Stephen Earl Nichols (born February 19, 1951) is an American actor, recognized for his roles on American daytime soap operas. He has portrayed the beloved role of Steve Johnson on NBC's ''

Days of Our Lives ''Days of Our Lives'' (also stylized as ''Days of our Lives''; simply referred to as ''Days'' or ''DOOL'') is an American television soap opera that streams on the streaming service Peacock. The soap, which aired on the American television net ...

'' on and off since 1985. In 1996, he joined the cast of

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 ...

's ''

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 ...

'' as Stefan Cassadine; he exited the role in 2003. From 2009 to 2013, he portrayed the role of

Tucker McCall Tucker McCall is a fictional character from ''The Young and the Restless'', an American soap opera on the CBS network. Introduced by former head writer Maria Arena Bell, the character debuted during the episode airing on December 2, 2009, portra ...

on ''

The Young and the Restless ''The Young and the Restless'' (often abbreviated as ''Y&R'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. The show is set in fictional Genoa City (not the real-life similarly-named Genoa City, Wi ...

''.

Career

After turning down an art scholarship to

Ohio State University The Ohio State University, commonly called Ohio State or OSU, is a public land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio. A member of the University System of Ohio, it has been ranked by major institutional rankings among the best publ ...

, he traveled west, studied

yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...

and lived as a monk while preparing

vegetarian Vegetarianism is the practice of abstaining from the consumption of meat (red meat, poultry, seafood, insects, and the flesh of any other animal). It may also include abstaining from eating all by-products of animal slaughter. Vegetarianism m ...

meals for the monks and nuns in a Hollywood

ashram An ashram ( sa, आश्रम, ) is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or a ...

. After three years of

celibacy Celibacy (from Latin ''caelibatus'') is the state of voluntarily being unmarried, sexually abstinent, or both, usually for religious reasons. It is often in association with the role of a religious official or devotee. In its narrow sense, the ...

, a steady diet of

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as str ...

and the films of Truffaut and Bergman, he landed at the Theater Academy of

Los Angeles City College Los Angeles City College (LACC) is a public community college in East Hollywood, Los Angeles, California. A part of the Los Angeles Community College District, it is located on Vermont Avenue south of Santa Monica Boulevard on the former campus ...

where he studied for two years. Nichols went on to study with

Stella Adler Stella Adler (February 10, 1901 – December 21, 1992) was an American actress and acting teacher.
''

Jack Colvin Jack Colvin (October 13, 1934 – December 1, 2005) was an American character actor of theatre, film and TV. He is best known for the role of the tabloid reporter Jack McGee in ''The Incredible Hulk'' television franchise (1977–82). Ear ...

and Harry Mastrorgeorge. For his stage work, Nichols has been honored with three

Drama-Logue Awards The Drama-Logue Award was an American theater award established in 1977, given by the publishers of Drama-Logue newspaper, a weekly west-coast theater trade publication. Winners were selected by the publication's theater critics, and would recei ...

and two

LA Weekly Theater Award LA Weekly Theater Award was an annual critics' award system established in 1979, organized by the '' LA Weekly'' for outstanding achievements in small theatre productions in Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal ...

s for his performances in such notable productions as ''Pieces of Time'' (for his portrayal of real-life killer, Donald Bashor), for ''Delirious'' (directed by Ron Link), and as

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the Rock music, rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredicta ...

in the last thirty-six hours of his life in ''The Lizard King''. Nichols also appeared at LATC in Rick Clutchey's ''The Cage,'' in the award-winning production of

Michael Cristofer Michael Cristofer (born January 22, 1945) is an American actor, playwright and filmmaker. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and the Tony Award for Best Play for ''The Shadow Box'' in 1977. From 2015 to 2019, he played the role of Phillip ...

's ''The Shadow Box'' at Theater East and ''Love Letters'', during its initial run at the Canon Theater. Most recently, Nichols appeared in ''He Hunts'' at the Geffen Playhouse and was seen in the U.S. première of Joe Pintaro's ''The Dead Boy'', for which Nichols received a Maddy Award.

