The character of Nikolas Cassadine has had quite a few faces over the years on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Marcus Coloma took over the role in October 2019, and his fans were disappointed when, as his run was wrapping up in January 2023, he was recast and couldn't tape Nik's final scenes himself. Instead, Adam Huss, who had stepped in for Coloma in September 2021 and November 2022, took over again.

Unfortunately, one of those earlier absences was because Coloma contracted COVID, and although it wasn't that bad, the actor admitted that the after-effects were much worse. "I didn't lose taste," he confided to Soaps.

com. "I didn't lose smell. The normal symptoms only lasted a couple of days. It was really easy in that regard.

"But the after-effects were kind of brutal for me," Coloma continued. "I got this brain fog and fatigue. That lasted a while to the point that I felt that I couldn't memorize my lines towards the end, which thankfully, it's gone."

Over time, the actor has finally been able to feel more like himself again. "I was surprised at the length of the after-effects of it for me," Coloma admitted.

"It seems to hit everybody differently. I think it's just the thing that has to run its course, and it just takes a while for the body to figure it out."

Given his condition at the time, he understands the soap's decision to recast. "GH is such a well-run machine and the demand is so high," Coloma explained. "So if you're the person who is dropping the ball, it really holds the entire group up because that delay has a ripple effect."

But Coloma is still sad that he wasn't able to tape those final scenes where Nikolas and Ava's heated conversation ended with her thinking she'd killed him and hiding his body. "It was disappointing because I don't feel like I got to wrap up," he confessed. "It's kind of like letting somebody else finish a puzzle that you've been working on for a while."

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