Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart)

Valentin Cassadine is a fictional character from the ABC soap, General Hospital. He is the previously unknown son of the late Prince Mikkos Cassadine and an unknown woman.

Casting
The character was supposed to make his debut in October 2009, portrayed by (pictured to the left), but the writers decided to put off the debut "indefinitely".

On June 16, 2016, Soap Opera Digest confirmed that James Patrick Stuart had joined the cast.

On July 1, Daytime Confidential reported that actor James Patrick Stuart was cast in the role of Valentin. They also praised General Hospital for "finally bringing on one of the most talked about, yet previously unseen, supervillains in the soap's history!"

On July 1, Soap Opera Digest confirmed that he is set to debut on July 8. Due to a national preemption on June 10, Valentin first appeared on air on July 11.

James Patrick Stuart is known for his role as Will Cortlandt on the former ABC Daytime soap opera, . He's also made several guest spots on primetime dramas, The Closer, How to Get Away With Murder, 2 Broke Girls and Rosewood.

Background
Valentin Cassadine is the previously unknown son of Mikkos Cassadine and an unknown woman. According to his step-mother, Helena, he is more treacherous than any other Cassadine. He was disowned by Mikkos years ago and hadn't been heard from since. Helena sought him out thinking she could control him, but she was very wrong.

Helena made a confession to her grandson, Nikolas and Luke that Valentin was a major threat and he wouldn't stop until he destroyed both the Cassadines and the Spencers.

Storylines
In October 2009, a deathly ill Helena Cassadine confides in her longtime rival Luke Spencer that she needs his help to fend off her evil stepson Valentin. According to Helena, the illegitimate Valentin had been disowned by his father Mikkos upon his birth, denying him the privileges of being a Cassadine. Helena contacts Valentin hoping to use him against her rebellious grandson, Nikolas but instead, Valentin overpowers Helena taking over the family's private island in Greece and he slowly poisons Helena.

Valentin's henchmen try to keep Luke from escaping with Helena only for Nikolas to come to her rescue. She warns everyone that Valentin has promised to destroy not only the Cassadines, but also the Spencers. Mikkos's daughter Alexis Davis reveals that she had only heard of her brother's treachery toward their father specifically, but Alexis had come to believe the "never before seen Valentin" was only a front for Helena and her schemes. Luke later accuses Helena of having Valentin murdered and she admits that she thought Valentin had died, but later realized that he is alive and well. Much like Luke and Alexis, Nikolas believes Valentin is long dead and that Helena is just using the threat of Valentin to manipulate him.

On July 11, 2016, Valentin is seen lurking around on Cassadine Island. He spies on Jason Morgan, Sam Morgan, Ava Jerome, and Nikolas Cassadine. Jason soon realizes that someone else is on the island. Valentin is seen looking at a book of Cassadine lineage before he knocks over a vase. Jason and Sam lure him out by falsely proclaiming that they are heading to bed.

They corner Valentin and he claims to be a fisherman named Theo, who was forced to come ashore due to the storm. Sam and Jason decide to leave him be, as long as he does what they say. Valentin continues to play his role and goes to warm his hands by the fire. As he is warming his hands, he rolls up his sleeve and you can see the Cassadine family crest tattooed on his forearm.

On July 16, Theo blew his cover and he held a gun on everyone present. On July 18, it was confirmed that Theo is in fact Valentin.

Crimes Committed

 * Poisoned Helena Cassadine [Oct 2009]
 * Holding Prince Nikolas Cassadine, Ava Jerome, Jason Morgan, Sam Morgan, Det. Dante Falconeri, Lulu Spencer-Falconeri, Laura Spencer and Dr. Kevin Collins hostage at gunpoint on Cassadine Island [Jul 15, 2016-present]
 * Took Sam hostage at gunpoint and then had Jason cuffed to a chair [Jul 18, 2016]
 * Took Ava hostage at gunpoint and almost shot her [Jul 19, 2016]
 * Fought with Nikolas for a gun [Jul 19, 2016]
 * Shot Nikolas in the chest and caused him to fall off a balcony [Jul 19, 2016]

Health and Vitals

 * Held at gunpoint by Jason [Jul 11, 2016]