Stephen Earl Nichols (born February 19, 1951) is an American actor, recognized for his roles on American daytime soap operas. He has portrayed Steve "Patch" Johnson on NBC's Days of Our Lives on and off since 1985. In 1996, he joined the cast of ABC's General Hospital as Stefan Cassadine; he exited the role in 2003. From 2009 to 2013, he portrayed the role of Tucker McCall on The Young and the Restless. Career After turning down an art scholarship to Ohio State University, he traveled west, studied yoga and lived as a monk while preparing vegetarian meals for the monks and nuns in a Hollywood ashram. After three years of celibacy, a steady diet of ice cream and the films of Truffaut and Bergman, he landed at the Theater Academy of Los Angeles City College where he studied for two years. Nichols went on to study with Stella Adler, Jack Colvin and Harry Mastrorgeorge. For his stage work, Nichols has been honored with three Drama-Logue Awards and two LA Weekly Theater Awards for his performances in such notable productions as Pieces of Time (for his portrayal of real-life killer, Donald Bashor), for Delirious (directed by Ron Link), and as Jim Morrison in the last thirty-six hours of his life in The Lizard King. Nichols also appeared at LATC in Rick Clutchey's The Cage, in the award-winning production of Michael Cristofer's The Shadow Box at Theater East and Love Letters, during its initial run at the Canon Theater. Most recently, Nichols appeared in He Hunts at the Geffen Playhouse and was seen in the U.S. première of Joe Pintaro's The Dead Boy, for which Nichols received a Maddy Award. Days of Our Lives His original portrayal of Steve "Patch" Johnson (1985–90) earned him an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Actor in a Leading Role and five Soap Opera Digest Best Actor Awards. Steve and Kayla (Mary Beth Evans) remain one of the most popular couples, and the most-covered, on Days of our Lives ever. Nichols talked about one of their favorite storylines and shared, “Mary Beth likes Emily and Gideon. It was a fantasy, it wasn’t really us, but we were reading this beautiful diary, in the old mansion, and then it would flash to the characters.” Nichols returned to the role of Steve (Patch) Johnson on Days of Our Lives in 2006, and played the role until 2009. On April