William Lipton is checking back into General Hospital on December 18 for a surprise visit as Cameron Webber.
The actor, who started on the show in 2018, left in 2023, and made an appearance earlier this year, says he was contacted by the show months ago to return. “I was scrolling through my phone and I got a text from two of my favorite people on the planet, Mark Teschner [casting director] and Frank Valentini [executive producer], asking if I had any time later in the year to come back and say hi to my GH family,” Lipton recalls. “Obviously, I was super stoked to receive that message, and I was happy that they were willing to work with me and my kind of insane schedule to make it happen.”
Driving through the gates again felt very familiar to the young performer. “It was so nostalgic,” Lipton relays. “I mean, from the beginning of my sophomore year of high school to my sophomore year of college, my life was coming to Prospect Studios. It was just a really special feeling seeing all the people that I would see at the front gate, who gave me a big hug when I came back. My ID still works, which was a shock. General Hospital has been there during some immense moments in my life and has oftentimes been those immense, incredibly important moments in my life, and just to be able to relive that, walk through the halls, see all the friendly faces, and catch up with all the amazing people, I’m very grateful that I got to experience that again.”
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Even though many months had passed since he was last on set, “I wasn’t super nervous,” Lipton reports. “I came up to the stage to shoot feeling very confident. I was like, ‘OK, cool. We’re back in the groove,’ and then as soon as rehearsal was done and we’re ready to shoot, I was like, ‘Oh, geez.’ My heart kind of dropped. I was like, ‘OK, this is how they do it. I forgot about that.’ It’s just constant filming and there’s no time to be left behind. You have to be on it.”
Happily, he was, and also had the chance to reconnect with a lot of his PC pals. “Oh, my gosh, who didn’t I reconnect with?” he marvels. “It was so awesome to see so many incredible actors and longtime friends. I was able to see Eden [McCoy, Josslyn Jacks] and we had an awesome catch-up about each other’s lives and everything that’s been going on. Eden has been a friend there since the beginning and I’m always so grateful for any time I get to spend with her. I was able to see Becky [Herbst, Elizabeth Webber], which was so, so sweet. She’s been nothing but supportive to me and to my mom throughout the years at GH and it was just really sweet to get a really big, warm hug from Becky. I ran into Mo [Maurice Benard, Sonny Corinthos] downstairs, and all my friends in the hair and makeup department were so happy to see me, and I was so happy to see them.”
Speaking of his hair, Lipton was quickly reminded of how his look is not like Cameron’s. “My hair is very different from Cameron’s hair,” he explains. “I like wearing my hair a little bit shaggy and crazy and Cameron’s very clean and well-kempt, so any time I walk into the hair and makeup department or when I’m upstairs for early morning blocking, everyone’s like, ‘Wait, what the heck? You look like that?’ I kind of forgot and was like, ‘This is 7 a.m. William Lipton, not proper and pristine Cameron Webber [Laughs].”
As for what brings his alter ego back to town, Lipton teases, “At the center of all Cameron storylines, past, present and future, it’s always his extreme loyalty and love for his family. He will be exploring the town a little bit, maybe run into a few people that he has known throughout his time in Port Charles, but at the end of the day, it’s just him celebrating the love that he has for his family and the love that he feels from his family. So, I think the people who are tuning in will be really happy to see Cameron being as happy as he is at this current stage of his life.”
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The same could be said for Lipton, who has taken a brief leave of absence from college to work on his music and just finished filming The Runarounds, a new series for Prime Video from the creators of Outer Banks. “It’s a dream come true,” he says of the project. “Since I was a very, very young kid growing up doing acting and music, my biggest dream role was something that involved heavy music and heavy acting. I already got to experience some on General Hospital, but this show is all about the making of a band and it’s been the best.”
Lipton shot the series on location in Wilmington, North Carolina, and quickly bonded with the cast. “I happened to get it with my longtime friend, musician and bandmate, Jeremy [Yun], and we’ve been playing together since we were six,” he shares. “So, the whole show feels just so real and authentic and true to the story that we’re telling. The Pates [executive producer and creator Jonah Pate and EP Josh Pate] are geniuses when it comes to making captivating, bingeworthy shows that are just jaw-droppingly gorgeous to watch. It’s a great honor to be a part of their vision for sure.”
But General Hospital will always feel like home to him, Lipton assures. “I really tried to make sure that I let everyone know what an incredible, positive impact General Hospital has had on my life,” he says. “It is giving me my fondest memories and the fact that they were not just willing to have me back, but excited to have me back, meant a great deal to me and to my family. I have so much love for those people and I’m getting a little choked up, but they’re the best. I’ve really enjoyed my experience there and the fact that I got to continue it, even for just a little appearance, warms my heart so much.”
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