Johnny Wactor was protecting coworker when he was fatally shot, his brother says

NME

General Hospital actor Johnny Wactor was protecting his female coworker when he was fatally shot on Saturday (May 25) morning in Los Angeles, his brother has revealed.

Grant Wactor, the younger brother of Johnny, spoke to Daily Mail yesterday (May 27) about the tragic incident. He said Johnny had finished his side job as a bartender and left his place of work with a coworker when “he came across [the three men] and he thought his truck was being towed”.

“So he said something to the guys, like, ‘Hey, are you towing?’ And then once he turned around, he saw what was happening and he put his coworker behind him,” Grant recounted. “And that’s when they shot him.”

The younger Wactor confirms that his brother was shot in the chest as he protected his coworker. The armed thieves were reportedly attempting to remove a catalytic converter from Wactor’s vehicle. Grant was told by police that Johnny did not fight the thieves, opting instead to back away and protect his coworker as the shot was fired.

Grant told Daily Mail he’s unsurprised his brother looked out for his coworker during the incident. ‘We’re Southern, born and raised, and we would never let a female walk to their car by herself,” he said.

Upon initial news of his death, tributes from former colleagues poured into social media – his agent David Shaul called Wactor “not just a talented actor” but a “real moral example to everyone who knew him.”

NBC4 followed up yesterday with responses from Wactor’s friends in the industry. “This guy deserved the front page on Deadline for his talent, his skill and his art – not this,” said actor Micah Parker, who recently worked with Wactor on his now-final project. “I’m very angry that this kind of stuff is tolerated.”

Parker shared a still image of the two from the project, which was left unnamed in the post. “RIP big dog. Heaven got a real one,” he writes. “Long live the legend of Johnny Wactor.”

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A post shared by Micah Parker (@micahjoeparker)

Film director Mike Silver, who worked with Wactor on his 2016 short film The Interrogation, told NBC4: “This guy was just a true team player. He had no sense of his celebrity or what he had accomplished. He was always just wide, curious and interested.”

NBC4 also reports that Wactor had frequently taken part in the Hollywood actors’ strike of 2023, which ended in November.

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