All The Soap Opera Roles Days Of Our Lives' Stephen Nichols Has Played

Stephen Nichols has been in the soap opera game for decades. The beloved actor has appeared on multiple sudsers, but he's also enjoyed a career working in movies and television. According to Soap Central, Nichols passed up a scholarship to attend The Ohio State University after high school. Instead, he joined the Self-Realization Fellowship Center and planned to become a monk.

After three years, Nichols found a new passion and decided to try his hand at acting. He attended the Los Angeles City College Theater Academy and began working on stage productions. He later landed a role in the movie "Choices" alongside Demi Moore.

Nichols went on to star in films such as "House," "Deep Cover," "Witchboard," "The Glass Cage," "Soapdish," "Cover Me," "Phoenix," and "Heaven's Tears" (via IMDb). The actor also has an impressive television resume, which includes roles on shows such as "Dynasty," "Dallas," "T.J. Hooker," "Matlock," "L.A. Law," "Murder, She Wrote," "Renegade," "The Nanny," and "Melrose Place."

Of course, Nichols became a household name when he started acting on soap operas, and fans of daytime television have come to love and appreciate seeing his many characters over the years.

Stephen Nichols made his soap opera debut on "Days of Our Lives" in 1985. The actor portrayed the role of Steve "Patch" Johnson in the NBC sudser. Steve was first introduced as a member of the merchant marines alongside the fan-favorite character Bo Brady (Peter Reckell). The two became best friends until they both fell for the same woman. Steve and Bo got into a physical fight that ended with Steve losing his eye, per Soap Central.

Steve later came to Salem to work for Victor Kiriakis (John Aniston). He met Kayla Brady (Mary Beth Evans), and the two fell madly in love. During his early years in Salem, Steve also met Adrienne Johnson (Judi Evans) and learned that she was his long-lost sister. Steve and Kayla went through a lot of ups and downs together, including Kayla losing her hearing and speech during an explosion (via Soaps in Depth). However, the couple prevailed and eventually got married. During the ceremony, Kayla surprised Steve by speaking her vows and revealing that her hearing and voice had both returned thanks to a previous surgery.

The happy couple went on to have two children, Stephanie and Joey, and Steve later discovered that he was the father of Ava Vitali's (Tamara Braun) son Tripp Dalton, too. 

Nichols left "Days of Our Lives" in 1990 and returned in 2006 (via Soaps). He's been mostly on the canvas ever since.

After leaving "Days of Our Lives" and the role of Steve "Patch" Johnson behind in 1990, Stephen Nichols went on to find another soap opera acting gig. The actor was hired to portray the character Dr. Skyler Gates on the beloved former soap opera "Santa Barbara." Nichols took on the role in 1992, per Soap Central.

The role of Skyler was very different from Steve. The doctor was a Zen therapist. At the time, Nichols told Soap Opera Weekly that he enjoyed the process of working on daytime television as opposed to being on location to film. "The regular routine is nice... to know that you're going to the same place each day," he said (Via Santa Barbara Online). "There's something to be said for that consistency, that steadiness in daily life. That's one of the nice things about daytime. I enjoy that. Plus, I've got kids at home. It's nice to be able to get off work, drive home, and there they are. I'm not on location in Tennessee or somewhere across the world. I'm at home." 

Following Nichols' stint on "Santa Barbara," he moved on to another well-known soap.

In 1996, Stephen Nichols moved on to his third major soap opera role when he landed the part of Stefan Cassadine on "General Hospital" (via Soap Central). Stefan was introduced as the uncle of Nikolas Cassadine. When he came to Port Charles, he ended up falling in love with Laura Spencer. However, Laura insisted that she was head over heels for Luke Spencer.

Stefan eventually met Katherine Bell and later accidentally shot her during a confrontation with Luke (via Soaps in Depth). Although Stefan later married Luke's sister, Bobbie Spencer, their marriage fell apart when he learned that she had only been with him to help her brother take him down. Stefan and Katherine eventually began dating and fell in love, which reunited Nichols and his former "Days of Our Lives" wife Mary Beth Evans as another popular soap opera couple. Stefan and Katherine got engaged, but the pair never made it down the aisle. Katherine was killed when she was pushed from a building in 1999. Although Nichols left the role of Stefan in 2002, he returned for a brief stint in 2003. His character was also killed off when he was stabbed and thrown over a cliff.

However, Nichols' soap career wasn't over.

In 2010, Stephen Nichols joined the cast of "The Young and the Restless" as Tucker McCall, per Soap Central. Tucker first debuted on the soap opera in December 2009 with William Russ in the role. However, Nichols took a few weeks later. Tucker was a businessman who caused a bit of trouble in Genoa City when he engaged in an affair with Jill Abbott, per Soaps. It was later revealed that he was Katherine Chancellor's long-lost son, who came to town to get revenge on his absent mother by selling off her business.

However, Tucker and Katherine eventually bonded and Tucker decided to keep the business for himself, per Soaps in Depth. He also opted to make Ashley Abbott (Eileen Davidson) the CEO of the company. Eventually, Tucker and Ashley began dating and he popped the question to his love on Christmas Eve. After getting married, Tucker and Ashley found their relationship on the rocks. They split after Ashley found her husband cheating on her.

Tucker later announced that he was moving to Hong Kong, and, when his mother passed away, he was so upset that he couldn't force himself to return for her funeral. Nichols left the role in 2013 when his character was written off the show.

Nichols has been a huge part of daytime TV for decades. While he's best known for his role on "Days of Our Lives," fans of every soap have seemingly gotten to know him through his plethora of roles.