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GH's Maurice Benard Talks Sonny Drama, Modeling To Acting & Mental Health On A Spoonful Of Paolo!

By Michael Fairman

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Photo: A Spoonful of Paolo

Photo: A Spoonful of Paolo

Maurice Benard (Sonny, GH) has continued to rack up rave reviews for his performances over the last few months as Sonny attempts to cope with the death of his son Morgan.

The storyline has provided Benard with material worthy of his talents.  Now, in a brand new sit-down video interview at his home, Maurice talks with Paolo Presta on his online series, A Spoonful of Paolo!

Presta, whose life changed in 2005 thanks to Oprah Winfrey when his dream came true to come to Hollywood, and got a part on General Hospital. shared a throwback moment with Benard, when he recalls Maurice delivering the news that he would get to be on the ABC soap opera.

Years later, Paolo now interviews Maurice and a wide variety of topics are discussed.  From Benard’s 23 years as Sonny, to his early years as a model-turned-actor, to bringing attention to mental health issues, in particular bipolar disorder, and more, Maurice offers more insight to the man who has played the loveable mobster on and off the screen.

At the end of the episode, Presta tests Maurice’s knowledge with some rapid-fire questions.  Watch the interview after the jump. Then. let us know what you thought of it, and your favorite moment contained in it, via the comment section below!

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GH has been too morbid and depressing, not a good thing to bring all that downtrodden overly sad and junk into one’s life, daily for months.
It is not entertaining it is depressing and not all that mentally healthy to be tapped with dark emotions over and over again, every day for a length of time.
GH has not balance– no lightness, happiness, laughter it has been total mentally draining and filled with dark..

My family can’t believe I watch this stuff lol ..
I am the Only one to ever watch soaps.
I’m usually getting feedback because I come from a family of Psychiatrists. (mother, sister, aunt/psychologist and a close uncle)
((I suffered alot growing up LOL))

My favorite; masochists sopapers , luvin to feel the pain .. ahaa!

Anyways.. I miss Ron! I laughed, I had a good time watching..
I am bored to near death with J&S pity parties and doom & gloom ..
I want a good Agatha Christie type mystery that actually has a climatic end.
I’ll take anything that even resembles a surprise shocker cliffhanger. a climatic, anything… Something intriguing!

Guess I’d be wishing in one and — in the other waiting for excitement of a lighter note, and one, just one, good laugh.

Long Live GH !!

Wow that was a great interview with Maurice. He was very down to earth and humble. He is also entertaining/funny to watch. I have always said that I admire him for being an advocate spokesperson for mental health. This interview makes me adore him even more (if that was possible). I also can’t get enough of that gorgeous smile.

I agree with you totally. He is so real, just as he is on the show. Would sure like to have him send some of those dimples my way, but I’ll have to be satisfied in getting them via the TV screen. We love you Maurice/Sonny

Thanks for the reply friend. Maurice is awesome and still has a irresistible smile.

Great interview with Maurice Benard. Love seeing him out of character. Paolo was great too. So enthusiastic . Loved it❤️

The character of Sonny needs to go. He has overstayed his welcome by about 20 years. Nothing against MB…who does what is asked of him. Serial killers like Sonny, Jason, Franco etc. are not entertaining in the least. While on topic…Billy Miller as Jason is a complete and epic fail on every level…from the writing…to his lackluster marbles in mouth portrayal….to the complete lack of chemistry with Kelly Monaco. I cant see Miller sticking around much longer.

completely agree

OMG… I loved this interview!!! Maurice Benard is so awesome! Sonny is my favorite character and has been for over 20 years. Hoping for 20 more years of this awesome character. Can’t wait for Sonny and Carson to reunite. btw… I love the mob!!!!

I LOVED THIS INTERVIEW SOOOOO MUCH MICHAEL!!! Thank you for sharing. It made my day and I love how the host gave you a shout out!

