Tyler Christopher (actor)

Tyler Christopher Baker (November 11, 1972 – October 31, 2023) was an American actor. He was best known for his roles as Nikolas Cassadine (1996–1999, 2003–2011, 2013–2016) and Connor Bishop (2004–2005) on the ABC soap opera General Hospital.

In August 2016, it was announced that Christopher would be joining the cast of the NBC soap opera Days of Our Lives<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> as the son of long-time villains Stefano DiMera and Vivian Alamain. His tenure on the show began December 29, 2017. Christopher left the series on March 20, 2019.

Early life

Tyler Christopher Baker was born in the Chicago suburb of Joliet, Illinois, on November 11, 1972,<ref name="ROY SOD 1996">Template:Cite journal</ref> to Jim and Jimi-Ann Baker and grew up in Delaware, Ohio,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> the youngest of four children.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Though his parents believed they had Native American heritage, a DNA test taken by his father and sister showed no Native American ancestry.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>See at 29:09Template:Dead link</ref>

Christopher attended Ohio Wesleyan University for two years.<ref name="people">Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Career

In 1993, Christopher — then credited as Tyler Baker — auditioned for the role of Stone Cates for the soap opera General Hospital; the role was later cast with actor Michael Sutton.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In April 1996, Christopher was cast in the role of Nikolas Cassadine for the series; he signed a three-year deal and filmed his first scenes in late June 1996.<ref name="ROY SOD 1996" /><ref name="SID 020299">Template:Cite journal</ref> In June 1999, it was announced that Christopher opted not to renew his deal with the soap opera.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Following his daytime departure, Christopher made guest appearances on primetime shows including Charmed, Angel, Felicity, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. In March 2003, it was announced that Christopher would return to General Hospital; then-executive producer Jill Farren Phelps described Christopher's return as an opportunity the series could not pass up.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In March 2011, Soap Opera Digest reported on their social media accounts that Christopher had been let go from the series, because of his casting on ABC Family's The Lying Game, produced by former General Hospital head writer Charles Pratt Jr.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Christopher verified the reports of his firing to ABC Soaps In Depth; he explained that he had been released from his deal on Friday March 18, 2011, and the character of Nikolas was to be written out. Christopher's deal was set to expire in June and the date would have marked the beginning of the last 13 week-cycle period in his deal—at which time the network would notify the actor of their decision to offer another deal. While Christopher had previously admitted he was unsure about renewing his deal, he was open to working both shows and thought it was a likely possibility considering they were both under ABC.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Christopher last appeared on June 30, 2011; he later returned for a three-day guest appearance from July 27 to July 30, 2011.Template:Citation needed

In March 2013, Christopher returned in a recurring capacity at General Hospital, while continuing to appear on The Lying Game. In June 2013, it was announced that Christopher had signed a deal to appear on a regular basis on General Hospital.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> The following month, it was announced that The Lying Game had been canceled after two seasons.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In May 2016, actor Nick Stabile was temporarily cast in the role of Nikolas, with Christopher being unavailable, for an undisclosed amount of time.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> In September 2016, Soap Opera Digest reported that negotiations between Christopher and the serial had fallen apart, and that he would not be reprising his portrayal of Nikolas. Christopher made his last appearance on June 16, 2016.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In August 2017, it was announced that Christopher had joined the cast of Days of Our Lives in a newly created role. Christopher previously made a one-episode guest appearance on the soap in 2001. He made his first appearance as Stefan DiMera on December 29, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> His last episode was March 20, 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Christopher was married to Eva Longoria from 2002 to 2004. He was previously engaged to General Hospital co-star Vanessa Marcil and dated Natalia Livingston.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He and auto racing reporter Brienne Pedigo publicly announced their engagement in October 2006;<ref name="soaps.sheknows.com">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Christopher and Pedigo married September 27, 2008.<ref name="soaps.sheknows.com"/> The couple had their first child, a son, on October 3, 2009.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="GH's Tyler Christopher/">Fit for a Prince". Soap Opera Digest. July 22, 2013. p. 45.</ref> In October 2014, it was announced that Christopher and his wife were expecting their second child, due in May 2015.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> On May 3, 2015, Christopher announced on his official Twitter feed that Brienne Pedigo had given birth to a baby girl.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Brienne Pedigo filed for divorce in February 2019.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In later years of his life, Christopher was open about his bipolar disorder and alcoholism.<ref name=":0">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He claimed to have died 3 times in alcohol related instances.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In November 2019 while Christopher was going through alcohol withdrawal, he experienced delirium tremens, leading to a fall during which he hit his head on the edge of a bathtub and sustained a traumatic brain injury.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He underwent a craniotomy to relieve pressure on his brain.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

