'General Hospital' Actor Roger Howarth Exits Show After 11 Years, Explains Why His Contract Wasn't Renewed

justjared.com:

Roger Howarth is leaving General Hospital after 11 years on the show and it appears his exit is against his wishes.

The 55-year-old actor is speaking out after he was let go from the ABC daytime soap opera series. Head inside for spoilers on what happened and to find out why Roger is leaving… Roger played Austin Gatlin-Holt on General Hospital for the past decade and his character was killed in a fatal shooting during the November 17 episode.

In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Roger explained how he learned about his exit from the show. “Well, several weeks ago, I got a phone call from somebody I’ve known for a very long time who I love very dearly [Executive Producer Frank Valentini] telling me that when my contract was up at ABC, I would not be offered a new contract and that the character of Austin would be killed, and that this was something they both wanted and needed to do to move story,” Roger said. “And it took me a minute to kind of adjust, to kind of hear the news; it took a second for me to let that settle in.

And then, immediately, I realized how lucky I was to have been able to do something I really love doing for more than a decade with people who I really enjoyed working with.” He continued, “I’m a lucky guy.