Dante Falconeri

Dante Falconeri is a fictional character from General Hospital, an American soap opera on the ABC network, played by Dominic Zamprogna. Zamprogna made his debut on June 22, 2009. In 2018, Zamprogna announced his decision to leave the role, and departed on June 28, 2018; he later returned for a one-off episode on November 12, 2018. In 2019, he again reprised the role from March 15 to March 29. The following year, he returned in a full-time capacity.

Under executive producer Jill Farren Phelps and head writer, Robert Guza, Dante is introduced to the series as an undercover cop investigating mob boss, Sonny Corinthos, who happens to be his father. In addition to his initial investigation of Sonny, Dante's most significant stories include his romance with Lulu Spencer, his unintentionally landing his brother Michael in prison, his past relationships with Brook Lynn Ashton and Brenda Barrett, and his friendship with Ronnie Dimestico.

In 2011, Dante and Lulu are married and under executive producer Frank Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati, the couple embarks on a journey to have a child. However, they are forced to utilize Maxie Jones as a surrogate which ends in them losing custody of another child which proves to be Maxie's own. It is then revealed that Dante and Lulu's embryo was stolen and birthed by Dr. Britt Westbourne. The couple is eventually reunited with their son whom they name Rocco. In 2013, in honor of General Hospital's 50th anniversary celebration, Dante and Lulu are featured in a revisit of the iconic 1980s storyline, known as the Ice Princess, the original of which featured Lulu's legendary supercouple parents, Luke and Laura.

Zamprogna's performance has been met with critical acclaim, having garnered him Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series in 2014, 2016 and 2019. He ascended and earned a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2021.

Dominic Pirelli arrives in town and immediately ingratiates himself to mob boss Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) when he saves his life during an ambush and rescues his son Morgan (Aaron Refvem). He also becomes smitten with Lulu Spencer (then Julie Marie Berman) much to the dismay of her brothers Lucky (Greg Vaughan) and Ethan (Nathan Parsons). Meanwhile, it is revealed that Dominic is actually Dante, an undercover cop. On Sonny's orders, Dante teams up with his mother's boyfriend, Johnny Zacchara (Brandon Barash) to destroy a drug shipment and ends up getting arrested. Dante gets himself released after he clues the PCPD in on his investigation of Sonny. Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher) discovers Dante's identity and urges him to arrest Sonny sooner. Dante confesses his identity to Lulu when she gets trapped in the freezing water beneath the Zacchara mansion in an attempt to keep her alive. Meanwhile, Dante is furious with his childhood mentor, Ronnie Dimestico when he learns that Ronnie aided the release of the crazed serial killer/artist Franco (James Franco) when Dante arrested him; Franco later kidnaps Lulu forcing Dante to rescue her.

In January 2010, Dante's attempt to arrest Sonny ends with him getting shot. Dante is shocked to learn Sonny is his father, but instead of turning Sonny in for shooting him, he decides to send him to prison for killing his wife, Claudia Zacchara (Sarah Joy Brown). Dante is shocked to learn that Sonny was covering for Michael and his persistence lands Michael in prison. With the whole world against them, Dante and Lulu grow closer. Meanwhile, Carly Corinthos Jacks' (Laura Wright) attempt at getting revenge on Dante for sending her son Michael to prison culminates in Lulu catching Brook Lynn Ashton (Adrianne León) with a drugged Dante. In the summer of 2010, Dante's past with Brenda Barrett (Vanessa Marcil) comes to light and drives a wedge between himself and Lulu. Dante and Lulu eventually reconcile as her father Luke Spencer (Anthony Geary) goes on a drunken binge following his accidental hit and run of his grandson Jake Spencer. Lulu follows him to Florida forcing Dante to go after her. When the owner of the bordello Lulu is working at discovers Dante is a cop, he attempts to rape Lulu, and Dante saves her. Upon their return to Port Charles, the couple moves in together. On the night he is about to propose, Dante gets shot covering a shift for the drug addicted Lucky (Jonathan Jackson) making Lulu rethink marriage. They eventually get past the fear and decide to marry in his hometown of Brooklyn. In 2012, Sonny stops Dante from getting shot. Meanwhile, Dante and Lulu begin working together when she suspects Ronnie of attacking strippers in Port Charles. Ronnie kidnaps Lulu and attempts to kill her and frames Dante in the process. With assistance from John McBain (Michael Easton), Dante is able to rescue Lulu and Ronnie is killed. When Olivia begins having LSD induced visions, she sees Lulu pregnant. The couple begins trying to conceive and Lulu learns she can't carry to term. Lulu's best friend Maxie Jones (Kirsten Storms) agrees to be their surrogate. In March 2013, as the couple celebrates the first sonogram with their parents, including Lulu's mother Laura Spencer (Genie Francis), Lulu (now Emme Rylan) is abducted. Luke and Laura believe their old rival Helena Cassadine (Constance Towers) to be behind the disappearance. The group tracks Helena down and a shootout ends in her death. At the Cassadine family compound in Greece, Dante finds Lulu cryogenically frozen thank to Stavros Cassadine (Robert Kelker-Kelly) who has become obsessed with her. Dante, Luke and Laura manage to free an amnesiac Lulu and after much persistence, Lulu regains her memories. The couple then prepares for the birth of their baby.

