Michael Corinthos

Michael Corinthos
Chad Duell as Michael Corinthos III
General Hospital
Portrayed by	Dylan Cash Drew Garrett Chad Duell (and infant child actors)
Duration	1997–2008, 2009–present
First appearance	December 26, 1997
Created by	Robert Guza Jr.
Profile
Aliases	Michael Morgan (birth name) Michael Alan Quartermaine (after learning paternity)
Gender	Male
Occupation	Warehouse Manager for Corinthos Coffee Former Executive at E.L.Q. Industries Graduate of Madison Preparatory School
Residence	827 Emerson, Apartment 3-C Port Charles, New York
Drew Garrett as Michael Corinthos III
Dylan Cash as Michael Corinthos III
Relationships Parents A. J. Quartermaine Carly Corinthos Sonny Corinthos (adoptive) Sibling(s) Dante Falconeri (adoptive) Kristina Davis (adoptive) Morgan Corinthos Lila McCall Josslyn Jacks Romances Marita (fling) Abby Haver (dating/lovers; 2010-present) Grandparents Alan Quartermaine Monica Quartermaine John Durant Bobbie Spencer Frank Benson (adoptive) Virginia Benson (adoptive) Mike Corbin (adoptive) Adela Corinthos (adoptive; deceased) Aunts and uncles Skye Chandler Quartermaine (adoptive) Dawn Winthrop Jason Morgan Sam McCall (via Jason) Emily Quartermaine (adoptive; deceased) B. J. Jones (adoptive; deceased) Lucas Jones (adoptive) Ric Lansing (adoptive) Courtney Matthews (adoptive; deceased) First cousins Lila Rae Alcazar (adoptive) Jake Spencer Molly Lansing (adoptive) Spencer Cassadine (adoptive) Other relatives Edward Quartermaine (great-grandfather) Lila Quartermaine (great-grandmother; deceased) Tracy Quartermaine (great-aunt) Bradley Ward (great-uncle) Jimmy Lee Holt (great-uncle) Mike Corbin (godfather) Emily Quartermaine (godmother; deceased)

Michael Morgan Corinthos III (born Michael Morgan; formerly Michael Alan Quartermaine) is a fictional character on the ABC soap opera, General Hospital. The character is the son of Carly Corinthos Jacks (Laura Wright) and A.J. Quartermaine (last portrayed by Billy Warlock), and was adopted as a child by his mother's former husband Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard). The character born onscreen in December 1997. Dylan Cash portrayed the character as a child from 2002 to 2008, and Drew Garrett debuted in the teenage role in April 2009. On March 22. 2010, it was announced that Garrett had been let go from his contract and he last aired on April 19, 2010. Chad Duell took over the role on April 20, 2010.^[1]

Casting

Michael was portrayed by child actors Dylan and Blake Hopkins from 1997 to 2001 and Tiarnan Cunningham from 2001 to 2002.^[2] Seven-year-old Dylan Cash stepped into the role on March 28, 2002.^[3] Cash earned a 2003 Young Artist Award for "Best Performance in a TV Series by a Young Actor Ten or Younger", and was placed on contract with the series in 2005.^[4] The character was written into a coma and Cash's final airdate was May 21, 2008; he later returned for an episode on December 29, 2008. Actor Drew Garrett appeared as an awakened 17-year-old Michael starting on April 24, 2009.^[5][6] On March 22, 2010 Drew Garrett was released from his contract and last aired April 19, 2010. Chad Duell appears April 20, 2010.

Storylines

In March 1997, Carly Roberts becomes pregnant with alcoholic A.J. Quartermaine's child while she is involved with Dr. Tony Jones. Initially, she insists the baby is Tony's, but when that relationship sours, she claims that Jason Morgan, A.J.'s brother, is the father to avoid any custody battles. Carly gives birth to a boy on December 29, 1997, whom Jason names Michael after his best friend and mentor, mobster Michael "Sonny" Corinthos. Jason comes to think of Michael as his son, but confides in his girlfriend Robin Scorpio that the child is A.J.'s. Devastated that he is not the father, Tony has a breakdown and kidnaps Michael, though he is later recovered. Carly's presence in Jason and Robin's lives puts a strain on their relationship; they separate, and Robin tells A.J. that he is Michael's father. Jason and Carly consider fleeing with Michael in 1999, but Carly decides to marry A.J. in a bid to drive him back to alcohol, thus rendering him an unfit parent.

