General Hospital’s leading man, Maurice Benard, who has played Sonny Corinthos since 1993 is once again discussing retirement. Is Benard ready to walk away from the soap?
General Hospital – Maurice Benard Is Happy For Now
General Hospital’s Benard says that his happiness in the soap comes and goes in waves. Benard has admitted several times that he finds Sonny hard to play at times. Benard says that the darkness of the character can sometimes interfere with his mental health.
Maurice is happy right now, however, fans of Sonny and Carly certainly are not. “Carson” fans believe the couple should be together and want nothing to do with a romance with Nina Reeves (Cynthia Watros). Benard says that acting isn’t what it was when he was young. He admits that acting sometimes hits him in places that he doesn’t like. Benard also says he has no interest in directing as some of his former co-stars have done. Benard
General Hospital – Concentrating On Mental Health
When asked, the General Hospital star says if he ever left the soap, and acting as a whole, he would want to bring his program, “State Of Mind” to a position where he could make a living doing just that. Benard has been a mental health advocate for years and wants to continue to help others.
Benard knows exactly how mental health can affect your life. Benard’s acting career suffered years ago until he got help with his bipolar disorder. Later, Benard’s mental health issues were attached to his character when Sonny was diagnosed with Bipolar Disorder and began taking medication for it. Of course, fans knew that Sonny was bipolar years before he was diagnosed.
General Hospital – Eventually Maurice Benard Will Retire
General Hospital’s Maurice says there is less pressure on him when working on his “State Of Mind” project. With a job that isn’t stressful like constantly playing a bipolar character, Benard says he will eventually be done with acting. Benard says he doesn’t know when but says that soon enough, he will be done. Does this mean that Sonny will be killed off at some point? Will the dimpled don leave Port Charles for one of his many casinos? Would General Hospital executives dare to recast Sonny?
The mere fact that Sonny has been changed recently to be less of a dark character does not seem to sway Benard’s decision about acting. When and how Benard will exit is yet to be discovered. However, Benard is already planning his exit and will eventually be gone.
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View Comments (5)
Yes you should retire Maurice. You are very much hated by some, time to go
Good riddance to a really awful character. Back when Sonny first came to town and up until this NF story Sonny was amazing. Now he is a lapdog to a skank.
I no longer see a point to having him on the show. Without Jason he is a shell of a character.
SONNY I always liked and have been a huge fan but since this Nina thing and he lost his loyalty to FAMILY 1ST AND PLAYING THE PART OF A PERSON WITH BIPOLAR HE DOESN'T NEED TO ACT LIKE A PERSON WITH BIPOLAR HE JUST NEEDS TO BE HIM ON GOOD OR BAD DAYS SONNY PLEASE COME BACK TO CARLY
I just do not care for this version of Sonny. Nina is a nasty hypocrite and does not belong in Sonny's life. His family is done, his fans are done. No one likes the Nina/Smike storyline at all, and Nina needs to get whats coming to her.
Maybe it is time for Maurice to retire if his heart isn’t in it anymore. Maybe that’s what the viewers are picking up on too. Sadly this Sonny is only a shell of what has been Sonny for decades. And if this is how he’s going to be playing Sonny it might be best for him to retire. People usually like to retire or leave when they are still on top. Unfortunately that isn’t the case anymore when it comes Sonny’s character.
His role as Sonny has been diminished and having him attached to Nina is disgusting. The writers are really out of step with the viewers and the fans. They don’t know how to “read the room”!!