Réal Andrews (born Réal Johnson; January 31, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Chance Walker in the first season of the syndicated action drama series ''

Soldier of Fortune, Inc. ''Soldier of Fortune, Inc.'' is an American action-adventure television series which ran in syndication from 1997 to 1998, about an elite team (composed of mostly former military personnel) who performed "unofficial" missions for the U.S. Gove ...

'', and for playing Marcus Taggert on the ABC daytime 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 ...

'' since 1996.

Early life and education

Born Réal Johnson, Andrews was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia by a single mother. Andrews did not have a relationship with his biological father, a musician who abandoned Andrews and his mother when he was only a few years old. Andrews only met his birth father one another time while in college. When Andrews was 21 years old, his mother Troy married Cyril Nathan Andrews, who adopted Reál as his own. Andrews was raised as a Catholic and attended an all boys private school. Growing up, Andrews wasn't interested in acting at all and described himself as a jock. Andrews was first exposed to acting when his aunt invited him to a seminar at her acting school. In 1981, the 18 year Andrews relocated to

Toronto, Canada Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anchor ...

for college where found work in the entertainment industry.

Career

Andrews started his career in 1981 as a stuntman, becoming one of the first Black stunt men in Canada. While he had a long list of credits, Andrews had been working as a struggling actor for years by the time he booked ''General Hospital'' in late 1996. Marcus Taggert which originally was an "

under-five An under-five, also known as an under-5 or a U/5, is a television or film actor whose character has fewer than five lines of dialogue. The term is used in SAG-AFTRA contracts and has been used when referring to performers in a daytime soap opera. ...

" role which would help launch Andrews career. From 1997 to 1999, Andrews would also star in the Dan Gordon created series, ''

''. He would leave the role of Taggert for a few months in 1997 only to return by year's end. In 2003, Andrews chose not to renew his contract with ''General Hospital'' and Taggert was written in May 2003. Andrews quickly joined the cast of

CBS Daytime CBS Daytime is a division within CBS that is responsible for the daytime television block programming on the CBS' late morning and early afternoon schedule. The block has historically encompassed soap operas and game shows. Schedule NOTE: All tim ...

's ''

As the World Turns ''As the World Turns'' (often abbreviated as ''ATWT'') is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS for 54 years from April 2, 1956, to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created ''As the World Turns'' as a sister show to her other soa ...

'' as Walker Daniels in 2003. Only a year later, Andrews was let go from the series. In 2010, Andrews joined the cast of the web series, '' The Bay'' as Dr. Keith Campbell. In 2015, Andrews joined the cast of ''Days of Our Lives'' in a recurring role. In 2020, Andrews made an unannounced return to ''General Hospital'' as Taggert on January 17, 2020.

Personal life

On November 4, 2000, Andrews married Michele Viscasso. They have three children together.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Andrews, Real 1963 births Living people Black Canadian male actors Canadian male television actors 20th-century Canadian male actors 21st-century Canadian male actors Canadian male soap opera actors