John-Paul Lavoisier has left his mark on daytime television with memorable turns on both One Life to Live as Rex and Days of Our Lives as Philip, he has become a familiar face in the soap world. Check out these five fast facts you may not have known!

What’s In A Name?

Lavoisier was born John-Paul Seponski on March 12 in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania. After high school, he moved to center-city Philadelphia to study jazz performance at the University of the Arts. His hometown is where they filmed the 1958 sci-fi film The Blob.

Everyday Hustle

Almost as soon as Lavoisier arrived in New York City, he hit the ground running, landing student films, print ads, extra work that earned him his union card, small theater productions, infomercials, and even a romance novel cover. While chasing his acting dreams, he kept the bills paid by waiting tables at the legendary Russian Tea Room.

Soap Stud

He began his acting career playing a model on Sex and the City and an orderly on All My Children before auditioning for OLTL five times, eventually being hired to play Rex Balsom in 2002. He stayed with the show until 2012 and then moved to the West Coast. From 2015 to 2016, John-Paul stepped into the role of Philip Kiriakis on DOOL. He briefly returned in 2023 before making a bigger comeback with a longer run that officially began in 2024.

To cement his stud status, he appeared in a photo shoot with fellow soap hunks from OLTL – David Fumero (Cristian), David Gregory (Ford), and Nic Robuck (James); AMC’s Trent Garrett (Colby) and Jordi Vilasuso (Griffin,) and General Hospital’s Brandon Barash (Johnny) and Chad Duell (Michael).

Home Zone

John-Paul played Benjamin Keane in the film Home Is Where The Killer Is, which aired on The CW and can now be found on Netflix.

Reality Bites

Lavoisier, DOOL’s Brandon Beemer (Shawn), Nadia Bjorlin (Chloe), Galen Gering (Rafe), along with GH’s Kelly Monaco (Sam) and Kirsten Storms (Maxie) starred in the series Dirty Soap, which ran on E! and followed a group of soap opera actors who are dealing with their own real-life drama. The show only aired for one season in 2011.

John-Paul and his on-screen mother, Ilene Kristen (Roxy), appeared on an episode of the gamer show, Street Smarts.