At the character's inception in 1987, the role was recast two times, originated first by Joseph Adams from April 10, 1987 to July 17, 1987. Further, James Acheson played the role briefly from July 21, 1987 to October 26, 1987, before Matthew Ashford stepped into the role on October 30, 1987; Ashford notably went on to play the role through October 12, 1993, reappearing from February 5, 2001, to October 27, 2003, and June 22, 2004, until September 21, 2006, with a guest appearance on April 2–4, 2007, and again from September 23, 2011, until August 15, 2012. Ashford later took a brief absence from the series from October 2003 to June 2004 where he would appear as a special guest star on "One Life to Live".