With his athletic build, perpetual facial hair and mysterious air, this stage-trained actor has thrived in soaps since the '80s. After a handful of TV spots, Nichols landed his career-making
Days of our Lives role as an infamous, eye-patch-sporting hunk (nicknamed "Patch," of course). He left the show in 1990 and began popping up in prime time with recurring roles on
Empty Nest and the short-lived drama
Second Chances. But in 1996 he returned to his daytime roots and spent seven years as an evil CEO on
General Hospital. In 2006, 16 years after his character was ostensibly killed, an amnesia-stricken Patch came back to
Days. Off screen, Nichols is married with three children — his daughter Vanessa and son Aaron (as Patch in flashbacks) both appeared with him on Days back in the 80's — and provides the voice for many IKEA commercials.
Stephen Nichols Fast Facts:
- Turned down an art scholarship to Ohio State University.
- Trained as an actor at the Los Angeles City College Theatre Academy.
- His role as Steve "Patch" Johnson on Days of Our Lives earned him widespread recognition among television viewers and once ranked him second in the TVQ ratings (Bill Cosby was #1).
- Nominated for a Daytime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 1988 for Days of Our Lives.
- Stephen Nichols Relationships:
- Aaron Nichols - Son
- Dylan Nichols - Daughter
- Lisa Nichols - Wife
- Vanessa Nichols - Daughter