Carly sleeps with Sonny in 2000 and becomes pregnant. Sonny forces A.J. to divorce Carly, who moves in with Sonny, but loses the baby after a fall down the stairs during an argument with A.J. Carly and Sonny realize their feelings for each other, and are married. After Michael nearly opens a packaged bomb meant for Sonny, Carly takes it upon herself to arrange a deal with the FBI for Sonny to become an informant, allowing Carly, Sonny, and Michael to go into Witness Protection. After being arrested, Sonny rejects Carly's plan and pushes her out of his life. However, Sonny is still able to force A.J. to relinquish his parental rights to Michael. Carly and Sonny remarry, and Sonny adopts Michael, who takes his last name. Carly and Sonny break up again; Carly begins a romance with Lorenzo Alcazar, and Sonny becomes involved with Sam McCall. To try and reunite his parents, Michael fakes his own kidnapping, and tries to bribe Sam into leaving town. On February 21, 2005, A.J. kidnaps Michael and his siblings Morgan Corinthos and Kristina Davis. After releasing Morgan and Kristina, A.J. fakes Michael's murder, and attempts to flee the country with his son. Michael is rescued, and is initially the prime suspect when A.J. is murdered.

Coma

In 2007, Michael's longtime nanny Leticia Juarez and his aunt Emily Quartermaine are murdered, and Michael asks Sonny to seek revenge. Fearing for his family, Michael purchases a gun and accidentally shoots Sonny's girlfriend Kate Howard. Michael runs away, but after he agrees to meet his mother in a warehouse, the two are caught in an explosion. Both recover, and Michael learns that Diego Alcazar, Emily and Leticia's murderer, has been killed. Sonny, who now has made a quick exit from the mob to please Kate and turned the organization over to Jason, decides to show a 12-year-old Michael how he makes a living without violence at his coffee warehouse; a sniper, secretly hired by Claudia Zacchara, aims for Sonny but Michael is shot and put into a seemingly permanent coma. He is sent to a long-term care facility in May 2008, where he remains comatose for a year.

Dr. Patrick Drake tries an experimental surgical procedure that awakens a now 17-year-old Michael in April 2009. Michael learns that Sonny has married and impregnated Claudia, and his mother is pregnant by her husband Jax. He angrily lashes out at his mother for trying to replace him, only to be remorseful later. He tells Jason that he flies into a rage without understanding why. Though they try to get along, it becomes clear that Carly is stressing out a recovering Michael, and that his volatile behavior is stressing out Carly (whose pregnancy could be life-threatening if she gets upset). So the teen moves in with Sonny. But after Sonny begins to spoil Michael and buys him a racy new car before he even has a license, Carly begins to question the decision and soon sends him to live with the Quartermaines instead. Though Carly initially takes Michael's car keys away, she later shows up at the Quartermaines with a driver's permit that she has pulled strings to get for Michael, who is now suddenly said to be 17 years old.

Claudia

On July 21, 2009, Michael becomes enraged while driving and, because he vaguely recalls nearly hitting another car, comes to believe he is responsible for running Claudia off the road. Michael runs away to Mexico to avoid getting in trouble with the law. Half-sister Kristina Davis insists on coming along. Claudia, who lost her baby in the accident, tasks Jerry Jacks with finding the teens. Jerry acts friendly towards them, rescuing them from a pair of muggers (and killing them when he believes the teens aren't looking). but puts guards on their hotel room so they cannot leave, raising red flags for Michael, who convinces Kristina they are in danger and have to escape. Soon Jason and Sam find the teens working at a rental shop. Kristina reveals she was responsible for the accident, The group returns to Port Charles.

After a fortune teller at a carnival tells Michael he has a gift for seeing things, he begins having troubling visions of the future and his time in a coma. He begins to suspect Jax is responsible for his shooting, but is able to remember Claudia confessed to him while he was comatose. Michael attempts to tell his father the truth during a lavish birthday party Sonny is throwing for Claudia at the Metro Court. Sonny has already learned the truth from Jason. When Sonny gives a speech toasting Claudia's birthday, he concludes by threatening her. She pulls out a gun and grabs a hostage - Carly, who promptly goes into labor. Claudia forces Carly into a car. Soon, Carly grabs the steering wheel, causing the car to crash. She makes her way to a cabin to give birth. Michael, who has chosen this moment to run away again, comes across the crashed car as he drives out of town headed toward Canada. He also hears his mother screaming as Claudia attempts to flee the cabin with baby Josslyn. Michael hits Claudia with an axe handle, instantly killing her. Sam and Jason find the family, and with Sonny's help, agree to cover up the murder. All are unaware Maxie Jones has seen Sonny with a bloody handprint on his white shirt, from when he attempted to hug Michael at the scene of Claudia's death. Michael pushed him away. They are equally unaware a mysterious onlooker has seen Jason supervise the cover-up, including the burning of the cabin and the burial of Claudia.

