Nikolas Cassadine (Marcus Coloma)

Prince Nikolas Mikhail Stavrosovich Cassadine is a fictional character on the long-running American soap opera General Hospital.

Casting history
The role was originated by Tyler Christopher, who played the character from 1996-1999, and then after a four-year hiatus resumed the role from 2003 until 2011, when Christopher was fired from the show. Stephen Martines (under the stage name "Coltin Scott") played the role from 1999 to 2003, and Chris Beetem temporarily took over the character in December 2005.

Arrival
Nikolas is the son of Laura Webber and the late Stavros Cassadine. Laura had been kidnapped by Stavros as an act of revenge against Luke Spencer for the events that led to the death of his father Mikkos Cassadine. On one of these occasions she met Stavros' kind-hearted brother Stefan Cassadine and the two formed a close friendship. This friendship would soon turn romantic and when Laura discovered that she was pregnant, she hoped that he was the father. When the child was born he was named Nikolas, after Tsar Nicholas II. Laura desperately wanted a normal life for her son, not the life of a prince as head of the corrupt Cassidine family. Laura was eventually able to escape the island withe Stefan's help, who promised to look after Nikolas while she reunited with her husband Luke. Stavros pursued her, but appeared to die after falling down a flight of stairs. When Laura tried to secretly reclaim Nikolas, his grandmother Helena Cassadine murdered Laura's mother Lesley Webber. To protect her loved ones, Laura told no one about her son. Stefan took control of rearing Nikolas when he turned seven, and banished Helena from his life. As a child he was both happy and lonely, and he both loved his mother and resented her for being absent from his life. Fifteen-year-old Nikolas first came to Port Charles after donating his bone marrow to his sister Lulu, who had been diagnosed with Aplastic Anemia. Nikolas had known growing up that he had a half-brother, Lucky, but was unaware that he had a little half-sister. He easily bonded with Lulu, though when he met Lucky there was instant animosity. Their early relationship was characterized by revealing family secrets in order to hurt one another. Lucky revealed that Helena killed Lesley, and after a heated argument, Nikolas fell down a flight of stairs and had to be hospitalized. Though Laura explained that Nikolas didn't have a place in her life anymore, he stayed in Port Charles and eventually became best friends with Emily Quartermaine, who began to develop romantic feelings for him.

Laura eventually learned that Lesley was alive, having been saved by Stefan from his mother's plot, and was in a catatonic state resulting from a complication from the drug he used to fake her death. When Laura went to visit her mother, the house they were in exploded and both were presumed killed. Most of the town blamed the Cassadines, and Nikolas's only allies were Emily, nurse Bobbie Spencer, and businesswoman Katherine Bell. When it was discovered that the explosion was a hoax to protect Lesley, the town turned against the Spencers. Stefan, who had married Bobbie, drove Laura out of town when he became convinced that she would continue to hurt Nikolas. Nikolas and Lucky worked through their animosity, and became friends. Laura returned to Port Charles determined to foster her relationship with her son, and the two bonded when it appeared that Lucky had perished in a fire.

It was revealed that Helena was actually holding Lucky hostage, and that Stavros was alive, having been cryogenically frozen by Helena to stave off death. When Helena was defeated and Stavros appeared to die again, Stefan deemed Nikolas ready to take on the mantle of the Cassadine Prince. Though his aunt Alexis Davis was there for him, Nikolas was plagued by insecurities after Stefan left for Europe. He second guessed any behavior that he felt resembled Stavros, and was devastated when Laura entered a catatonic state after the murder of her adoptive father Rick Webber. As a result of losing their mother, Lucky, Lulu and Nikolas became extremely close. Though Nikolas had romanced both Sarah Webber and Gia Campbell, his greatest love turned out to be his first friend Emily Quartermaine.

