Bring Him Back: Dr. Tom Hardy

General Hospital's cast could use an overhaul -- it's cluttered with perhaps too many characters and is too focused on a few at the expense of the rest. But even though there are maybe too many characters on canvas, there are still some others who really should be represented. Here are ten good reasons that GH should bring back one of its most significant legacy characters: Tom Hardy.

10. He’s a doctor.

(GH closes, 1996)

One of the major problems with the writing on General Hospital for the past few years has been the movement of the hospital-centered storylines from the forefront of the show to the backburner in favor of the mob. Of the new characters added recently, the majority of them – Kate, Diane, Johnny, Anthony, Trevor – have all been associated in one way or another with the mob storylines. Tom Hardy would be a great addition to the cast because he’s Dr. Tom Hardy. He would provide the hospital with a much-needed mature male voice after the death of Alan Quartermaine. Along with Monica, Bobbie, and Noah, he would be an excellent mentor for some of the younger doctors on staff.

9. He’s a shrink.

Even better, Tom is a psychiatrist. GH already has one of those on staff – Lainey Winters – but with the level of mental anxiety present in Port Charles on a daily basis, it probably wouldn’t hurt to have another shrink in the building. Plus, it would be nice to see someone counsel Sonny who could really go toe-to-toe with the character. Except – have the writers forgotten that Sonny’s bipolar? Probably so. Regardless, Michael Corinthos is also looking like an excellent candidate for future psychiatric treatment, and it would be great for him to find a real father figure in someone like Tom.

8. He has a teenage son.

Tom’s son, Tommy, would now be just around the right age to pal around with Maxie, Lulu, Logan, Cooper, Spinelli, Dillon, and their peers. With Dillon only in town on a recurring basis, Cooper suspected of strangling Georgie and Emily, and Spinelli written so one-note that a serious romantic pairing would be difficult to write for him, Tommy’s reappearance on the canvas would provide the young women of Port Charles with an additional romantic option.

7. He has a connection to minority characters.

Tom has only been married to one woman – Dr. Simone Ravelle, who is black. Their son, Tommy, is biracial. On a show in which only a handful of characters are non-white – Epiphany, Kelly, Lainey, Regina, Cruz, Leo, and Leyla – Tom would afford the writers a way to easily make their cast more ethnically diverse.

6. He has a romantic past on the show.


(Lucy sees Tom for the first time in years)

Although Simone was Tom’s only marriage, he has been involved with other women on the show. Tom and Lucy Coe (ex-wife to Scott and Alan, Serena’s surrogate and adoptive mother) had a brief affair; he was also partnered for a time with Felicia Jones (Maxie’s mother – she’s recently reappeared on the show). Tom’s romantic history would provide the writers with former emotional connections to explore – if they could remember long enough to write about them.

5. He could be a hero – a real one, not one who kills for money.

When Tom left Port Charles, he wasn’t on the run from the law, and he wasn’t taking a more prestigious position at a bigger hospital in a bigger city. Instead, he was headed to Africa to take part in aid relief. While Tom was not always the most heroic character in town – every good character needs some layers, after all – he would certainly be an improvement over the Sonny Corinthoses and Jason Morgans (and, dare I say it, the Luke Spencers) of Port Charles. One of the things that GH is really lacking is a character who is decent without strings – someone who has a “heart of gold” without a layer of crap and mob vendettas coating it. Tom could be that character for the show.

4. He could be an excellent romantic interest for some of the single women on the show.

Characters like Alexis Davis, Kate Howard, and Skye Quartermaine need a leading man. Most of the men on the show are more connected with less intelligent and less mature female leads (I’m looking at you, Carly Benson Corinthos Jacks!) – GH could really benefit from the presence of a character who would be a worthy romantic option for women like Alexis, who have both beauty and brains. Wouldn’t a psychiatrist be a great partner for a high-powered attorney, a magazine editor, or a businesswoman?

3. Matthew Ashford isn’t currently on daytime.

Several actors have played Tom Hardy – Wikipedia lists David Comfort and Bradley Green, among others – but the most recent and perhaps most famous actor to play the part is a soap legend: Matthew Ashford. He’s probably better known for his role as Jack Devereaux on Days of Our Lives than for his role as Tom, but with Jack once again absent in Salem, he’s free to reprise his GH role.

2. He’s a Baldwin.

Tom’s mother is Audrey March Hardy; although he shares Steve Hardy’s name and was raised as his son, his biological father is actually Tom Baldwin, younger brother of Lee Baldwin. This makes him the first cousin of Scott Baldwin; his son, Tommy, is a cousin of contemporaries Logan Hayes and Serena Baldwin. These connections would help to tie him in more easily with many of the current residents of Port Charles – and would also help with the renaissance of the Baldwin family that I’ve been hoping for since Scott and Logan showed up in 2007.

1. He’s a Hardy.


(Tom tells the Christmas story, 1995)

Although he’s related to the Baldwins, Tom’s more important legacy is as the heir to Steve Hardy, one of the original characters on GH. After Steve’s death on the show in 1996, Tom was involved in trying to save the hospital; he would be excellent to have on the canvas now to fill his father’s shoes as the voice of wisdom and stability in GH. The current chief of staff, Dr. Ford (a character with no history on the show, played by a blustering actor), is more a caricature than a character and isn’t a worthy inheritor of Steve Hardy’s mantle. Tom could be. Additionally, because Tom’s step-brother is Jeff Webber, he’s also uncle to Elizabeth Webber and great-uncle to her kids, Cameron and Jake. His Hardy legacy makes him a character who should be on the show – the kind of character who should be reintroduced instead of the new and peripheral characters given quick contracts and tenuous storylines today.