Who did Evan Ellingson play in General Hospital? former child actor's role explored

Former child star Evan Ellingson recently passed away after an accidental drug overdose. It marked a sad day for soap opera and network television fans, where the young actor dedicated much of his talent. Making his debut in Living in Fear in 2001, the young star gained a lot of recognition while playing Young Luke Spencer on General Hospital, one of Daytime's most important characters.

But Evan Ellingson suffered from early fame and got hooked on drugs at the age of 19, following the death of his older brother from a heroin overdose. This continued for quite some time before he sought to quit it in 2021. Since then, Ellingson was known to be on his path to recovery.

But the 35-year-old actor reportedly succumbed to an accidental overdose of fentanyl, as per Bernardino County Sheriff’s Department and The Hollywood Reporter. This contradicts Ellingson's father's confirmation that the actor was residing in a sober living home at the time of his death.

At the time of his death, Ellingson had not made any appearances on TV or films for over ten years.

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Everything to know about Evan Ellingson's role as Luke Spencer in General Hospital

Evan Ellingson appeared on General Hospital as one of Daytime television's most popular characters. Of course, the child actor was not "the" Luke Spencer, who was played by Anthony Geary from 1978 until his departure in July 2015, but the young star portrayed a younger Luke Spencer in the show.

Evan Ellingson appeared in a handful of episodes in General Hospital, where he took up the role of Luke Spencer as a child while the show delved back into his story. Ellingson only worked in General Hospital in 2001, following which he did not make any appearance on the show again.

The 35-year-old actor, however, appeared in many other prominent roles in different shows after this particular stint in General Hospital, which sort of opened up a lot of avenues for the actor.

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What happened to Evan Ellingson?

Evan Ellingson struggled with drug abuse at age 19 following the death of his older brother from a heroin overdose, which also slowed down his acting career. After he worked significantly well as a child star, Ellingson's presence in the entertainment industry almost faded as an adult. He did not take up any role after his appearance on CSI: Miami, which lasted till 2010.

Since then, the actor has stayed mostly out of the spotlight. He once told The Philippine Star in a 2009 interview:

"I never had the same [childhood] experience with my friends. I never had more time with them. However, my childhood was a cool one. I was busy doing the things I love. I had no regrets because I found my passion for acting early on."

Since 2021, Ellingson has reportedly been fighting a difficult battle against his drug addiction. The former child star passed away on November 5, 2023, from an alleged accidental fentanyl overdose.

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All Evan Ellingson's movies and TV shows

Though Evan Ellingson departed from the line of acting quite early on, he worked on many projects over his time in the industry. One of his most noteworthy roles was portraying Jesse Fitzgerald, the teen son of Cameron Diaz’s Sara, in 2009's adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s My Sister’s Keeper.

Apart from this, Ellingson also appeared in Rules of the Game, That Was Then, Mad TV, Titus, The Gristle, Bones, Complete Savages, Confession, Bondage, Letters from Iwo Jima, 24, State of Mind, Walk the Talk, and CSI: Miami, which was also his final acting role.