I only come back because bipolor disorder is something i have in common with BM plus we were both born in March…i have struggled with depression much of my life…recent stressful events involving a near death of a family member. illnesses. my father becoming bedridden and early stages of dementia and too much more to mention and the possibility i may end up homeless is a major cause of my struggle with my bipolor disorder-i stopped commenting taking time to deal with all this anf hopefully turn things around-my biggest fear is the homeless part buhopefully i can prevent thatt …i dont get much meds so some days its hard to cope and there have been some more recent stressful situations that havent been helpful…if you know someone who struggles with any form of depression make sure they get help…i wish some of the help and meds they have today was around when i was younger..how much different my life might had been.

My mom has bipolar, so I know what you’re going through and sympathize with you, Jim. The meds do help her stay regulated, but it’s a constant roller coaster ride and battle every day. Unless a person has it themselves or knows someone that does, they have no clue how bad it is. It’s another reason, aside from the fact that he’s a great actor, why I respect and admire Maurice Benard.

All the best to you, Jim. I hope you’re able to get the meds you need. If you’re not, there are programs out there to help with that sort of thing. Nothing wrong with reaching out for some help. Keep your head up, stay strong and keep fighting the good fight, brother!

i try to stay positive but then something else happens and even on meds the stress is overpowering and i have very little hope left,,,

Jim…do you see a therapist? I assume you consult with a psychiatrist who dispenses your meds…but it would be great to have frequent visits with a psychologist or social worker to discuss your worries. Just speaking about things is cathartic. And while they can’t change your life it’s a place to be heard, unburden yourself, release the thoughts that go round and round in your mind. Perhaps a support group, too. Not sure if up you have insurance but their are sliding scale places and probably free clinics, etc. feel better…

Yes…i do but so much keeps happening with our family its been a struggle…and i could even end up homeless if we dont get thinggs straighten out…too loose everything i couldnt take it…id rather not be around great pain most days…hopefully me and my sister will work things out-she keeps getting ill and nearly died a few months ago…her husband and son and she all had heart surgeries…their dog died..my dad had to replace his car…water in the basement destroyed stuff…i briefly thought i had a brain tumor because of a month long headache…my dad fell and is bedridden..i fell and injured my arm and im in…my neice ex boyfriend came to our house and caused a disturbance and i had to call the police,,,its worse than it sounds…im so stressed ive been warned i could have a stroke…now you see why im struggling with depression…

sorry about typos and misplaced words…pain was suppose to come after my arm injury…its the stress

Be well. My thoughts and prayers attend.

Thank you…

I love the interview with Sonny. I really love him on GH, he is one of my most favorite. He does seem so down to earth. Thanks for sharing.

Just a little note to the Sonny haters. Don’t watch the show if you dislike the characters so much. Maybe the green eyed monster has gotten you , do you think?

I hate to be told not to watch something if I hate it. I think some of the viewers have a right to complain about the unevenness of the storylines and the uneveness of airtime of characters. And shouldn’t be told what to do.

Cooks, you have every right to your own opinion regarding a character on GH. I believe Violet was just stating that many of us long time Maurice fans are tired of anti Sonny viewers consistently stating how much they dislike him. Ask yourself why do viewers who dislike him so much continue to read articles written about him. Just so you or someone else can post over and over again how much you don’t like him. At times I don’t like Sonny’s actions, but I don’t make it my mission to leave negative comments all the time. No matter how much I don’t like a character I am still respectful towards the actor who portrays them, and there fans. There have recently been many important storlines on GH that don’t include Sonny.

I taught runway modeling classes in S.F. on Sutter Street at John Casablancas in the early 1980’s. One of the students was Maurice Bernard. I introduced a very young and very good looking Maurice to my agent, Jimmy Grimme. The Grimme Agency signed and represented Maurice where he began his modeling career and was very successful in the S.F. market. Who knew at the time he would play both Ricky Ricardo and Sonny Corinthos on television? Bravo, Maurice!!

