General Hospital
GH's Maurice Benard to Star In New Film, "The Ghost And The Whale"!
Photo Credit: Kathy Hutchins
After two decades of playing loveable mobster, Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital, Daytime Emmy winner, Maurice Benard is getting a wonderful opportunity to star in a feature film role, something that the actor has been eager to do! The film is titled The Ghost And The Whale and will be shot this January! And, according to ABC Soaps In Depth, here is what we know about the upcoming feature: “The story is about a man who goes through a spiritual journey after his wife dies mysteriously at sea and he’s accused of her murder.”
Executive Producing the film is Benard’s wife, Paula Benard, and the Gaudioso Twins, known for their work in Duke and the Medium. In fact, Anthony Gaudioso said of Benard, “I believe in Maurice Benard and am intrigued by him. It will be exciting to see what this fantastic veteran brings to the character.”
Maurice admitted it is difficult to find work and break out of the soap world for he and many of his colleagues: “We all know it’s tough, especially when you’ve been on a soap for as long as I have. In terms of trying to break out, nobody really cares about soaps. Within the soap world, it’s the greatest job in the world. But for me, it will be tough unless somebody gives me that break. I believe that this film is that break.”
So soapers, that brings us to the age old question, why can’t soap stars get a break outside of the genre? Identifiable for one role and that is all casting directors and execs think they can play? Or, is it still the poor step-child of the industry syndrome? Whatever the case, we are happy for Maurice, who has the acting chops to chew the scenery with any material he is given!
General Hospital
GENERAL HOSPITAL Preview: Carly and Lulu Make Plans to Rescue Their Children; Anna Looks Determined to Secure Her Freedom
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.
General Hospital
Maurice Benard Gives High Praise to ‘General Hospital’ Writers; Teases Upcoming Sonny Scenes with Anna, Jason, Justine and Ric
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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General Hospital
‘General Hospital’ Alum Chad Duell Announces Upcoming Release of His First Single, ‘If You Need Me’
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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don’t know if I necessarily agree with Benard. many great actors had their start in the soaps and went on to successful careers in the film industry as well as in prime time…and several film actors conversely wanted to and have appeared on soaps. I think it depends on how the actor markets himself, his agent, etc. Another factor might be how many hours/days he/she is required to be on set for the soap. there are those who seem to juggle their schedule a bit more…or take time off to do other things. with all this said, I’m not in the industry….but it’s the way it appears to me.
What you said is true for soap actors who move on after a couple years, but for those who play the same character for decades, it’s does seem difficult for them to move outside the industry.
Yes it is , movie people just dont take soap actors seriously enough .
It’s a branding but he must try.
Well it is true and not true and these last years it is less and less true actually.
Also the fact that most of the time movie industry don’t watch these soaps and therefore don’t know these soap actors can be an advantage because it is the point: they don’t know them and their ‘iconic’ roles and their soaps and can be able to see them fit the role for their movies and not typecasting them because they saw them for years in a particularly role. And yep it depends of the actor connections, how he/her markets him/herself, his/her agent, publicist and being here at the right place at the right moment..daytime soap opera is a medium a bit ignored but still lot’s of soap actors know prime time directors, actors, producers so they can do it if they work for it..but yep the soap schedule is also a major obstacle..but more and more recently soap actors are able to break out to prime time, same thing for prime time actors who become more and more movie stars now.
So happy for Maurice glad to see work coming his way. With the hard work that daytime actors do you would think nighttime & film would welcome people that know their lines and are reliable. Very rarely hear about temper tantums in daytime. I watch Castle & NCIS partly because daytime is working at night and they are well done shows.
Michael Weatherly star of NCIS is an ex-soap actor (by the way, his ex and mother of his childs the woman playing Victoria right now on Y&R) ;Hollywood is a little world, many prime time (and even film actors now) actors come from daytime soaps.
I’m seeing more & more big screen stars coming to television, (steady work) & vise versa. I think it is unfair that most soap stars get stereotyped in their work because they actually work steady hours and most likely have more actual time put into acting than big screen actors that do movies. Seems like newcomers get a better chance at getting a part on the big screen than soap stars, who have a lot more acting experience; so unfair. Why not give soap stars a big screen…So glad to see Maurice Bernard get his opportunity on the big screen. I’ve been watching him since he started on General Hospital I guess it depends on who you know in the industry.
