Nathan West (General Hospital)
Nathan West is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network, portrayed by Ryan Paevey. Created by head writer Ron Carlivati, Nathan was introduced in late 2013 by Frank Valentini as a love interest for Maxie Jones. In January 2018, Paevey announced he had opted to leave the serial of his own decision. He reprised the role when Nathan returned in September 2025.
Paevey's casting was very well received. The character of Nathan becomes quite popular rather quickly among viewers and critics, becoming known as the show's resident heroic "good guy" as he tries to support his mess of a family. At the same time, Nathan's pairing with Maxie becomes a fan favorite pairing and their "slow burn" romance was praised by critics.
Development
Casting and creation
In November 2013, the producers released a casting call for a contract role. In late December 2013, head writer Ron Carlivati announced on Twitter that model turned actor Ryan Paevey had joined the cast in the contract role of Detective Nathan West. The December 30th edition of Soap Opera Digest revealed that Paevey's first scenes were with Kirsten Storms, who played Maxie Jones. ABC Soaps In Depth confirmed the character's full name to be Nathan West. Paevey made his debut as a contract cast member. Though he was originally slated to appear on December 27, Paevey's first air date was pushed back to December 30, due to news coverage.During an interview with AfterBuzz TV, Paevey revealed that the rather unconventional casting process started when he was just lounging around with his close friends and management team and one of his managers suggested that Paevey should meet with casting director Mark Teschner. Paevey revealed that when he first auditioned for the show, "there was no part. They just wanted some young blood on the show." The producers had the actor come in to read dummy sides quite a few times. He was brought back to audition again for executive producer Frank Valentini and other people from the network. During the audition process, he screen-tested opposite Storms and Chad Duell, who played Michael Corinthos. Of his casting, Paevey said, "This is my first series regular role, the first time I have a dressing room with my name on the door. I'm not an ego guy, but by the same token, I also kind of wanted to my best to fit in quickly." Paevey himself was shocked by his success because he had no prior acting experience when he auditioned for General Hospital.
In August 2025, it was announced Paevey was returning to General Hospital in an undisclosed role; the following month, it was announced he would reprise the role of Nathan beginning with the September 19 episode.
Characterization
The initial casting notice described the character as a "Caucasian" in his "late 20s" who is "handsome, sexy" and "dynamic." The character was further described as a "rich, privileged, charming badboy." However, the "badboy" characteristic appeared to have been dropped by the time of Paevey's casting. In an interview with Soap Opera Digest, Paevey described Nathan as a "good guy," who is "guided by a moral compass. He's a straight-shooter." Paevey described Nathan's demeanor as a cop as "hawklike focus." Ron Carlivati described Nathan as a "hard-nosed, buttoned-down, practical guy." Soap Opera Digest described Nathan as a "hard-driving cop character." Paevey told Soaps In Depth that Nathan's birth name, "James represents a part his family that is restricted." This complicates things further because he loves his family very much and there are several aspects of that family that make Nathan who he is. Paevey said that during the audition process when the character was being formed, he noticed that he and the character had a lot in common. Since the character's introduction, it has been very clear that "he's a law-abiding, true-seeking good guy." Paevey immediately rejected the notion that Nathan could have a dark side because of his genetics – "I don't think he's the type" Paevey insisted. "Sometimes a good egg comes out of a bad nest." According to Paevey, Nathan is not "morally ambiguous." He doesn't have some deep dark sketchy past that he is trying to live down. Nathan is "straight and he's clear. My gut tells me that," Paevey said. Paevey later said "I think the fact that his family was so busted up is the reason he's a good guy."Introduction (2014)
Not attaching Nathan to a specific love interest immediately allows for the writers to slowly integrate him into the canvas. Soaps In Depth reported that Nathan's isn't just some "run-of-the-mill" cop, but "he's on a mission to stir things up for a few people!" It is soon revealed that Nathan is in town investigating his estranged brother-in-law Silas Clay in the attempted murder of his comatose sister Nina. However, Silas's former mistress Ava Jerome is also at the top of the suspect list. In 2014, legendary actress Donna Mills, known for her portrayal of Abby Cunningham on the prime time soap, Knots Landing was cast in the role of Madeline Reeves—Nathan's mother. It is revealed that Madeline raised Nathan to believe Silas was guilty and he is working on her behalf to lock Silas up for Nina's condition. Despite acting to avenge his sister, Nathan tolerates Madeline's disdain for his career choice because she thinks it is "below them." Nathan partners up with Silas and his girlfriend Sam Morgan to set a trap for Ava believing she is guilty. However, the sting operation doesn't go as planned when Madeline is revealed to be the culprit—and Nathan is forced to arrest her.Lineage
