Tyler Christopher, Soap Opera Icon, Dead At 50

Known for his longtime role as Nikolas Cassadine on the ABC soap show General Hospital, Christopher also had a short stint on another long-running soap opera series, Days of Our Lives (2017-2019) as Stephan Dimera, the son of villainous couple Stefano DiMera and Vivian Alamain. 

Tyler Christopher’s career in television got its true start in 1996 when he landed the role of Nikolas Cassadine after a failed audition for General Hospital three years prior. Christopher continued an off-and-on role with the show for 20 years, receiving numerous daytime Emmy nominations along the way. 

In 2016, Tyler Christopher won an Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series. From 2011 to 2013, the actor starred in a recurring role as Dan Whitehorse in The Lying Game. After he ended his run on General Hospital (2016), Tyler Christopher spent the next two years (2017-2019) as a series regular in another notable daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives. 

He was married twice during his brief life. His first marriage to Desperate Housewives star Eva Longoria was brief, lasting only two years from 2002 to 2004. In 2008, he married former ESPN reporter Brienne Pedigo. 

Their marriage lasted for 13 years before the couple divorced in 2021. Tyler Christopher and Brienne had two children during their time together, Greysun James Christopher and Boheme Christopher. 

Throughout his career, Christopher was plagued by problems with addiction and alcohol use. In 2019, Tyler Christopher was arrested for public intoxication after falling asleep in the back seat of an Uber. That same year, he was placed under his sister’s guardianship. Apparently, the actor was suffering from a particularly harsh bout of alcohol withdrawal. 

During his withdrawal, the actor fell and hit his head, causing injuries that required surgery to stop internal bleeding. While he was in the hospital recovering, his sister took the necessary steps to file for legal guardianship. 

She was granted guardianship, and in July of this year, Tyler Christopher spoke publicly with the press about his struggle to regain control of his life. He talked about how he never imagined he would be “taken advantage of” by a beloved family member.

It was discovered via a court filing that his sister had used more than $40,000 of the actor’s money for her own personal benefit, though Asmo Baker denied all of the allegations. 

Unfortunately, Tyler Christopher’s struggle to control his alcoholism once again reared its head when the actor was arrested at the Hollywood Burbank Airport once again on charges of public intoxication.

As of now, it is unclear whether or not his drinking issues contributed to his death, but we do know that he died of a “cardiac event”.