Emily Quartermaine
As Emily battled breast cancer, Nikolas became her most trusted confidant. As their feelings grew, Emily became torn between Nikolas and her first love Zander Smith. Believing she was dying, Emily married Zander as her last gift to him, though she eventually entered remission. Eventually Emily and Nikolas could no longer resist and slept with one another on the floor of the cottage Zander had bought for her. Witnessing their adultery started Zander on a downward spiral, and Emily ended their marriage. Zander went on to kidnap Emily, but was killed by the police. Stefan also interfered, but eventually committed suicide. When a car accident left Nikolas with amnesia, war widow Mary Bishop took him in, leaving Port Charles and Emily to believe he had died. Mary lied to Nikolas, telling him he was her late husband Connor, who looked just like Nikolas. Emily eventually discovered the deception and carefully worked to unlock Nikolas' fragile mind. Finally remembering Emily, the two reconciled, causing Mary to breakdown at the second loss of her "husband." After she murdered several teens, Mary was shot and killed by Nikolas. To spare Emily the pain of a trial, Nikolas pled guilty to murder, and the two married him before he was sent to prison. Nikolas' doppelgänger Connor Bishop returned to town, and began romancing Emily on the orders of a very much alive Helena and as revenge for the death of his wife Mary. Connor eventually raped Emily, who emotionally retreated from her husband. The strain on the marriage became too much, and Nikolas began an affair with also unhappily married Courtney Jacks. While Courtney ended her marriage to Jasper Jacks, Emily and Nikolas divorced as well. When Courtney became pregnant, it was unclear if the father was Nikolas or Jax. When Jax learned that Nikolas was the father, he switched the results of a DNA test in order to protect Courtney and the baby from Helena.

After misinterpreting a close moment between Nikolas and Emily, a pregnant Courtney leaves town and is briefly abducted by Helena. After her escape, she returns to Port Charles in the middle of an encephalitis outbreak, and she and Nikolas both become ill. Because of her illness, a C-section was necessary to save the baby, which lead to her death. Jax claimed to be the father but within months, Robin revealed the truth to Nikolas at John's baptism. Nikolas renamed John to Spencer, honouring Lucky and Lulu. Nikolas hired an unstable nanny working for Helena. Helena was eventually able to gain control of the baby on December 21, 2006, and killed Colleen. Helena attempted to christen him as the next Cassadine heir, but Emily and Nikolas were able to thwart her. Nikolas eventually had Spencer baptized and name Emily as his godmother.

Nikolas and Emily continued their romance, and they attended a fundriaser at the Metro Court. They soon were soon held hostage with several of their friends when a team of mercenaries lead by a plastic surgery disguised Jerry Jacks attempted to rob the hotel's safe. They both helped care for an injured Robin, and Nikolas supported Emily when her father Alan Quartermaine died as a result of the incident. After the crisis had passed, Jerry, using the alias James Craig, injected Nikolas with an experimental poison in a bid to have Nikolas finance a new life for him with the Cassadine fortune. Robin discovered Jerry with Nikolas, and Jerry forced her to pretend she was involved with Nikolas. Though Nikolas had ended his relationship with her, Emily learned the truth and worked with Robin to save him. When Jerry's identity was revealed, he ended up giving Nikolas the antidote. As he recovered, Nikolas began exhibiting strange symptoms, including uncontrolled violence and anger, making him a possible suspect as the Text Message Killer, who harmed many of Port Charles's female residents. Emily was murdered in November 2007, shortly after the two got engaged at the Black and White Ball, honouring Alan Nikolas began to befriend nurse Nadine Crowell, who was able to get Nikolas to admit his reluctance to treat his tumor was because the tumor allowed him to see "Emily". With Nadine's encouragement, Nikolas begins treatment while also hoping his hallucinations will lead him to the identity of Emily's killer. When he realizes that supposedly deceased mobster Diego Alcazar is the killer, the two fight and Diego is inadvertently killed when chains become wrapped around his neck. When Dr. Ian Devlin tells Nikolas he has an experimental drug that will allow him more time with his visions of Emily, Nikolas agrees to pay him ten million dollars. He also starts a program to allow patients without insurance to be treated at General Hospital, much to the pleasure of Emily's mother Dr. Monica Quartermaine.