Michael expresses interest in following his father into the mob and starts to act more cocky and full of himself, carrying Claudia's death (albeit accidental) as a badge of honor. He is shown on the docks shouting at Kristina about her boyfriend's bad behavior. Ethan Lovett happens along and tells him to back off. Michael tells Ethan he would live longer if he was more careful about speaking so boldly to strangers. Lucky Spencer, Michael's cousin, who has been put in charge of investigating Claudia's disappearance and presumed murder, quickly surmises Michael knows more than he is saying. He angers Sonny and Carly by trying to speak with Michael several times. Michael is increasingly belligerent toward Lucky in their encounters and gets a stern lecture from Jason about his habit of mouthing off after one run-in with Lucky at Jake's. Michael, who went there looking for trouble, had gotten into a fight with strangers playing pool. Lucky was among the cops who arrived in the aftermath. On Dec. 29, Michael's 18th birthday, Lucky happens upon him getting pulled over by a cop for drinking and driving. Lucky intercedes and drives Michael home without charging him, but not before giving him a long talk about how he understands why Michael is being so self-destructive.^[7] Lucky relates how he too had once become disillusioned with his own father, his former hero, and the only way he could punish his father was to hurt himself. Michael scoffs, telling Lucky his "Dr. Drew" analysis is off base. As they arrive at Michael's home, his family jumps up and yells "surprise!". The birthday party ends there as Lucky's presence makes it obvious Michael is in trouble. The guests, who include Alexis, Kristina, Molly, Max and Milo, clear out immediately. Sonny takes Michael's car keys, telling him he won't be getting them back until he earns them. Carly asks Michael how he could do something so dangerous as drink and drive after what happened to Jason. Pointing out it was his biological father A.J. who had been the drunk driver in Jason's accident, Michael angrily asks whether she is more worried about him turning out like his adopted father Sonny or A.J. On February 2, 2010 Michael finds out Dante is his brother from Jason. He was then told they took Sonny to the station.

Sonny's Trial

When Sonny's Trial starts for Claudia, they send Michael to Sonny's Island so he doesn't have to go to court. In April 2010, Dante finds Michael and takes him to Port Charles. Michael runs away and doesn't tell anyone where he is. Maya Ward and Kristina Davis help him out while he is hiding in the Quartermaine boathouse. Carly and Jason think tDante and Lulu still have him, causing Lulu and Carly to get into a fight. When Sonny's trial begins, Dante rushes in to the courtroom and announces to the judge it wasn't Sonny who killed Claudia, but his son Michael. Michael is brought into the courtroom. He confesses. The judge decides to hold Michael and to try him in court for manslaughter. He then has Dante arrest Michael, making sure he is read his Miranda Rights, something Lucky forgot to do the first time. Ultimately, furious Sonny's trial had been a farce and wanting to send a message to his mob, Judge Carroll sentences Michael for a five year stay (eligible for parole in 2 years) in Pentonville Prison, and everyone involved in the tragedy, including Dante and Claire, is shocked and upset by the unfair ruling.

While in prison, Michael is tormented by an inmate named Carter. Carter initially pretends to be friendly when he protects Michael from an aggressive prison guard but he later tells Michael he must pay up for this service. Michael brushes off this gesture. He is shocked and frightened when Carter hints he wants a sexual favor for his help. Soon after, at night, a corrupt guard allows Carter to access Michael alone in his cell. Carter advances upon Michael with an evil smile on his face and (off screen) Michael is beaten and raped. Jason then arrives in Pentonville after having struck a deal with Claire to do jail time for a petty offense. Jason finds Michael in a catatonic state in his cell. Jason is suspicious. He arranges for him to see a doctor fearing he may have been victim of a sexual assault. From then on it is clear something is wrong with Michael - he flinches when Jason tries to comfort him and is angry when Jason tries to find out for definite what happened to him. Michael dodges the subject and never states exactly who hurt him or how. Carter is then killed by Jason when he realizes he is the one threatening Michael. Jason is shocked when Carter, as he is dying, reveals Franco paid him to mess up Michael, once again fueling Jason's concern Michael has been sexually assaulted.^[8] Eventually, Dante convinces the judge to release Michael, but he does so under certain conditions; Michael is to live with Dante and have minimal contact with Sonny. Life outside of prison proves to be difficult for Michael, as he shows signs of post traumatic stress disorder, as well as awkwardness and discomfort with the subject of sex, which is amplified when he repeatedly walks in on intimate moments between Lulu and Dante and other couples.