Madeline's arrest sets the stage for several more revelations starting with Nathan being revealed to be the biological son of Madeline's estranged sister, Liesl Obrecht and therefore the half-brother of Obrecht's daughter Britt Westbourne. Nathan is "dumbfounded" by the shift in his family dynamics, much like Paevey himself. Madeline is forced to come clean after learning that Nathan and Britt nearly slept together. Soaps In Depth said Nathan is in a "rock and hard place" with mothers like Obrecht and Madeline. Nathan must come to terms with the fact that "the murderer he thought to be his mother is actually his aunt. And the murderer he believed to be just another nutjob is actually his biological mother!" According to Paevey, Nathan is immediately put off by the revelation of his connection to Obrecht due to her less than stellar reputation and he is reluctant to have anything to do with her. While she is genuinely interested in building a relationship, he is not. Though Paevey expected Nathan to eventually bond with Obrecht, Ron Carlivati insisted it would take much more than the information for Nathan to come to see Liesl as his mother especially because of his feelings towards Madeline. Nathan struggles with trusting anyone because his entire life has been a lie. And because there is so much happening in his life at the time Nathan's feelings about the situation get pushed to the side. As Madeline is carted off to prison, she drops yet another bomb on Nathan by revealing that Nina is very much alive. For Nathan, his relationship with Nina has always been "sacrosanct" and he is that one good thing in her life which makes him vulnerable to her schemes. According to Paevey, "Nina is the one pure memory of childhood." When Madeline is released from prison, Nathan tries to give her the benefit of the doubt because her actions don't negate the good she did in raising him. As for his feelings toward Obrecht, Nathan recognizes she isn't "all-bad." Despite giving them a chance, Paevey said "nothing really surprises him anymore" when it comes to his family. Nathan's expectations are not too high because "he already knows that everybody in his family is a mess." In 2014, Paevey said "Nathan is intrinsically distrustful of the concept of his family."Despite the recent revelations about Nathan's other familial connections, in May 2014 Paevey himself wondered if Nathan's paternity would be addressed. With the reveal that Obrecht is his mother, On-Air On-Soaps immediately speculated that Cesar Faison who had recently been revealed as his sister Britt's father could be Nathan's father too. However, Carol Baroom from SoapHub said the Faison theory "doesn't make sense" because there would have been no reason for Obrecht to give Nathan up—she would have raised him with Faison and Britt. Faison as Nathan's father would also contradict Obrecht's prior disappointment with being unable to give him a male heir. Baroom also suggested that Obrecht feels it would hurt Faison to know she had another man's child. In December 2014, it is made clear that Faison would have never accepted another man's child.
In June 2014, when Thaao Penghlis announced that he would reprise his role as Victor Cassadine, Daytime Confidential speculated that Victor could turn out to be Nathan's father. During an interview in July 2014, Ryan Paevey guessed that his character would turn out to be a member of the famous, yet infamous Cassadine family. Meanwhile, speculation increased when Penghlis invited Paevey to appear with him at his book signing and fed into the rumors with cryptic messages on social media. However, Penghlis refused to confirm or deny the potential plot twist when he was questioned by Soaps In Depth. Then head writer Ron Carlivati revealed that there was much more to Victor and Obrecht's relationship than expected. Though she viewed Victor as the more "feasible" candidate for Nathan's father, Carol Baroom immediately questioned Obrecht's motives for hiding Nathan from Victor and vice versa. Obrecht claims Victor as Nathan's father in September 2014 only for Victor to order a DNA test which disproves that theory. However, Obrecht kills Victor before he can tell Nathan that they aren't father and son after all. She then allows Nathan and the rest of the world to believe her lie.
In March 2015, Janette Smith of Soap Opera Spy recognized that Obrecht "fears for the safety of Nathan if his father is ever revealed" and proposed yet another potential candidate as Nathan's father. Based on Obrecht going to such extreme lengths to keep Nathan from questioning his paternity, Smith speculated that Nathan's father could actually be the never before seen Valentin Cassadine—a character that was slated to be introduced in 2009, but the story was terminated before it hit airwaves. Even the notoriously evil Helena Cassadine who had wreaked havoc on Port Charles for years was visibly terrified of Valentin when the character was first mentioned in 2009 as he was supposed to be more much more lethal than any of the other Cassadines. In May 2016, Paevey commented on the character's paternity plot taking a backseat as his story progressed and felt it would definitely be addressed sometime in the future. However, Paevey admitted that the writers were very adamant about a Cassadine connection. When Valentin comes after Nathan's supposed daughter Charlotte in October 2016, SoapHubs Hope Campbell speculated that the series had finally set the stage to solve the two-year long mystery of Nathan's paternity.