''Days of Our Lives''

His original portrayal of Steve "Patch" Johnson (1985–90) earned him an

Emmy The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role and five ''

Soap Opera Digest ''Soap Opera Digest'' is a weekly magazine covering American daytime soap operas. It features onscreen and offscreen news about the series, interviews with and articles about performers, storyline summaries and analysis, and related promotional in ...

'' Best Actor Awards. Steve and Kayla (

Mary Beth Evans Mary Beth Evans (born March 7, 1961) is an American television actress, known for her role as Kayla Brady on the NBC daytime soap ''Days of Our Lives'', and her role as Sierra Estaban on the CBS daytime soap ''As the World Turns''. Career Evans ...

) remain one of the most popular couples, and the most-covered, on ''Days of our Lives'' ever. Nichols talked about one of their favorite storylines and shared, “Mary Beth likes Emily and Gideon. It was a fantasy, it wasn’t really us, but we were reading this beautiful diary, in the old mansion, and then it would flash to the characters.” Nichols returned to the role of Steve (Patch) Johnson on ''

'' in 2006, and played the role until 2009. On April 17, 2015, it was reported that Nichols would return as reprise the role of Steve "Patch" Johnson of

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's ''Days of Our Lives'' and Nichols second return air date on September 15. He continues to play the role as of December 2020. From December 2019-January 2020, Nichols played the role of Stefano DiMera as part of a storyline where Dr. Wilhelm Rolf implanted a chip into Steve Johnson's brain that turned him into "the new Stefano DiMera".

Other work

Nichols also portrayed Stefan Cassadine on the soap ''General Hospital'' (1996–2003). This role reunited him with Evans, while his character was later paired with Laura Spencer, played by

Genie Francis Eugenie Ann Francis (born May 26, 1962) is an American actress. She is best known for playing the role of Laura Spencer (General Hospital), Laura Spencer on the television soap opera ''General Hospital'' from 1977 to present, for which she won a ...

. Other TV appearances have included '' Matlock'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'', '' Diagnosis: Murder'', ''

The Nanny ''The Nanny'' is an American television sitcom that originally aired on CBS from November 3, 1993, to June 23, 1999, starring Fran Drescher as Fran Fine, a Jewish fashionista from Flushing, Queens, New York, who becomes the nanny of three chi ...

'' (with former ''Days of our Lives'' co-star

Charles Shaughnessy Charles George Patrick Shaughnessy, 5th Baron Shaughnessy (born 9 February 1955) is a French actor. He is known for his roles on American television, including Shane Donovan on the soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'', and Maxwell Sheffield on th ...

), ''Second Chances'',

Sisters A sister is a woman or a girl who shares one or more parents with another individual; a female sibling. The male counterpart is a brother. Although the term typically refers to a familial relationship, it is sometimes used endearingly to refer to ...

, a recurring role on ''

Empty Nest ''Empty Nest'' is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from October 8, 1988, to April 29, 1995. The series, which was created as a spin-off of ''The Golden Girls'' by creator and producer Susan Harris, starred Ric ...

'', and playing

Jesse James Jesse Woodson James (September 5, 1847April 3, 1882) was an American outlaw, bank and train robber, guerrilla and leader of the James–Younger Gang. Raised in the " Little Dixie" area of Western Missouri, James and his family maintained stro ...

opposite

Pierce Brosnan Pierce Brendan Brosnan (; born 16 May 1953) is an Irish actor and film producer. He is best known as the fifth actor to play secret agent James Bond in the Bond film series, starring in four films from 1995 to 2002 (''GoldenEye'', ''Tomorrow ...

in the

mini-series ''

Around the World in 80 Days ''Around the World in Eighty Days'' (french: link=no, Le tour du monde en quatre-vingts jours) is an adventure novel by the French writer Jules Verne, first published in French in 1872. In the story, Phileas Fogg of London and his newly employe ...

