Fans of General Hospital always felt that the onscreen chemistry between Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) and Genie Francis (Laura Spencer) was very strong. Well, at the beginning of November when he revealed some plans for the podcast, State of Mind, Maurice promised to host Genie. This Sunday it happened. Read on for more details.
Getting To Mental Health
The connection between the real life Sonny and Laura was amazing and their connection was very real. The State of Mind podcast on Sunday promised some good stuff, and it certainly did that. In fact, they both became emotional.
While Francis was talking about her experience as a child actor during her formative years, a large part of their conversation was about anxiety and depression. Of course, GH fans know that Maurice has some big struggles. But both of them experienced anxiety issues throughout their lives. Oh, and she mentioned her dyslexia.
Anxiety & Mental Health
According to Genie Francis, she traces the family anxiety back to her mother and aunt. She spoke about how her mother had a panic attack in a grocery store. Plus, she mentioned an aunt who rarely leaves her house. Actually, she’s not alone in this: Genie admitted that she was oddly comfortable during the quarantine imposed because of COVID-19. As the need to meet people was out of the question, she said that time felt like “the promised land.”
How does this relate to her work as an actress? She said that her social anxiety is totally gone when she is on stage, as if another part of her mind takes over. However working with Maurice, she straight away noticed his mental health struggles. So, they formed an incredible bond of trust which emerged in one particular scene on General Hospital.
A Bond Of Trust
Genie remembered a particular time when she was having a hard time emotionally, especially because the filming wasn’t in sequence. Working with Maurice that day, she explained, I “tortured” you mentally with my trauma in that scene and you understood.
She pointed out his being there for her as very steady support by saying, “I have never been so fully supported and listened to by anybody as I was by you.” For Genie Francis, the single experience of being completely understood when she coped with personal anxieties wasn’t just good dramatization; it was “the most thrilling thing I’ve ever done in my life,” she added.
Real-life Struggles With Social Anxiety
Francis talked about a moment when, as an adult by the lake with her family, she was so overcome with fear that she couldn’t go to the picnic table with the rest of the people and felt completely frozen.
At the time, she was reliving her childhood trauma when she had been lost as a toddler. “I want to go home and I can’t get home. I relive the trauma,” she said to Benard.
GH Fans React
Lots of ABC fans had looked forward to the new interview. So, lots of comments arrived. One person wrote, “It is my opinion that Genie Francis is the emotional heart of General Hospital.”
Here are a few other responses from the discussion:
- One of the best episodes. I can’t say how much I enjoyed Genie.
- It’s interesting hearing Genie talk about her formative years and how hard that would be in the business.
- That interview was so powerful !!! That was the best one by far !!! Congrats for having her on!!!
- I also relate to having Social Anxiety (on X, whatever) it’s easy because i can mask it. Genie describes the feeling so well.
What did you think of the interview? Let us know in the comments below and come back here often for all your General Hospital cast news and updates.