Occupation: Actor and film director

Children: Sierra Merteuil

Siblings: Marcus Blackthorne

Relationships: Jackie Lamont, Alex Reynolds, Renee Merteuil

Appearances: Seasons 3 & 6

Who’d Play Him: George Hamilton

The Return of a Matinee Idol: Nathan Blackthorne was one of the most celebrated actors of Hollywood’s golden age, a magnetic screen presence whose talent, beauty, and appetite for excess turned him into an international icon. Filmmaker Jonas Lamont helped shape Nathan’s career, casting him in major productions and bringing him into the powerful Lamont circle. Nathan’s association with Jonas also introduced him to Jacqueline Lamont, with whom he shared a passionate relationship that would continue, in one form or another, for decades.

Nathan later became involved with aspiring actress Alex Reynolds while they worked together on Serendipity Express. Alex was drawn to his power and believed he could advance her career, while Nathan became genuinely obsessed with her. Their relationship was disrupted when Nathan’s nephew, James, arrived in Hollywood and fell in love with Alex. She ultimately chose James, leaving Nathan humiliated and deeply resentful.

Unable to accept losing Alex, Nathan assaulted her years later while James was away on location. The crime became part of a wider pattern of allegations involving underage actresses whom Nathan was accused of exploiting with promises of stardom. During his trial for the statutory rape of Debralee Scott, Alex testified about what Nathan had done to her. After Nathan threatened her, she recanted and served thirty days in jail for perjury.

When Victor Distefano learned that the jury was leaning toward conviction, he helped Nathan flee aboard his private jet. Nathan escaped to Paris, where the lack of an extradition agreement allowed him to live in luxurious exile for twenty years. During that time, his movies continued to be celebrated and his legend grew, allowing much of the public to romanticize him while the women he harmed were left carrying the consequences.

James remained fiercely devoted to his uncle and eventually joined Jordan Rydell in engineering Nathan’s return to Hollywood. They located an adult Debralee, who publicly announced that she held no resentment toward Nathan and supported allowing him to come home. Nathan was arrested immediately after landing in Los Angeles but soon secured his release pending a new trial and successfully had the restrictions of his house arrest removed.

Nathan’s presence immediately destabilized the Blackthorne family. Alex opposed his return and struggled to make James accept what Nathan had done to her. James repeatedly defended his uncle, even when Nathan’s behavior began confirming the accusations against him. Again, while James was away on business, Nathan attempted to force himself on Brooke during a private dinner between the two. Brooke fought him off and locked herself in a bathroom, but James initially refused to believe her account.

Nathan was also confronted by the secret consequences of his relationship with Renee Merteuil. Years earlier, Renee had become pregnant with his child and secretly given birth to Sierra, later presenting the girl as her adopted daughter. When Sierra returned to Los Angeles, she developed an innocent fascination with Nathan without realizing he was her father. Renee desperately tried to keep them apart, fearing both the exposure of her lifelong deception and the danger Nathan represented.

The truth eventually emerged, forcing Nathan to accept that Sierra was his daughter. Whatever capacity he had for paternal affection came far too late to give her a stable relationship with him. Sierra’s life was already dominated by the lies, rivalries, and violence surrounding both of her parents, and she was later murdered by Benji Rydell after refusing to resume their relationship.

Nathan’s return ended with James finally recognizing the truth about the man he had idolized. His loyalty to Nathan had cost him the trust of Alex, Brooke, and much of his family. Nathan was ultimately removed from their lives and returned to imprisonment, while his ownership interest in Sunset Studios remained valuable enough to attract Jacqueline Lamont. Jackie later traveled to Paris and married him in prison, gaining proxy control over his studio shares.

Years later, Nathan returned to Los Angeles once more as Sunset Studios prepared a remake of The Benefactor, one of the films that had helped make him a legend. This time he appeared less as an all-powerful predator than as an aging icon confronting the wreckage of his past. A killer targeting people connected to the original production drew Nathan into the investigation and forced him to work alongside old allies and enemies.

Nathan’s return also revived his complicated relationship with Jackie. Despite decades of separation, betrayal, imprisonment, and other lovers, the two remained tied by history and by the world Jonas Lamont had created around them. They ultimately chose to remain married while maintaining separate residences—an arrangement that preserved their connection without requiring either of them to surrender independence.