Réal Andrews
# Réal Andrews

Réal Andrews (born Réal Johnson; January 31, 1963) is a Canadian actor. He is known for playing Chance Walker in the first season of the syndicated action drama series Soldier of Fortune, Inc., and for playing Marcus Taggert on the ABC daytime soap opera General Hospital since 1996.

## Early life and education

Born Réal Johnson, Andrews was raised in Vancouver, British Columbia by a single mother. Andrews did not have a relationship with his biological father, a musician who abandoned Andrews and his mother when he was only a few years old. Andrews only met his birth father one time while in college. When Andrews was 21 years old, his mother Troy married Cyril Nathan Andrews, who adopted Reál as his own. Andrews was raised as a Catholic and attended an all boys private school. Growing up, Andrews wasn't interested in acting at all and described himself as a jock. Andrews was first exposed to acting when his aunt invited him to a seminar at her acting school. In 1981, the 18 year Andrews relocated to Toronto, Canada for college where found work in the entertainment industry.

## Career

Andrews started his career in 1981 as a stuntman, becoming one of the first Black stunt men in Canada. While he had a long list of credits, Andrews had been working as a struggling actor for years by the time he booked General Hospital in late 1996. Marcus Taggert which originally was an "under-five" role which would help launch Andrews career. From 1997 to 1999, Andrews would also star in the Dan Gordon created series, Soldier of Fortune, Inc.. He would leave the role of Taggert for a few months in 1997 only to return by year's end. In 2003, Andrews chose not to renew his contract with General Hospital and Taggert was written in May 2003. Andrews quickly joined the cast of CBS Daytime's As the World Turns as Walker Daniels in 2003. Only a year later, Andrews was let go from the series. In 2010, Andrews joined the cast of the web series, The Bay as Dr. Keith Campbell. In 2015, Andrews joined the cast of Days of Our Lives in a recurring role. In 2020, Andrews made an unannounced return to General Hospital as Taggert on January 17, 2020.

## Personal life

On November 4, 2000, Andrews married Michele Viscasso. They have three children together.

## Filmography

### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | Iceman | Lab tech | |
| 1984 | Listen to the City | Green | |
| 1986 | Busted Up | Auditioning fighter | |
| 1987 | Wild Thing | Raul | |
| 1987 | Nowhere to Hide | Luther | |
| 1987 | City of Shadows | Thug in Diner | |
| 1987 | Last Man Standing | Razor | |
| 1988 | Night Friend | Myles | |
| 1989 | Food of the Gods II | Mark | |
| 1989 | Born on the Fourth of July | Vet #3 | |
| 1989 | Renegades | Cop | |
| 1994 | Final Round | Carlos | Direct-to-video film |
| 2006 | Movin' Too Fast | Detective #2 | |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| - | - | - | - |
| 1984 | The Glitter Dome | Cooley | Television film |
| 1985 | Night Heat | 4 roles | 4 episodes |
| 1986 | In This Corner | Fighter #2 | Television film |
| 1987 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Gordon | Episode: "The Day They Came to Arrest the Book" |
| 1987 | 21 Jump Street | Drug dealer | Episode: "Besieged: Part 1" |
| 1988 | China Beach | Patient #3 | Episode: "Waiting for Beckett" |
| 1989 | Street Legal | Wendell Walker | Episode: "Basketball Story" |
| 1989 | Friday the 13th: The Series | Deacon | Episode: "Night Hunger" |
| 1989 | Hard Time on Planet Earth | Deacon Powell | Episode: "All That You Can Be" |
| 1989 | C.B.C.'s Magic Hour | Tommy Mills | Episode: "The Fighter" |
| 1989 | E.N.G. | Roy | Episode: "Pilot: Parts 1 & Part 2" |
| 1990 | War of the Worlds | Man in Bar | Episode: "Synthetic Love" |
| 1992 | Catwalk | Tyrone | Episode: "Life's Not Black 'n White" |
| 1993 | Night Owl | Ivan | Television film |
| 1995 | Days of Our Lives | Robert Parry | Guest role |
| 1996–2003, 2020–present | General Hospital | Marcus Taggert | Series regular: 1996–2003; recurring role: 2020–present |
| 1998 | Port Charles | Marcus Taggert | Recurring role |
| 1997 | Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | Chance Walker | Main role (season 1) |
| 2003 | As the World Turns | Walker Daniels | Recurring role |
| 2005, 2009 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Sergeant Ray Crawford / Army Recruiter | Episodes: "Blood", "Turmoil" |
| 2006 | Law & Order | Deon | Episode: "Release" |
| 2010 | The Bay | Keith Campbell | Recurring role |
| 2016–2017 | Days of Our Lives | Hal Michaels | Recurring role: May 12, 2016 to March 9, 2017 |