General Hospital

GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom

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This week on all-new episodes of General Hospital, the race is on! Can Lulu (Alexa Havins) and Dante (Dominic Zamprogna) get to Rocco (Finn Carr) and Britt (Kelly Thiebaud) in time to ensure their safety from Cullum (Andrew Hawkes)? Can Carly (Laura Wright) with the help of her brother, Lucas (Van Hansis) rescue Josslyn (Eden McCoy) from captivity at Wyndemere? These questions may be answered, plus the return of the one and only Anna Devane (Finola Hughes) are on tap!

In the just released General Hospital spoilers video for the week of June 22-26, Lulu tells her mother, Laura (Genie Francis), “Dante and I have to get to Rocco before Cullum!” Meanwhile, Rocco (Finn Carr) looks angered and emotional as Britt walks through their cabin hideout. Does Rocco know his parents are on the way to find them, or has Cullum already tracked them down to the British Virgin Islands?

Back in Port Charles, Carly is informing Lucas that his niece, “is a WSB agent.” She knows Josslyn (Eden McCoy) is being held against her will at Wyndemere, and she has to find a way to get her out. Lucas agrees with Carly’s plan of, “We go in and we don’t leave without Josslyn!” Elsewhere, Josslyn is looking worried for her future as she is stuck in captivity thanks to Cassius, Cullum and Sidwell!

Courtesy/ABC

FINOLA HUGHES RETURNS

The final moments of the teaser promo reveal Anna in a psychiatric clinic in France. We have not seen her for months after Cullum, Sidwell and Pascal fed her hallucinogenics to make her believe her arch nemesis, Cesar Faison was alive!

Now, the doctors walk towards her hospital bed, where we see the super spy calmly knitting. Is Anna back to normal and playing everyone to get out of her predicament, or does she still remain deeply traumatized … or both?

Take a look at the rest of the official GH spoilers for the week below.

MONDAY, JUNE 22
Willow gets an unwelcome surprise. Trina sticks to her guns. “Nathan” wants reassurance. Ethan advises Ava. Brook Lynn receives an update.

TUESDAY, JUNE 23
Dante cautions Liz. Laura learns a secret. Brook Lynn confides in Michael. Sonny challenges Ava. Chase makes a decision.

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 24
Anna meets with her doctor. Carly makes a stunning confession. Britt extracts a promise. Cullum pulls a fast one. Gio and Emma hit the pool.

THURSDAY, JUNE 25
Josslyn clashes with Cassius. Lulu and Dante make a discovery. Chase receives a warning. Jordan seeks help. Alexis is summoned to the PCPD.

FRIDAY, JUNE 26
Anna takes a huge risk. Britt is in grave danger. Willow is in disbelief. Danny must act fast. Curtis jumps to the wrong conclusion.

Check out the latest General Hospital promo entitled, “Rescue Mission” below.

Now weigh-in: Do you think Anna is still mentally off-balance, or OK, and just pretending to be troubled to get out of France and get back to Port Charles? Will Josslyn finally be rescued, or will Carly and Lucas find themselves locked up with her? And, who will get to Britt and Rocco first? Cullum, or Dante and Lulu? Share your thoughts and theories via the comment section below.

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General Hospital

Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric

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With the highly-anticipated returns of Finola Hughes (Anna Devane) on this week’s June 24 episode of General Hospital, Steve Burton’s (Jason Morgan) upcoming return on July 13, which also serves as the ABC daytime drama’s 16,000 episode, things are about to fire on all cylinders in the story, as noted today by series star, Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos).

On Father’s Day, the three-time Daytime Emmy-winning actor and mental health activist took to his Instagram and expressed in a video that he has some unbelievable upcoming senes with the aforementioned Burton and Hughes. Add to that Nazneen Contractor (Justine Turner) and Rick Hearst (Ric Lansing), where Benard gave credit where credit is due to the GH writing team, which is led by co-head writers, Elizabeth Korte and Chris Van Etten..

