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He survived what was
very often a painful and unhappy childhood. He hitchhiked
across the country at age 14 looking for answers. "I've
always had a sense that there was some greater purpose in
the universe and that greater purpose would support me in my
life. Even when people let me down, I knew I had a reason
and a purpose for being."
At 19 , after years of
pain and confusion, he found those answers, he said. He
turned down a scholarship to Ohio State to study Art and
went to California to give his life to a higher calling. He
became a monk. It was there, he said, that he found all the
answers. "I discovered a whole new world inside myself that
seemed more real than anything on the outside. So I decided
to dedicate my life to being a monk." He studied in the
monastery for 3 years but when the time came to take his
final vows, he realized the life of a monk was not the one
truly meant for him.
He left, not knowing what
he'd do but knowing that this answer too would come to him.
It did and he discovered his true calling, what he says is
his contribution, the gift he offers, his work. He studied
sculpture. He studied to become a serious pianist like his
father who was a gifted jazz pianist but was unable to
continue when his quest to find his father ended in
heartbreak.
He performed in a play at
Los Angeles City College, "A Street Car Named Desire" and
once again experienced a turning point in his life. "There
was such a connection with the audience", he recalls. "It
was as if I were playing a beautiful song and people were
enjoying it. I was almost in tears." He auditioned for the
Los Angeles Theater Academy and was accepted. A few years
later he embarked on his stage career in L.A. He immediately
won acclaim for his performances, then did films and
television, landing his first television role on Days of Our
Lives in a portrayal he transformed into a daytime
phenomenon. (It's been said that no character has ever moved
an audience to the degree that scarred, abused child Steve
Patch Johnson did.)
He found his father when
his first child was about to be born, a quest his heart had
followed all of his life. But it was too late, he once
recounted, and no matter how hard he tried, there was
nothing he could do to save him.
He dedicates his time to
fighting child abuse and homelessness, devotes himself to
his three children above all else and then his work. He has
touched millions of fans with the message of his art, with
the humanity, tragedy, pain and strength of the characters
he creates. He has always loved his fans, had a unique and
close relationship with them. He visits them in hospitals,
calls them on the phone, becomes closest it seems to those
who are sick, disabled or in need.
He says that perhaps his
fans identify and empathize with the characters he plays. I
think it is him with whom we identify, that he and the
reflection of him we see in the many roles he plays are who
we have truly come to care about and love.
Quotes courtesy of Soap
Opera Magazine, "Stephen Nichols: A Man For All Seasons"
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