On November 18, 2010, Claire arranges for the judge to lift the restrictions on Michael's parole, giving Sonny free rein to see Michael at any time.

Kristina's Abuse

When Kristina is abused and hospitalized by her boyfriend Kiefer Bauer, whom Michael had long been at odds with, and falsely accuses Ethan Lovett, Michael quickly realizes that Kiefer is responsible, but is unable to get off Sonny's island to help her. Eventually, Kiefer's abusive nature becomes public knowledge after he beats Kristina again on April 2, and Kiefer himself is accidentally run over and killed by Alexis Davis that same night, causing his father, Warren, to become obsessed with getting revenge on Kristina and Alexis.

On July 22, 2010, Warren confronts Kristina at the hospital and tries to attack her. Hearing the commotion, Michael barges into the room and attacks Warren in a frenzied rage. A fight ensues, and Michael gains the upper hand and nearly strangles Warren to death before Ethan, Maya, Lucky, and Steven arrive and break it up. Warren demands that Lucky arrest Michael, but everybody present, knowing about Warren's campaign against the Davis family, instead all claim that Warren had tripped and Michael had helped him up. Warren finally snaps and shortly after induces a shootout, critically wounding Mac and Ethan before turning his attention to Kristina. Michael bravely stands between Kristina and the gun, but before Warren can pull the trigger, he is shot and killed from behind by Mac. Shortly afterwards, Michael and Carly comfort a horrified Kristina and reassure her that she is not at fault.

Abby Haver

In October, Michael goes to Jason and explains that he is messed up after prison and can't be relaxed around girls who fancy him or when sex is the topic of conversation. Michael hints that Jason knows why he is struggling with getting intimate with girls (because of the never alluded to rape) and asks him to help him find a girl to lose his virginity with, so that he could get it over with and also so that he would have some experience, in case he decided to get involved with his friend Allison. Sam overhears the conversation and offers to help him find a nice girl. She calls her friend named Abigail "Candy" Haver, whom she met at a strip club while she was working undercover, and is around his age. Michael meets with Candy at Metro Court. Things don't go as planned, and Michael loses his temper with "Candy" when she puts her hand up his shirt. He apologizes and ends up leaving. He goes to Jason's to talk. He tells Jason that when she tried to remove his shirt it reminded him of Carter doing the same thing to him in prison. Jason tries to boost his morale but Michael sadly says that he isn't normal anymore and never will be after Carter. Later Michael and Abby met up at Kelly's Diner and after a long conversation, they become friends. Michael and Abby continued to meet at Kelly's to talk about their pasts and their future ambitions, and to get to know one another better. Later on one of their dates, they both admitted to enjoying their talks and spending time with one another. On November 17, Michael and Abby ran into each another on the docks and decided to exchange phone numbers. On December 10, Michael asked Abby out, she agreed and they decided to start dating. Their happiness is short-lived however, when Michael's mother Carly comes upon them in Kelly's and disapproves of their relationship because of the age difference. Michael opened up to Sam and told her about his feelings for Abby at the same time that his mother was warning Abby away from him. However after a long conversation and a brief run in with Kiefer's best friend, during which Abby defended Michael, she came around and accepts Michael's offer to go on a date. Carly continues to disapprove of Michael and Abby's relationship and tries to keep them apart, but both Michael and Abby warn Carly to stay out of their relationship.

On January 31, Abby's "friend" Brandon tries to rape Abby in the street when Micheal hears her screams. After he comes over to try and help, he gets flashbacks of him and Carter in prison. In the flashbacks the viewers finally see Carter bashing Michael, overpowering him and then raping him whilst Michael tries to fight back. He momentarily freezes during this recollection but when he breaks out of it, he begins to beat Brandon until Jason comes and pulls him off of him. Dante arrests Brandon and Abby is taken to the hospital. Michael and Jason sit down to have a talk and he finally breaks down and admits to Jason that Carter raped him in prison. Carly shows up at the Penthouse later and Michael finally admits the truth to his mother as well, who is very supportive of him and convinces him to get into therapy. Michael later tells Dante and Abby the truth about what happened to him in prison, but he doesn't want his father, Sonny to know. Unbeknown to him, his mother later goes and tells his father, about the rape. On March 28, Michael loses his virginity as he and Abby have sex for the first time.

