Maurice Benard Explains Why He Became Sonny On GH
Soap legend Maurice Benard reveals why he almost didn't take on his iconic General Hospital role.
General Hospital (GH) star Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) stuck with the ABC daytime show for over 30 years. He’s become a much-loved face on the show, but it very nearly never happened. Read on to find out why.
A Solo Podcast
This week’s State of Mind podcast didn’t feature a guest. Sometimes, on rare occasions, Maurice Benard goes solo and does a monologue.
He opened up about the three decades and surprisingly, he claimed that he really didn’t hanker for a TV drama role in his career.
The real-life Sonny Corinthos explained that instead, he wanted to star in movies for the big screen.
The Transition To Daytime Drama
Benard revealed that one of the main reasons why GH fans see him on the show lies with Benard’s wife, Paula.
“My wife said, ‘Honey, they want to talk to you about General Hospital,'” Benard recalled. “I told her, ‘I’m not doing another soap opera. I want to do movies.’ She said, ‘Honey, we’re broke.'”
Ironically, at the time, Maurice believed he was close to landing a role in the movie, Philadelphia. Unfortunately, he didn’t get the role, so, he ended up taking the role of Sonny. Notably, the original contract was only for six months.
Maurice seemed rather casual about the opportunity, and quipped how he said, “I’ll take Sonny because Sonny’s a cool name.”
An Unexpected Long Career
Well, since then, General Hospital fans saw much more than six months of the veteran actor. In fact, he ended up as one of the most iconic characters in daytime TV history.
It wasn’t always a smooth road for Benard who admitted the early days on the soap were far from easy. Of course, by now, most GH fans know how Benard struggled with mental health, but he didn’t want to expand on that too much. Suffice to say it happened.
What Started The Darkness?
Maurice did talk about what triggered those difficult times. Sonny Corinthos had some dark storylines, and they contributed to a serious mental health crisis.
Maurice Benard said the role left him emotionally overwhelmed after scenes involving Karen Wexler. They included storylines where Sonny manipulated her and pushed her into stripping and drug use.
“I think the fact that I was so evil…I had my third nervous breakdown,” he said.
A Helping Hand
By now, most ABC fans know that he took a break from filming. Well, after about two weeks he returned but struggled a lot with remembering the script lines.
And then the real support arrived. It was thanks to executive producer Wendy Riche and casting director Shelley Curtis. They helped him through the difficult time. In fact, they never gave up on him.
“She said, ‘I don’t care if we take it page by page, line by line, you’re going to get through this,'” Benard recalled.
The Saddest Time As Sonny
While thinking back about dozens of storylines and cast members over the years, Benard became very emotional. That came when he talked about his favorite storyline. It was Mike Corbin’s battle with Alzheimer’s disease.
Why did it trigger so many emotions? In fact, his dad also struggled with Alzheimer’s. Actually, in the past, he mentioned that on his State of Mind podcast. So, for Maurice, it felt very real. he added, “I didn’t act it, I lived it.”
An Immersive Actor
While it hurt him and his mental health suffered, the recollections show how immersive as an actor he became. In fact, as far as he’s concerned, Maurice Benard said that the Alzheimer’s arc ended up being the best storyline of his career.
These days, he sees acting as “an incredible gift” despite the personal struggles he battled in real life.
What are your thoughts? Are you pleased to hear that the ABC production team stuck with him and helped him through those dark days? let us know in the comments below, and come back here often for all your General Hospital cast news and updates.