After recovering from his head injury and ending a medical guardianship under his sister in September 2021, Christopher moved to Hollywood from Ohio to try to find work as an actor where he was homeless for the first six months.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Before his death, he was close friends with General Hospital co-star Maurice Benard who is also diagnosed with bipolar disorder and gave support to Christopher.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Legal issues

On November 11, 2019, Christopher was arrested and charged with public intoxication in Martinsville, Morgan County, Indiana after falling asleep in the back of an Uber car. He pleaded guilty and paid a small fine.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

From January 2020 to September 2021, Christopher was placed under the medical guardianship of his sister Susan Asmo Baker following a nearly fatal head injury. After requesting that the guardianship be ended and his sister approving, he filed a lawsuit against her, citing guardianship abuse and alleging that she misused $40,000.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In May 2023, Christopher was arrested on suspicion of public intoxication at the Hollywood Burbank Airport. Police responded to reports of a drunk male and arrived to find him sleeping on the ground near a terminal. He was arrested and fined.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Death

On October 31, 2023, 11 days before his 51st birthday, Christopher was found dead. His cause of death was revealed to be positional asphyxia due to acute alcohol intoxication.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> He was 50 years old.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

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Year	TV & Film	Role	Notes
1996–2016	General Hospital	Nikolas Cassadine Connor Bishop	July 15, 1996 – July 14, 1999, April 21, 2003 – July 30, 2011, March 22, 2013, to June 16, 2016 October 26, 2004 – January 25, 2005
1999	Catfish in Black Bean Sauce	Michael
2000	Face the Music	Dan
	The Pretender	Ethan	2 episodes: "The Inner Sense" (part 1 & 2)
	Charmed	Anton	1 episode
	Angel	Bret Folger	1 episode
	Family Law	Neil Lumston	1 episode
2001	The Pretender 2001	Ethan
	Days of Our Lives	Signore Christofero	1 episode
	Felicity	Clubgoer	1 episode
	Out of the Black	Cole Malby
	Sam's Circus	Sgt. Samuel Van Handle
	Special Unit 2	Det. David Scott	1 episode
2002	Frogmen Operation Stormbringer	Captain Rick Jeffries
	The Division	Seaman Stan Bellows	1 episode
	JAG	GSGT Joe Akers	1 episode
	Boomtown	Holden McKay	1 episode
	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Billy Rattison	1 episode
	The Twilight Zone	Dr. Jay Ferguson	Episode: "One Night at Mercy"
2003	Crossing Jordan	Officer Fisher	1 episode
2005	Into the West	Jacob Wheeler Jr.	unknown episodes
2006	Secrets of a Small Town	Grant Wilson	Unaired television pilot
2009	Raven	Vlad
	The New York City Kitties	Alexandar Vander Platt/Handsome Devil
2011–2013	The Lying Game	Dan Whitehorse	Recurring role, 27 episodes
2014	Beyond the Lights	Liam King
Template:Nowrap	Days of Our Lives	Stefan DiMera	Series regular
2018	F.R.E.D.I.	Randy	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2023	Icestorm	Griffin

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Project	Result	Template:Abbr
1997	Soap Opera Digest Award	Best Newcomer	General Hospital	Template:Won
	First Americans in the Arts	Outstanding Performer in a Television Series		Template:Won
1998	First Americans in the Arts	Outstanding Performer in a Television Series		Template:Won
	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series		Template:Nom	<ref name="1998 Nom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	TV Guide	12 Hottest Daytime Stars		Template:Won	<ref>TV Guide, June 1998</ref>Template:Better source needed
2004	NAACP Image Award	Outstanding Actor in a Daytime Drama Series		Template:Nom
2005	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series		Template:Nom	<ref name="2005 Nom">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2006				Template:Nom	<ref name="NATAS 2006">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2011	American Indian Film Institute	Best Supporting Actor in a Movie		Template:Won
2016	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	General Hospital	Template:Won	<ref name="NATAS 2016 Wins">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
2019			Days of Our Lives	Template:Nom

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0160637

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• Tyler Christopher at the TV.com
• 68 Cent Crew Theater site