Abby decides to drop the charges against Brandon, but Michael tells her that Brandon will only come back to harrass her. Michael leaves for his cousin Jake Spencer's memorial and Brandon goes to Abby's apartment. Once there he abuses Abby then leaves. When Michael comes home and sees Abby beaten he goes after Brandon threatening to kill him. Jason shows up, gets Brandon to leave and takes Michael home.

Brandon ends up dead hours after Michael threatened him and he quickly becomes a suspect, along with Jason and Abby. Ronnie eventually arrests Abby because of an eyewitness account from a reliable customer at Vaughn's (where the murder took place) that says a woman fitting Abby's description killed Brandon. It is revealed that Anthony Zacchara paid a woman named Lisa to wear a blonde wig and kill Brandon to frame Abby in an attempt to try and lure Michael into the mob for leverage against Sonny.

Later, Michael talks to Kristina over her being waitlisted at Yale. Seeing her overly emotional reaction, Michael begins to correctly suspect that Kristina may have a drug problem. On May 20, Michael asks Kristina to help with his physics homework, but when she criticizes Abby again, Michael furiously tells Kristina that he is sick of her judgmental attitude, informing her that Abby has been abused by her boyfriend just like Kristina has. At this point, Kristina breaks down in tears and proclaims that she is a horrible person, and Michael gets her to confess that Lisa Niles tricked her into taking hydrocodone. When Kristina reveals that Ethan offered to help her through her withdrawal symptoms, Michael, in a show of hypocrisy, exhibits skepticism towards Ethan's intentions.

In June, Michael discovers that someone has applied to college for him. Though he initially suspects Carly, he discovers at the graduation ceremony that it was Kristina who did so. When the mayor announces that Kiefer's mother has set up a scholarship in his memory, Bryce uses it as another opportunity to taunt Kristina over Kiefer's death. When Bryce goes so far as to say that Kristina deserved to get beat up by Kiefer, Michael beats him unconscious in front of the shocked crowd before storming off. As a result of this, Mayor Floyd initially refuses to give Michael and Bryce their diplomas, but Sonny manages to persuade him to give up Michael's diploma.

Jason, having been alerted to the situation by Abby, tracks Michael down at the pier. Michael explains what happened and insists that Bryce deserved it. After a heart-to-heart, Michael agrees to work legitimately at Jason and Sonny's coffee warehouse for the summer, though he is still determined to join their mob eventually. After going to his and Kristina's shared graduation party at the Davis house, Michael goes to Abby's and is pleasantly surprised to learn from Dante that his parole is over. Now done with his parole, Michael was allowed to move out of Dante's apartment, so he and Abby decided to move in together and Michael offered to pay half the rent with the money he'll receive from his new job.

Michael is subsequently approached by his great-grandfather, Edward, who offers him a job at ELQ, to which Michael agrees. Though Carly is against it, Jason and Sonny believe that losing Michael to Edward would be better than letting him (Michael) join the mob. When Kristina continues to pursue Ethan romantically, Michael, Abby, and Ethan conspire to make it appear as though Ethan and Abby are romantically involved in an attempt to convince her to pursue lovers her own age.

See also

• Quartermaine family
• Corinthos family
• Spencer family

References

1. ^ http://sn.soapnet.go.com/news/article/general-hospital-recasts-michael
2. ^ "About GH: Who's Who in Port Charles: Michael Corinthos III". soapcentral.com. http://www.soapcentral.com/gh/whoswho/michael.php. Retrieved 2009-11-08. 
3. ^ "General Hospital Cast: Michael Corinthos III (Current)". Soaps.com. http://www.soaps.com/generalhospital/cast/749/Michael_Corinthos_III_(Current). Retrieved July 13, 2009. 
4. ^ http://www.soapcentral.com/gh/news/2008/0414-cash.php
5. ^ http://www.soapcentral.com/gh/news/2009/0316-garrett.php
6. ^ http://www.soapcentral.com/gh/news/2009/0615-fairman_garrett.php
7. ^ http://abc.go.com/shows/general-hospital/episode-guide/episode-11962/359514
8. ^ http://www.tvguide.com/News/General-Hospitals-Michael-1028422.aspx

External links

• Michael Corinthos profile - ABC.com
• Michael Corinthos Soap Central profile