Tyler Christopher went from "General Hospital" to a generally passed-out drunk guy who had a little too much and needed to sleep one off -- so say cops in Southern California.
Burbank PD tells TMZ, the longtime soap actor was arrested Friday at the airport after cops were notified of a dude snoozing on the ground near the American Airlines terminal ... which the officers suspected might've been alcohol-related.
We're told when the officers approached Christopher and woke him up, he told them he'd missed his flight. That apparently wasn't a good enough explanation for them though -- 'cause the cops ended up cuffing and booking him for public intoxication.
We're told Christopher displayed clear and objective signs of intoxication ... and he was unable to care for himself. Our sources say that was reason enough to bust him.
It's unfortunate to see him in this sitch ... as he was arrested for something very similar a few years ago when he got thrown in jail for passing out in the back of an Uber ... and the driver claimed he'd even urinated on himself too.
As for this airport arrest -- Christopher was ultimately cited and released with a date to appear in court.
It's the kind of drama Tyler's character Nikolas Cassadine might land in on GH. Sadly, he doesn't get to reshoot these scenes IRL.