Stephen Nichols has been in the soap opera game for decades.
According toSoap 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” alongsideDemi Moore.
The actor portrayed the role of Steve “Patch” Johnson in the NBC sudser.
The two became best friends until they both fell for the same woman.
Steve and Bo got into a physical fight that ended withSteve losing his eye, perSoap 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.
However, the couple prevailed and eventually got married.
Nichols left “Days of Our Lives” in 1990 and returned in 2006 (viaSoaps).
He’s been mostly on the canvas ever since.
Nichols took on the role in 1992, perSoap Central.
The role of Skyler was very different from Steve.
The doctor was a Zen therapist.
“There’s something to be said for that consistency, that steadiness in daily life.
That’s one of the nice things about daytime.
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.”
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 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.
Tucker first debuted on the soap opera in December 2009 with William Russ in the role.
However, Nichols took a few weeks later.
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.
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.
