Henry Coleman

Henry Coleman is a fictional character on the popular CBS daytime soap opera As the World Turns. The character of Henry first appeared in 1999, and is played by actor Trent Dawson.

For his first five years on the show, Dawson did not have a permanent contract, so the writers would bring his character back for a certain number of episodes and then film many episodes without him. In between filming, Dawson would act on the stage. Due to the huge popularity of his character, Trent was finally offered a contract in 2005, appearing ever since as a core character.

Character storyline history

Henry is the son of the evil James Stenbeck, and has two siblings; his brother Paul, and a sister, Maddie. From his description, their father bailed on the family, and his mother was a habitual gambler with a drinking problem who was often absent from the home, where Henry did a large part of the work in caring for his younger siblings. He enjoyed theater in high school, where he was also a track star. He attended an Ivy League university on scholarship but was kicked out for reasons that have yet to be revealed. Also, he claims to have done a stint in the Army during the Gulf War; he was trained as a medic but never saw combat. When he first arrived in Oakdale, he was working for television station WOAK. Henry seemed to be willing to do anything in his efforts to rise to the top, including poisoning Molly's sandwich and continually trying to help Katie steal the affections of Holden, who was married. He also worked for a time on Craig's newspaper, The Intruder. He later worked as a nanny to Jack and Carly Snyder's daughter Sage, as a private investigator, as a limousine driver, and most recently as a personal assistant to BJ Green.

Personality

Henry is sarcastic, witty, and charming, but he can also be manipulative and ruthless in reaching for his goals. He gambles and is infamous for his love of martinis. Usually he's only working for the money, as he's constantly broke. As well, Henry is a master of disguise, and has dressed in drag on numerous occasions. In one such instance, he pretended to be a pregnant woman named Henrietta at a doctor's office.

Katie Peretti

One memorable storyline saw Henry and Katie go off to a deserted island in order to find a rare diamond. Katie was eventually rescued off the island by Simon, but they left Henry behind. When he returned to Oakdale, he confronted Katie about not coming back for him. Soon after, a genuine friendship blossomed between the two, and through thick and thin they became inseparable. Henry often refers to Katie as "Bubbles."

Many fans suspected for a long time that Henry was in love with Katie, and an episode in early 2005 confirmed their suspicions. Jen asked Henry why he was always so loyal to Katie time and time again when he simply blurted out, "Because I love her, that's why." He explained: "We have an unspoken understanding. I leave my feelings unspoken because I understand that it would be a waste of time to tell her." He said that Katie was the only person he could connect with (indeed, she was not only his best friend, but probably his only friend), and that they would be good for each other. Henry also claimed that he would do anything for her - even give up gin! - and later proposed to her. Katie, on the rebound from Mike, accepted with the intention of using the marriage as a ruse to get Mike back. Henry held onto what little hope he had that the plan would fail, he and Katie would marry, and she would finally develop some kind of romantic feelings for him.

Ultimately, Henry's plan failed, and he and Katie divorced mere months after their wedding. She eventually reconciled with Mike. Henry had left the cottage and was living in the limousine he was driving when his youngest sister, Maddie, arrived in town to stay with him. For a time, the two Coleman siblings stayed with the happy couple, but the arrangement ended when it was revealed that Henry was faking his back injury. Maddie went to live with Tom and Margo Hughes, and Henry moved to the Lakeview—although how he was able to afford to live there remains something of a mystery; perhaps his poker games have been successful of late.

Byron "BJ" Glass

A storyline in fall 2005 involved Henry working for the mysterious computer tycoon BJ Green, who was secretly Katie's high school friend Byron Glass. Henry aided BJ because his job as BJ's "assistant" was a lucrative position, and BJ had promised Henry a home for himself and Maddie. The lengths BJ ultimately went to in attempting to win Katie's affections also painted Henry as a villain in Mike's and Katie's eyes, leaving Henry even more alone than before. Although Mike and Katie offered their forgiveness and apologies after BJ fled town, relations among the former friends remain strained at best and non-existent at worst.

Henry found a briefcase containing the money BJ had intended to take with him when he left town. Emily Stewart had gained possession of the briefcase, however, and refused to grant Henry access to "his" money unless he continued to help her with her schemes involving Paul Ryan and Meg Snyder.

Vienna Hyatt

Henry began dating Vienna Hyatt. She adored him, but his feelings for her were not as strong. They planned to get married, but during their wedding, Henry realized he was doing to Vienna what Katie had done to him, and he stopped the ceremony. Vienna was crushed, and Katie felt horrible as she realized the pain she'd put Henry through. Henry and Vienna stayed together, and he did have become very fond of her. She lost all her money, but they won Al's Diner in a poker game. They began running the diner in summer 2007.

