Gregory Richards is a fictional character from the American television soap opera Sunset Beach, portrayed by Sam Behrens.

Behrens was approached by the Sunset Beach producers about the role, but he was hesitant about meeting with them, as he had been planning on returning to New York City.

Behrens thought Gregory was "pretty nasty" to begin with, so he attempted to soften him by playing his scenes with more compassion.

Carolyn Hinsey of the Daily News' was critical of the character's early personality, calling him "a one-note villain whose story line consisted of basically telling people off.

"[2] In November 1996, a reporter for the Tampa Bay Times announced that Sam Behrens had been cast as Gregory Richards.

[3] Behrens was planning on returning to New York City, where he first started his career, when he was approached by the Sunset Beach producers about appearing in the show.

"[4] Behrens signed on to play Gregory, who was described as "the show's resident wheeler dealer who possesses a lot of power.

[8] Mike Hughes from The Honolulu Advertiser said Gregory was "a wealthy and slippery lawyer",[8] while Newsday's Marvin Kitman described him as a "high-powered, silver-tongued attorney" and "a born manipulator".

[1] At the start of the serial, Gregory discovers that Olivia is having an affair with Del Douglas (John Reilly) and is "extremely jealous".

[1] In December 1997, Seli Groves of the Times-News observed that Gregory appeared to be "tilting toward villainy", after hiring a hitman to kill Cole and telling Caitlin that her baby died at birth, so he and Olivia could raise it as their own.

[12] Behrens said that if he were Gregory he would definitely disagree with the villain tag, explaining "I would recognize that all great men, such as myself, are often seen as evil or no good because they get what they set out to achieve.

After hauling himself out of the sea, Gregory hides out in a cave and vows that Annie and Cole will pay for tricking him into confessing to Francesca's murder.

[15] Later that same year, Whitehorse Star's Sally Stone reported that Behrens would take "a long vacation" while contract negotiations were ongoing.

He is eventually caught by Annie's love interest Jude Cavanaugh (Sean Kanan) and he is sent to prison for Francesca's murder.

[20] While reviewing the first episodes, Jennifer Bowles of the Pensacola News Journal branded the character "a high-powered attorney possessing the moral code of snake.

[11] The Daily News's Carolyn Hinsey was critical of the character, calling him "a one-note villain whose story line consisted of basically telling people off.

[6] Candace Havens, reporting for The Messenger, found that Behrens, along with Lesley-Anne Down, Kathleen Noone and Leigh Taylor-Young, brought "a certain class and depth to the show.

[12] In a November 1999 feature on Sunset Beach's cancellation and missed storyline opportunities, syndicated reporter Nancy M. Reichardt was critical of Gregory's storylines, writing: "Behrens played a nifty villain whose obsessive devotion to family – mainly his daughter – did not justify his machinations, but did temper viewer indignation toward him.