‘General Hospital’ casts ‘Jessica Jones’ star Wil Traval in a mysterious new role
Port Charles is getting a new face, but ‘General Hospital’ (GH) is keeping information about him closely guarded. Wil Traval has joined the ABC soap as Jude, as reported by Deadline. He is expected to arrive in October, and that’s all ‘General Hospital’ is saying. There is no background information, family connections, or even a hint of who Jude is. The most intriguing aspect of this change is that Traval is a familiar face for genre television. He played Will Simpson in Netflix’s ‘Jessica Jones’ and appeared in ‘Messiah.’ But his resume runs much deeper than those two projects. The actor has extensive experience, including roles on ‘Red Widow,’ ‘Arrow,’ ‘CSI,’ ‘Dexter,’ ‘Chicago P.D.,’ ‘Grimm,’ and ‘Once Upon a Time.’
Traval has an additional connection to daytime, having appeared on Australian soaps. He appeared on ‘All Saints’ as Dr. Jack Quade and ‘White Collar Blue’ as Detective Peter Church. He made his television debut in Australia in 2003. Daytime is also not unfamiliar territory for Traval, who had a recurring role on The CW’s ‘Dynasty’ reboot as Father Caleb Collins. Jude is his first role in a daytime soap. Meanwhile, there’s an additional connection that has caught the attention of ‘GH’ fans. Jude is the third Aussie to appear on ‘General Hospital’ in recent months.
Dean Geyer joined the cast in July as Dr. Tristan Roberts, and Troy Lennon Appel arrived last month as Hudson Parker. The latter connection has particularly mystified fans. Hudson works for Jasper Jax Enterprises and was sent to Port Charles to inform Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy) that her father made her CEO of his company. She took the position, unaware that it was a front for a World Security Bureau mission. But there was another connection. Hudson has been checking in with someone over the phone during his storyline, although it has not been revealed who he calls. So, it has not taken long for fans to begin theorizing.
Perhaps Jude is the one receiving those calls. Is he connected somehow to the Jacks family? Even the names have fueled speculation, considering how many members of Jasper Jax’s family have names starting with J. However, none of these connections have been officially established, but fans are still speculating. They believe the actor has been hired at this particular time, and his Australian connections could be a sign that he is related to Jasper Jax. Jude is only one of several new faces joining the series this year. In addition to Traval, Alimi Ballard, Jonathan Bennett, Kearran Giovanni, Kelly Kruger and Kayden Brennan Tokarski have joined the cast in recent months. Blythe Howard is set to debut as Monet later this month. But Jude remains a mystery, and perhaps that is by design. ‘General Hospital’ airs on weekdays on ABC and is available on Hulu.
