Zander Smith (Chad Brannon)

Zander Smith (born Alexander Lewis) was a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. Marc Brett originated the role in 2000 before being succeeded by Chad Brannon, who played him until the character's death in 2004. Brannon won an Emmy in 2004, for his portrayal of the troubled young man.

Storylines
Zander Smith breezed into Port Charles and shortly after kidnapped Emily Quartermaine at gunpoint after she and her friends set him up for killing an undercover cop. While on the run, Emily began to see a different side of Zander. They parted at the Canadian border but Zander eventually returned to Port Charles, where he was arrested for killing the cop. Emily fought to help him prove his innocence and convinced Alexis Davis, who became like a mother to him, to represent him. Eventually Sorel, a known mob boss, was put on trial for the killing and found guilty, due to Zander's testimony.

Emily and Zander eventually fell in love. He brought her pixi stix and climbed the window outside her bedroom to visit her. They made great plans for their future but those plans were halted when Emily was injured in a bus accident and sent away to rehab. Zander drifted for a while but became a good friend to Elizabeth Webber, Carly Corinthos and Gia Campbell. His world was shattered by the return of his father, Cameron Lewis, who blamed him for his brother's suicide during a hunting trip. Zander grew up as the unwanted second son, unable to compete with his older brother Peter. Desperate for his father's love and approval but unable to find a way to reach out, Zander remained estranged from them. Cameron died in a fire originally caused by Edward Quartermaine, though history was later changed to implicate Zander.

When Emily returned, he lost her love to Nikolas Cassadine and after seeing her commit adultery on the floor of the cabin he'd bought for them, he knew it was over for good. Until then, he'd believed the lies she told him about loving him and wanting to be with him. At that point, he threw his life away and had a one-night stand with her best friend Elizabeth, which resulted in a pregnancy. Elizabeth gave birth to his son, who she named Cameron in honor of Zander’s father. During her pregnancy, Elizabeth returned to her husband, Ric Lansing and asked Zander to sign away his parental rights to the baby so that Ric could adopt him. Feeling he had nothing left to lose, Zander agreed to this but insisted on payment for his agreement. Zander didn't live long enough to see the boy, however, as he was set up by Courtney Matthews and Jason Morgan to take the fall after Courtney shot a cop during one of Jason's mob shootouts. Courtney and Jason framed Zander to hide Courtney's own guilt. Zander was also being blackmailed by Ric Lansing, who wanted custody of Zander's unborn son. Ric told Zander that he would see to it that Zander went down for the murder of the cop unless he gave up the child. Zander continued to spiral further out of control, becoming more and more desperate as everyone in his life turned against him. In the end, Zander was gunned down by a SWAT team who thought he had taken Emily hostage and believed he was guilty of murdering Officer Beck. He chose his own death, pretending to reach for a gun after pushing Emily to safety and later died in Emily’s arms.