In this video, Benard said, “I just want to get on here and say that I did some work with Steve Burton, Finola Hughes, Rick Hearst, Nazneen Contractor, and they’re all just fantastic. Truly fantastic. But, I want to say the writing was just exceptional. It truly was. It was exceptional. So, thankful for that kind of writing. I know writers don’t get the credit a lot, but I just want to say to the General Hospital writing team, keep rolling!”

GENERAL HOSPITAL PREVIEW

So now the question becomes, with a major tease like that, what is about to go down between Sonny, Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric? Will we finally get to the end of the line for Sidwell (Carlo Rota), as previously teased by the GH co-head writers? Will we learn what happened to Jason and Anna, fully? Will Justine and Sonny becomes closer or stop their liaisons? And what of Ric? Will he be true blue to his brother or double-cross him? There is a lot at stake as we move further into the summer and one that looks like it could be one of the more exciting ones in years!

FINOLA HUGHES CONFIRMED AMAZING SCENES WITH MAURICE BENARD

As a punctuation point to his video, Benard also shared this written message in the post: “I just did some wonderful scenes with Steve Burton, Rick Hearst, Finola Hughes and Nazneen Contractor and  and unbelievable writing, freaking amazing scenes that you will see in the near future on General Hospital.” In fact, Finola Hughes jumped in the post comment thread and responded, “I loved our scenes so much xxx”

Fans will most likely see all the scenes Benard referred to later in July, since GH tapes approximately six weeks ahead of air.

So, are you excited to see what Maurice is talking about? Are you hyped for what’s to come on GH? Any clue on what you think will go down between the main characters on the soap with the returns of Anna Devane and Jason Morgan to the mix? Weigh-in via the comment section below.

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A post shared by Maurice Benard (@mauricebenard)

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‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’

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In a surprise move, Daytime Emmy winner, Chad Duell (ex-Michael Corinthos, GH) is getting ready to unveil a new chapter of his career in music.

The former GH star, where he played the son of Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) and Carly Spencer (Laura Wright) for 15 years, has announced his new single, “If You Need Me” will drop on Friday, June 26. The single is now available for pre-order on Spotify and major music streaming platforms and is distributed by DistroKid.

Taking to his Instagram story over the weekend, to announce the pre-save of his new single, Chad expressed, “I’ll make a full post about what I’ve been up to and my music once it goes live next week, but you can pre-save my first single so it goes straight to your Spotify once it drops next week.”

Photo: CDuellIG

SINCE LEAVING GENERAL HOSPITAL

Previously, since his departure from the ABC soap opera. Chad starred alongside Zach Mendez in the world premiere of of Yum Yum at Annapolis, a new play written by Bruce Reisman. Duell last appeared on General Hospital on the January 21, 2025 episode.

The part was recast with Rory Gibson who debuted as the new Michael in May of 2025 during the Nurses’ Ball episodes and who has remained in the role since that time.

In an interview earlier this year on The Able Show, Duell said on his decision to exit the soap opera, “I was blessed to be part of that (show) for as long as I have, but what happens sometimes is if you’re doing the same thing, especially in a creative field for such a long time, you can get a little burnt out in a way. It can make you a little depressed, so that’s kind of what happened. On top of that, I had other things going on in my life at the time. My father passed away recently and I just needed a reset. So, I stepped away. A lot of times you have to go through some stuff to really step into that next level. I needed to kind of feel uncomfortable.”

So, what type of musical genre will Chad’s new song be? Country? Pop? Rock? Dance/Club? Something else? Let us know your thoughts via the comment section below, and if you are eager to hear the new single next week via the comment section below.

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Jonathan Bennett joins the cast of GH as Joe Fitzpatrick. Catch the latest promo! Leave a comment.Leave A Comment

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Finn Carr & Dominic Zamprogna as Rocco & Dante

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