In 2008 Gray Gerrard, secretly a powerful ex-con with many identities and people working for him, won the Diner from Henry in a poker game. When Gray met Vienna he fell in love with her, allowing them to keep the diner while working for him. After taking advantage of the "bumps" in her relationship with Henry, Gray finally persuaded Vienna by showing her the "good" life (filled with lots of money). After going back and forth between the two she temporarily chose Gray. Henry fell into a depression and Brad and Katie encouraged him to continue to fight for Vienna. Deciding that he just wants Vienna to be happy he says his final goodbye to her (in front of Gray), telling her it's too hard to just be her friend. This makes Vienna realize who she really loves and eventually they reconcile. Gray feigns happiness for the new couple while plotting to kill the two of them. They narrowly escaped without even realizing it.

The first time was when he indirectly tricked them to meet each other in the church. They are about to leave together when the door won't open. Meanwhile, outside gray covers the entire place with gasoline. Matt (an accomplice who is tired of working for him) is in charge of lighting the match. Instead he betrays his boss unlocks the doors, and calls [his friends mom who's]a cop and tells her what happens. During all of this Henry and Vienna had a little bit of "fun", then left for the lakeview when they realized they did it in a holy place in front of ... When Gerrard found out, he shot Matt leaving him for dead.

The second time was the champagne gerarrd left for them which was poisoned which they received. When they found out who it was from, Henry refused to accept it leaving it on the table. Brad and his date congratulate them. Brad sees it and claims 'Booze is booze and free booze is even better' and drinks its straight from the bottle. He then starts choking and falls to the floor while the three of them try to revive him when he starts laughing.

After a while, Vienna brought up the idea of having kids, but Henry, not sure if they would be ready to have them yet, bought her a puppy instead, to see if she could take care of him. Vienna adored the dog, whom she named Pepper, and treated him as her child. Vienna continued to express her wish to have children, but Henry kept turning her down. At one point, Vienna witnessed a conversation between Henry and Katie, and she suddenly realized that Katie, to whom Henry was married to before, would always be Henry’s love of his life. She confronted him with this, and he didn’t deny. Instead of leaving, Vienna told him she loved him more than anything in her life and if being a second choice in his would mean she still got to be with him, than she would do so. Henry was touched by this and vowed to never leave her for anything or anyone, but he stood by his earlier statement; he would not have kids.

When he feared Vienna had sabotaged their condoms, he and his friend Brad made an appointment to get sterilized. He didn’t get to go through with it because Vienna and Katie, who was now married to Brad, found out and dragged Henry away. Vienna finally accepted the fact that she and Henry would never have babies. In early 2009, When Katie found out later she could not have children of her own, Vienna offered herself to them as their surrogate, and they agreed. Henry didn’t like the sound of this at all, but couldn’t stop Vienna. She was soon impregnated by Brad’s sperm and it was revealed not much later that she was pregnant. Brad and Katie run into Vienna and Henry in old town. Brad promises Katie that she will be a mother. Henry arrives and tells Brad that he may have something to solve Katie's problems. Brad makes the call to the lawyer (Mr. Quick) and he agrees to meet with them and wants a check for 10,000 dollars. When her very first sonogram came up, Vienna was so excited that she forgot to inform Brad and Katie about this and went to the hospital with Henry. She the remembered the happy couple and called them to come over. Vienna end up seeing the sonogram with Henry, and the doctor informed her that she was no longer pregnant.

Vienna was shocked to hear this, and didn't have the guts to tell Brad and Katie that their baby was gone, so instead she told them the baby was doing fine. Afterwards, she was comfroted by Henry and they slept together. Days later, Vienna wasn't feeling well and had another shock when she discovered that she WAS pregnant... again, and with Henry's baby this time. Henry tells Vienna that Katie and Brad are meeting with Mr. Quick and the birth mother today, and thinks everything will be good for them. Katie tells Brad that the lawyer was disbarred and was brought up on charges. Vienna tries to reach out to Katie but she doesn't want to hear it and, Vienna then trips and falls. Vienna asks Katie if she thinks if there's anything wrong with the baby, while Brad is trying to find Henry. The doctor tells Vienna she miscarried.

Barbara Ryan

During the final season of As the World Turns, Vienna tricks Henry into marrying her by telling him she is pregnant once again, with a baby that doesn't really exist. Henry is, in fact, in love with Barbara Ryan, but marries Vienna, wanting to do what is best for his unborn child. Shortly after the marriage, Henry learns the truth about the baby and leaves Vienna. Meanwhile, Barbara has been kidnapped by the infamous Iris Dumbrowski. Henry believes at first that Vienna is responsible, and when he confronts her, she disappears. Henry has to spend some time desperately searching for Barbara before she and her daughter-in-law Emily are finally discovered in the basement of Fairwinds. Following Barbara and Emily's rescue, Henry proposes to Barbara and they are married at the Lakeview with family and friends (including Katie) in attendance. At the show's finale, Henry buys Metro Bar back from Dusty Donovan. Barbara ends her business partnership with Paul at BRO in order to spend her time running Metro with Henry. Finally solidified as a family, Henry, Barbara, Paul and Emily gather at Fairwinds and toast to their future.

Contract

In February 2005, Dawson was put on contract with ATWT after almost six years for the recurring role. Dawson claimed this was due in no small part to the loyalty of Henry's fans. His fans discuss Dawson's role as Henry Coleman on Trent-Dawson dot Net.

Notes