New loves
Convinced that Emily would want this and for the sake of his son, Nikolas decides to go forward with the surgery that will remove his tumor and his visions of Emily. Emily visits one last time, leaving her engagement ring in his hand while he is in surgery. While working on a clinic dedicated to Emily, Nikolas romantic sparks begin to fly between Nikolas and his former nurse Nadine. The two share kisses, and even waltz at Wyndamere. Nikolas also finds him self attracted to Claudia Zacchara, who is stabbed by Jerry and eventually washes up on the shores of Spoon Island where Nikolas find her. The two bond and share a kiss, though NIkolas is taken aback when she reveals that she is responsible for the comatose state of Michael Corinthos, Carly's son with A.J. Quartermaine that mobster Sonny Corinthos had adopted. In order to avoid her being murdered, Nikolas agrees to keep her secret, though he also decides to keep his distance from her. When Nadine is nearly killed in a fire started by Jerry, Nikolas forces her to recuperate at Wyndamere and tells her he is starting to fall in love with her. The two eventually make love, though their relationship is tested when they must fake getting married to ease the last days of Nadine's dying aunt Raylene. After talking with Raylene, Nikolas admits to himself that though he cares for her, Nadine's feelings for him are much stronger than his for her.

When Carly, throws a benefit at General Hospital to raise money for children suffering from traumatic brain injuries, Nikolas and Nadine attend. Meanwhile, a mysterious woman named Rebecca who looks just like the deceased Emily Quartermaine, though with shorter, lighter hair, is seen around the hospital. When Nikolas' cousin Sam McCall is involved in a traffic accident with a man who is transporting a weapons grade biotoxin internally, the man is rushed to General Hospital. As the doctors begin to operate, the biotoxin is released into the air vents, incapacitating all of the members of the operating room staff and several guests at the gala. While Nadine is trapped in the boardroom with other guests, Nikolas tries to find Rebecca as he debates whether she is real or a symptom of his tumor returning. Rebecca later turns out to be Emily's twin sister. Nikolas and Rebecca split up after she reveals she dated him for his money.He and Elizabeth begin an affair in July 2009. In January 2010, Lucky walks in on the two and severs his ties with Nikolas. Soon after, Elizabeth is revealed to be pregnant.

Elizabeth has a mental breakdown and was admitted to Shadybrook. Meanwhile, Helena had wormed her way back into Port Charles, intent on taking Elizabeth's baby and raising it as the Cassadine heir with Nikolas. Lucky kept Helena at bay for Elizabeth, and while it helped, Elizabeth pushes Nikolas away, thinking she and Lucky would get back together. Elizabeth had a paternity test done to determine the father of her baby. The results say that Nikolas is the father, but unknown to Nikolas or Elizabeth, Helena intercepted the results and had them switched, and Lucky is the father of Elizabeth's baby. Initially not able to cope with this information, Elizabeth eventually comes around to let Nikolas be a part of their child's life with the help of a terminal cancer patient named Shirley Smith, who befriends both Elizabeth and Nikolas.

Nikolas is determined to take an active role in his new child's life, and starts spending more time with Spencer to get ready for that. On July 9, 2010, Elizabeth walks up on Nikolas playing with Spencer. Nikolas is happy when Elizabeth asks him to be with her in the delivery when their child is born, and he accepts. They both acknowledge their mistakes in the affair, and decide to move on for the sake of their baby.

Elizabeth goes into labor a month early, and gives birth to a baby boy on July 19, 2010. They name the child Aiden Alexi Nikolossovich Cassadine. On July 20, 2010, Aiden goes missing, and Elizabeth, Nikolas, and Lucky initially suspect Helena, but then it's revealed that serial killer Franco has taken baby Aiden.