Maurice Benard & Clancy Brown Open Up About Dark Times

Clancy Brown sat down with General Hospital (GH) star Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) on State of Mind this weekend. Ahead of the podcast on Sunday, the real-life Sonny Corinthos seemed very excited about it. Did it measure up to expectations? Read on to find out.

Clancy & His Career

Fans know that Clancy made a career out of being the guy you don’t wanna mess with. From the terrifying Captain Hadley in The Shawshank Redemption to the voice of Mr. Krabs and a host of other intimidating figures, he has the look, the voice, and the “whole shebang,” as Maurice Benard put it.

Well, they enjoyed a very wide ranging conversation, but many people appreciate the mental health advocacy by Maurice. So, what did they say about it? It turned out on March 8, that the conversation morphed into very personal candor.

The Hardest Have Hard Struggles

In fact, it seems that the toughest guys in your screen face the hardest struggles inside themselves. Not that GH fans are unfamiliar with that. After all, Maurice Benard plays a tough guy crime boss on the ABC daytime soap.

While the two actors bonded over their shared history in front of the cameras, they also bonded when Maurice started talking about his bipolar diagnosis and nervous breakdowns. So, the chat turned to the dark space between “nerves” and “debilitating anxiety.”

Dealing  With Dark Times

“I’m always nervous,” Maurice admitted, asking Clancy where he lands on that spectrum. Being very open, and not hiding much, Clancy Brown replied, saying, “When it tips over into a debilitating anxiety, then that’s miserable.” Still, he added “When you can keep it steady, it can really help. It can take you to another level.”

Next, the General Hospital veteran turned the conversation to the reality of working through those dark periods. Actually, it seems that other actors who work under so much pressure really understand that sort of thing.

“A lot of times I’ve had to go to work, Clancy, in this darkness,” Maurice shared. “And the nerves are out of control. And my mind is…I’m crying before I go up, bawling… I can’t! But, you know what? I do it.“

Does Clancy Struggle Like That?

When Maurice asked Clancy Brown straight up about his situation with mental health, he responded by asking a question. “Do I have any mental health? I mean, anxiety,” he said. “Depends who you ask.” But then, as he pointed out, “I don’t think there’s anybody that doesn’t have some kind of mental [health issue].”

The conversation wasn’t just about the struggle, but also about the origins of the issues. In the case of Brown, it seems that it went back to his mom. If you don’t know, she too was very talented and enjoyed a career as a brilliant pianist and composer.

Mom Knew The Pressure Well

As such a talented person, one might assume that Brown’s mom sailed though life. Not so: she also experienced such a “terrible case of nerves” that once, she ended up blowing an audition in New York.

Clancy recalled that a producer seemed kind, and understanding, and actually sent her home to Ohio with bus money. For her, it was possibly the “kindest thing” anyone could do for her. So, it’s not as if producers and execs don’t sometimes empathise with the stress of work.

Childhood Trauma

Naturally, the conversation stayed with older recollections for a bit. At one stage, Brown talked about being five years old when he experienced grief. He related how his sister Beth passed away and he attended the funeral.

“My enduring memory of the funeral is sitting with my grandmother in the limo and my grandmother’s crying,” Brown remembered. “And I was like, ‘Why are you crying? I mean…Beth is in a better place. Beth is in heaven. I mean, we all know that heaven is better.'”

Still, he saw the loss through the eyes of an innocent child. But, he noted, “I don’t think my mom and dad really dealt with it…The way they dealt with it is they set up a charity that’s named after my sister.”

That charity, the Beth Brown Memorial Fund, still exists to help those entering the healing arts.

Dealing With ‘The Devil’

Later, the duo talked about the “devil component” that Maurice says he feels during manic episodes. Actually, in the past, he sometimes referred to it as “The Monster.” But this time, he described it as more like a battle between God and the devil. He said, “if the devil wins, you’re going to kill yourself.”

How did Clancy Brown relate to that? Well, he understood in a way, because of his scary roles such as Kurgan in his Highlander role. Of course, that also led to him being cast as the Harbinger in John Wick 4.

For GH fans who watched the podcast, it seemed almost paradoxical because Clancy seemed gentle, thoughtful, and self-aware: which highlights his fantastic acting skills.

Not So Tough In Real Life

When Maurice asked about playing tough guys his whole life, Brown noted that in real life, he isn’t the toughest thug on the block. He explained, “I think just because I’m a big guy, they assume that I’m tough. But I’m not.”

Then, he credited his love of Shakespeare and music that somehow balances things out. For him, acting’s about chasing good material, not personas. “I just want to do good material,” he said. “Doesn’t matter if it’s nice or bad… if it’s a good script.”

Next, he mentioned the Penguin script and admitted he played a nasty role. But, he couldn’t turn it down because the “script was just so good.”

An Emotional Maurice 

Maurice Benard, as he often does these days, became more emotional toward the end of the State of Mind podcast. He said, “I didn’t know Clancy that well,” but, he “got a good feeling about him.” In fact, he added, “I didn’t know that he was such a-such a good soulful guy and nice. Makes me get emotional.”

Liiking back, it seemed like a good place to conclude an episode that showed that men who play tough guys monsters often seem to have the deepest and most beautiful souls.

Fans React

In the comments section, plenty of General Hospital fans appreciated the conversation between the ABC daytime drama veteran and veteran of things scary.

One of them opined, “This is a good get, Maurice. Having a good time watching. Clancy always classes up the screen in anything he’s in.”

Here are a few more responses from the discussion:

• He was amazing as the cruel POS Captain Hadley on The Shawshank Redemption…my favorite movie of all time!
• Best conversation. So honest.
• From Stephen King movies, to playing a murderer David Brown, to SpongeBob Clancy Brown is phenomenal actor. Thank you for this interview and your channel that helps me and so many others.

What are your thoughts? Shout out in the comments below, and remember to come back here iften for all your General Hospital cast news and updates.