Biography
Fair-haired and blue-eyed actor Steve Burton, best known for his portrayal of Jason on ABC's "General Hospital," made his television debut as a regular on the syndicated series "Out of This World." On this sci-fi comedy he played Chris Fuller, a likable but somewhat doltish young man oblivious to the fact that his love interest Evie had supernatural powers and communicated with her alien father via a talking box of light. During the 1987-1990 run of "Out of This World," Burton first made his mark on daytime TV with a 1988 role as Harris Michaels on NBC's "Days of Our Lives." More memorable was the actor's long-running role on the daytime drama "General Hospital." Burton joined the show in 1991, playing Jason Quartermaine, an intelligent, sensitive and kind person quite unlike his more opportunistic and conniving half-brother A J. The illegitimate child of Alan Quartermaine and the late Susan Morgan, Jason was taken into the family as an infant and raised alongside his elder half-brother, the two sent together to boarding school. Jason, like so many other soap children, aged rapidly while away and returned to Port Charles the perfect young romantic lead, the character's early storylines putting him in an interracial relationship and a romantic predicament with too many participants to be called a love triangle. An alcoholism storyline would change Burton's role significantly when an accident caused by A J's drunk driving led to Jason's brain injury and subsequent amnesia. In this 1996 plot twist, his character emerged from the accident with no memory of his family, a group of people the new Jason quite understandably found unbearable. Dropping the Quartermaine last name and reinventing himself as Jason Morgan, the darker and more mysterious character was thrown into an exciting life in Port Charles' international mob scene, showing a softer side in his romance with Robin Scorpio, a sweet and strong-willed HIV-positive girl. Burton's intriguing portrayal of Jason's ongoing struggles, related to both his crime world lifestyle and his powerful and overbearing family, led to a Daytime Emmy win for the 1997-1998 season in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series. A fan favorite, the handsome and compelling actor also has won several SOAP OPERA DIGEST awards during his run on the show. Burton has additionally starred in the direct-to-video action releases "Cybertracker" (1994) and its 1995 sequel "Cybertracker 2."
