Hosting an award-winning late-night comedy show simply was not enough for John Oliver. On Thursday, the “Last Week Tonight” host kicks off a guest-star arc on ABC’s long-running daytime soap “General Hospital,” which continues through Friday and then Monday, July 6.
Why? Because he noticed ESPN sports commentator Stephen A. Smith’s multiple appearances on the show over the years as a minor character named Brick, crime boss Sonny Corinthos’ ruthless fixer, and thought, “Why not me?”
Oliver announced his guest appearance on the June 28 episode of “Last Week Tonight,” the final episode before the show’s midsummer hiatus. But as he reminded the audience, his campaign to appear on a soap — any soap — began in March when he confessed his love for the genre and his “scorching hot jealousy” that Smith got to play in that world.
His only conditions were that he wanted to play a character with a ridiculous name and wanted to do something juicy, “like murder or slapping, or being slapped, or being someone’s long-lost something,” he said, adding, “Call me, soaps. I am available, I’m willing to travel and I want this more than you can possibly understand.”
Nearly four months later, Oliver triumphantly revealed that not only is he visiting Port Charles, the hometown of “General Hospital,” he’s also swinging by Salem, Illinois, to appear on Peacock’s “Days of Our Lives” on Aug. 11, 12 and 14. “Because what is funnier than appearing in one soap opera? Appearing in two!” he said. Based on that photo ABC shared with Salon, he’s certainly giving his all to the role.
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Oliver’s guest appearances carry forth a legacy that includes stars like Betty White, James Franco, Sammy Davis Jr. and Dick Van Dyke, who became the oldest person to be nominated for and to win a Daytime Emmy for his “Days of Our Lives” turn in 2024.
New episodes of “Last Week Tonight with John Oliver” resume on July 26.
