Evan Hofer Is Thrilled To Explore Dex's Abusive Past On General Hospital

Dex Heller (Evan Hofer) has become an integral part of Sonny Corinthos' (Maurice Benard) mafia organization, serving as his right-hand man. But we didn't really know anything about his past until he finally opened up to his girlfriend Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) on the December 11, 2023 episode. She was spending time at his apartment and offered to get him a Christmas tree, but he didn't want one. When she pressed him, he admitted that Christmas was an unhappy time in his childhood.

He further opened up that his father cheated on his mother, but she never left him and accepted her lot in life. This caused Dex to develop a very low opinion of her for being weak. On top of that, his two brothers revered their father and even emulated him. When they realized Dex was not like them, they would often beat him up. His resentment toward his family caused him to leave home as soon as he graduated high school, and he joined the army.

In an interview with Soap Hub, posted on December 19, Hofer expressed his happiness about the scenes where we finally get a glimpse into Dex's background, stating, "I think it's really cool to finally see Dex and his past because we haven't learned a lot about his past because he's [been] very tight-lipped about it." He felt his character has "a lot of shame and pain" about his past, but has been able to reinvent himself.

Although the romance between Dex Heller and Josslyn Jacks has had "General Hospital" fans split, this new deepening of his character is an excellent development. Hofer continued explaining to Soap Hub that Dex had evolved because of the "father figure he has in Sonny [Maurice Benard] and this love with Joss [Eden McCoy] and these feelings that he's never had." Ever since he first came into the Port Charles scene, fans have speculated that he could be the son of the late Jason Morgan (Steve Burton), Sonny's chief enforcer.

But this new revelation paints an altogether different picture, and Hofer speculated that "Dex is very worried that that history is going to bleed into this and kind of ruin his new life." He feels that more about his family can be explored, and likened Dex's life to a famous film franchise character, noting, "It sounds very 'Harry Potter' to me — living under the staircase and being beaten up."

The actor is open to having his relatives introduced on the show, which would enrich his character's history. He praised the soap opera format for being able to create multi-dimensional characters, and also praised the show itself, remarking, "We have such fantastic writers. Every day is exciting." Considering that Dex comes across as good and honest in contrast to his cheating father and brothers, it will be exciting to see if "GH" brings these characters on board to create some dramatic conflict!