In early 2015, having been made aware of Luke's recent behavior thanks to Ned Ashton (Wally Kurth), Dillon Quartermaine (Robert Palmer Watkins) returns to Port Charles to check up on Tracy Quartermaine (Jane Elliot) and reluctantly gives his support to Tracy and Luke's most recent engagement. Dillon also reconnects with Lulu and meets her husband Dante. Valerie Spencer (Brytni Sarpy) comes to Port Charles with her mother (Dee Wallace) and Lulu. Valerie finds herself having a crush on Date. As she tries to control her emotions, it gets harder. In mid 2015, Dillon and Lulu also both travel to Canada to help her parents Luke and Laura (Anthony Geary and Genie Francis) and Holly Sutton (Emma Samms) rescue Lulu's brothers Lucky Spencer (Jonathan Jackson) and Ethan Lovett (Nathan Parsons), after they were both kidnapped by mobster and Luke's old enemy Frank Smith (Joseph Cortese). During this time, Dante thinks Lulu has cheated on him with Dillon. Valerie has a crush on Dante. Following her mother's death, Valerie takes refuge with her cousin Lulu her husband Dante. Valerie also starts working as the police administrative aid for the police station. Stricken with grief, Valerie bonds with Dante who was also raised by a single mother and they eventually have a one-night stand. Dante confides in Nathan West (Ryan Paevey.) Valerie briefly dates Lulu's ex-lover Dillon. She eventually confides in him only for Dillon who is still hung up on Lulu to publicly expose the affair at a halloween party. Dante and Lulu cannot overcome all that has happened so they agree to divorce. In 2016, they decided to not sign the divorce papers and give their marriage a second chance by going to couple's therapy. Following their reconciliation, the couple move into a new home, and begin discussions of having a second child together. In December, Dante and Lulu meet Lulu's daughter Charlotte Cassadine with Valentin Cassadine (James Patrick Stuart). In June 2018, Dante leaves Port Charles to join the WSB in finding Raj Patel, the man who attacked and attempted to kill Lulu two years prior.

In March 2019, Sonny goes undercover to find Dante, bringing him to Turkey, where they work together to escape, resulting in Dante killing Raj in self-defense. When Dante returns home and reunites with his family, he begins showing signs of PTSD with nightmares and episodes, even going as far as attempting to pull a knife on Jason Morgan (Steve Burton) without realizing it. Dante leaves Port Charles and Lulu files for divorce, which he does not contest. The following year, Dante is seen in a WSB Facility in Switzerland. He is released in September to take down Peter August (Wes Ramsey). It's later revealed that Liesl Obrecht (Kathleen Gati) is the one who arranged for Dante to be released, and it's also revealed that she ordered Dr. Kirk (Christopher Cousins) to brainwash Dante into completing the mission.