Chad Allen Joins 'General Hospital: Night Shift' Cast

Actor and advocate Chad Allen, who played Matthew Cooper on Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman is joining General Hospital: Night Shift for three episodes. He plays a patient, Eric Whitlow, who comes in for a liver transplant and develops a strong relationship with his doctor, Kyle Julian (Adam Grimes).

Allen's decision to "come out" as gay nearly stopped his career once Dr. Quinn ended in 1997, even though he had been acting since the age of five. However, he now has one film, On the Other Hand, Death out in 2008, and four others in post-production, so he seems to be doing very well now. Allen is well known and admired for his advocacy and charity: He has done exemplary work for the Toy Mountain Campaign and is on the Honorary Board of Directors for The Matthew Shepard Foundation. As an actor, he co-founded the Creative Outlet Theater Company in 1995 and enjoys doing theater when he's not involved in filming.