Joe Rivera (Jeffrey Vincent Parise)

Dr. Joseph "Joe" Rivera, M.D. is a fictional character from the ABC daytime drama General Hospital.

He has been portrayed by actor Jeffrey Vincent Parise since the character's debut on July 20, 2016.

Casting
On July 15, 2016, it was reported that fan favorite actor, Jeffrey Vincent Parise would return to General Hospital in a brand new role. The identity of Parise's new character was unknown until he made his debut.

Parise returned on July 20 as Dr. Joseph Rivera, the estranged twin brother of Carlos.

Background
Dr. Joseph Rivera is the identical twin brother of mobster, Carlos Rivera. He briefly dated Sabrina Santiago before Carlos and Sabrina became involved. Joe and Carlos became estranged when Joe made the decision to leave Puerto Rico for the mainland to attend medical school. Carlos felt abandoned by Joe's decision. Carlos and Joe were not able to reconcile before Carlos' death and Joe feels guilt for not being there for his brother and helping him down a better life path.

Storylines
Joe arrives in Port Charles in search of Sabrina and his nephew, Teddy Rivera. He finds Sabrina at the Quartermaine mansion and they share a brief reunion before Michael Quartermaine arrives and mistakes Joe for Carlos. Sabrina quickly diffuses the situation by explaining that Joe is Carlos' twin brother. Joe explains that he came to town to find Sabrina and Teddy after hearing of Carlos' death. He expresses great remorse at his estrangement from Carlos and wishes he could have done more for his brother. Joe promises to be there for Sabrina and Teddy and help them out in anyway that he can in order to make up for not being there for Carlos.