''. Nichols has appeared in several feature films, first co-starring with

Demi Moore Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera ''General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Bra ...

in ''Choices''. He was also in '' Witchboard''; ''

Soapdish ''Soapdish'' is a 1991 American comedy film directed by Michael Hoffman, from a screenplay by Robert Harling and Andrew Bergman. The film was produced by Aaron Spelling and Alan Greisman, and executive produced by Herbert Ross. The film tells ...

'' with

Kevin Kline Kevin Delaney Kline (born October 24, 1947) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award and three Tony Awards. In addition, he has received nominations for two British Academy Film Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, and five ...

Whoopi Goldberg Caryn Elaine Johnson (born November 13, 1955), known professionally as Whoopi Goldberg (), is an American actor, comedian, author, and television personality.Kuchwara, Michael (AP Drama Writer)"Whoopi Goldberg: A One-Woman Character Parade". ' ...

and

Robert Downey, Jr. Robert John Downey Jr. (born April 4, 1965) is an American actor and producer. His career has been characterized by critical and popular success in his youth, followed by a period of substance abuse and legal troubles, before a resurgence of ...

; ''Heaven's Tears; Cover Me'' with

Paul Sorvino Paul Anthony Sorvino (, ; April 13, 1939 – July 25, 2022) was an American actor. He often portrayed authority figures on both the criminal and the law enforcement sides of the law. Sorvino was particularly known for his roles as Lucchese cri ...

; ''Phoenix'' with

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in '' One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kn ...

and

William Sanderson William Sanderson (born January 10, 1944) is an American retired actor. He played J. F. Sebastian in the feature film ''Blade Runner'' (1982), and had regular roles on several television series such as Larry on ''Newhart'' (1982–1990), E. B. ...

; and the

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

short ''A Hard Rain'' with

John Mahoney Charles John Mahoney (June 20, 1940 – February 4, 2018) was an English-born American actor. He was known for playing Martin Crane on the NBC sitcom ''Frasier'' (1993–2004), and won a Screen Actors Guild Award for the role in 2000. Mahoney ...

, which earned best film honors at the British Film Festival for director Dennie Gordon. Nichols has directed several stage productions, including ''Sixty Minutes from L.A.'', a presentation pilot for television, ''Wild Horses'' (co-director) and most recently, wrote and directed the dramatic short film ''Get the Dime'' starring Daniel Bess and

Robert Picardo Robert Alphonse Picardo (born October 27, 1953) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the Cowboy in ''Innerspace'', Coach Cutlip on ''The Wonder Years'', Captain Dick Richard on the ABC series ''China Beach'', the Doctor on '' Star ...

. ''Get the Dime'' was a director's pick at the Palm Springs International Festival of Short Films. Upcoming, Nichols will direct the feature films ''Eau de L.A.'' and ''Fear of Falling''. On December 17, 2009, it was reported on stephennichols.net and cbs.com that he had joined the cast of CBS's ''

'' as

, replacing

William Russ William Russ (born October 20, 1950) is an American actor and television director. He played Alan Matthews on the sitcom ''Boy Meets World'' (1993–2000) and appeared in the television series '' Wiseguy'', the soap operas '' Another World'' and ...

. Nichols's first air date was January 27, 2010. On ''Y&R'', he would later be reunited with ''General Hospital'' counterpart Genie Francis, who played

Genevieve Atkinson Genevieve Atkinson is a fictional character from the American CBS soap opera ''The Young and the Restless''. Created by former head writer Maria Arena Bell as the mother of Cane Ashby ( Daniel Goddard), the role was portrayed by Genie Francis, w ...

on the show. Nichols's last day on ''Y&R'' was January 29, 2013.

Personal life

Stephen Nichols’ has three children: Vanessa, Aaron, and Dylan. Nichols married Lisa Gordon in 1984. All three children have had small parts on ''Days of Our Lives''. Nichols’ son, Aaron, played young Steve Johnson. Nichols’ daughter, Dylan, has a burgeoning music career. Nichols has two grandchildren.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

The official website for Stephen Nichols' fans

Stephen Nichols' Instagram
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Nichols, Stephen 1951 births American male film actors American male soap opera actors American male television actors Living people Male actors from Cincinnati 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors