producti ...

and performed at the

Ellie Caulkins Opera House The Ellie Caulkins Opera House is located in Denver, Colorado as part of the large Denver Performing Arts Complex. It seats 2,225. The Caulkins family pledged $7 million towards the enhancement of the lyric opera house and adjacent public spaces w ...

and the

Denver Center for the Performing Arts The Denver Center for the Performing Arts (DCPA) is an organization in Denver, Colorado which provides a showcase for live theatre, a nurturing ground for new plays, a preferred stop on the Broadway touring circuit, acting classes for the communi ...

. Chavez attended East High School where he played football, following in the footsteps of his athletic family. Chavez joined his school's speech and debate team headed by his mentor, Matt Murphy. When Murphy took over the drama department a year later, he recruited Chavez, then a junior, to play

Atticus Finch Atticus Finch is a fictional character in Harper Lee's Pulitzer-Prize-winning novel of 1960, ''To Kill a Mockingbird''. A preliminary version of the character also appears in the novel '' Go Set a Watchman'', written in the mid-1950s but not pub ...

in the school's production of ''

To Kill a Mockingbird ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' is a novel by the American author Harper Lee. It was published in 1960 and was instantly successful. In the United States, it is widely read in high schools and middle schools. ''To Kill a Mockingbird'' has become ...

''. Chavez quit football to focus on the play. As it left a lasting impression on his father, Chavez decided to move forward with acting. As a senior, Chavez began studying at Visionbox Studio Theater under Jennifer McCray Rincón. While he couldn't afford to pay her, Chavez assisted around the theatre while Rincón helped him prepare for college auditions. Chavez applied to the top 10 drama programs in the United States, including

Rutgers University Rutgers University (; RU), officially Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, is a Public university, public land-grant research university consisting of four campuses in New Jersey. Chartered in 1766, Rutgers was originally called Queen's ...

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...

and the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a private performing arts conservatory in New York City. Established in 1905, the school trains about 850 undergraduate and graduate students in dance, drama, and music. It is widely regarded as one of the most el ...

. With the exception of Juilliard, Chavez was accepted to all of the schools. Chavez attended the

Mason Gross School of the Arts Mason Gross School of the Arts is the arts conservatory at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. It is named for Mason W. Gross, the sixteenth president of Rutgers. Mason Gross offers the Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance, Theater, Digi ...

at Rutgers. After two years, Chavez took a leave of absence from Rutgers and relocated to Los Angeles to pursue acting full time. However, he was forced to go back to

Vero Beach, Florida Vero Beach is a city in and the seat of Indian River County, Florida, United States. Vero Beach is the second most populous city in Indian River County. Abundant in beaches and wildlife, Vero Beach is located on Florida's Treasure Coast. It is thi ...

with his father when the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

struck in 2020. Chavez worked a few odd jobs, including at a car dealership, while he submitted self-tape auditions.

Career

On July 1, 2021, Chavez made his television debut as Spencer on ''General Hospital''. Chavez signed a three year contract. Only a few months into his ''General Hospital'' tenure, Chavez mourned the loss of his longtime manager, Jenevieve Brewer. In 2022, Chavez starred as Jason in the

Tubi Tubi is an American over-the-top content platform and ad-supported streaming service owned by Fox Corporation. The service was launched on April 1, 2014, and is based in Los Angeles, California. In January 2021, Tubi reached 33 million monthly ...

original film, ''Crushed''.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chavez, Nicholas 1999 births Living people Male actors from Denver Male actors from Houston American male television actors American male soap opera actors Daytime Emmy Award winners Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Performer in a Drama Series winners 21st-century American male actors Hispanic and Latino American male actors