I am totally thrilled for Maurice! I think him being a main player on a Soap for so long has made the jump difficult for him!
Tony Geary once said if you stay in a daytime role too long it does identify you their are a lot of great actors in the film industry that came from soaps, that is why Geary back in 1999 told Johnathan Jackson if you do want to go on to films don’t stay to long. Hope it works out for Maurice Benard .
For Geary it is a bit different i think, he is known outside of soaps for being a soap star with his fame from Luke and Laura..but long time soap actors can do it, it is maybe a bit hard but they can do it..Susan Lucci is now working on a prime time show created by Desperate Housewives creator and actually her big fame as a soap royalty known outside of soaps helped her in her case and she knows the right people and knows how to market herself, Deidre Hall had a sitcom for two years before she came back on Days so it is not impossible even for longtime soap actors, Ali Sweeney is the host of a prime time tv show for years now while still playing Sami on Days and soon she will be on a tv movie, Jonathan Jackson came back on GH recently and still he just left and has now booked a major part on a new prime time tv show who gets lot’s of buzz. And yep majority of prime time, movie actors who start on soaps doesn’t last long on these soaps in order to breat out but for long time soap actors it is not impossible, another example Thorsten Kaye is now playing on a prime time show with Angelica Huston and he is not a young actor..so everything seems possible, not easy but not impossible. Another example Trevor St John just did a movie last year who got lot’s of praise in indy festivals ect..
I agree with you. However, I wonder what Anthony Geary is working on when he leaves GH intermittently. Susan Lucci has done numerous television movies. Jonathan Jackson has done several movies (a couple on the big screen) and on the vice versa many actors have come from big screen to television and of course many have left daytime soaps to do movies & night time soaps & series.
I am soooo very happy for Maurice Benard – he is such a talented actor and deserves a try at a show outside the soap genre. I wish him and all connected with this film – The Ghost and The Whale – the best of luck!!! Maurice’s dimples don’t hurt his chances either!!!!! LOL!!!!!
I think it is great and i agree with a post made before. You thik that soap stars would be in high demand. They have to learn a lot of scripts and do it fast so i think they would be the ideal people to go to for movies. Im glad for MB i love him on GH. Good luck to him and the project.
Good news for MB! I’m not sure why it’s so hard for some of the hardest working, most talented actors to get jobs outside of daytime. It should be the opposite because they know how to bring it home under time and budget constraints that should make them desirable to any movie producer. They may be too closely identified with their soap star roles. I’m just very grateful that I can still watch GH and hope to see OLTL & MC back in some form some day. Kudos to you, Maurice!
It has always been a shame that there seems to be a stigma with actors whose resume is as a soap actor. Nowhere else in the entertainment field will you find a job that is more difficult than working on a soap. They work such long hours and are required to remember miles of dialogue every day. Most other so-called actors would never be able to handle it!
I would put Soap actors up against any big name stars anytime. You don’t get any better than Maurice Bernard, Steve Burton, Roger Howarth, Deidre Hall or numerous other daytime stars. When they can keep an audience interested for years What more do you want. You can keep your Brad Pitt’s, Tom Cruise’s, Angelina Jolie’s I will take Steve Burton’s stares. He says more dialogue with his eyes than most actors say in an entire movie. Long live our beloved daytime STARS.
Well i am not sure about Steve Burton..to me he is quite lifeless on-screen whereas Tom Cruise, Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie have real charisma..and to be a movie star you has to have charisma but Steve tried years before and he did a movie who was quite high profile and soon he will work with James Franco (who also has real charisma which explained his success for a big part) on a new project so you never know..But Roger Howarth i agree with you he has the ‘it’ on-screen, the charisma so i don’t get he did not become more successful in other mediums than soap because he did not try very hard..i mean after OLTL he did continue with another soap and now GH whereas he could have got prime time and films..
Good luck Maurice you are a fantastic actor and I can’t wait to see your new movie. I can’t believe that people who who make movies can’t see how talented the actors are form the soaps really are. if I could I would choose a soap opera actor over the others any day.
I know he was in a movie playing Desi Arnez a while back, but looking at his filmography, it says he’s been in 7 movies none of which i’ve heard of, 3 TV movies (one was that Lucy/Desi movie), 4 soaps (AMC, GH and the two offshoot GH soaps, and 1 time roles on 2 other tv shows…
he’s a good actor, but looking at the list, i’d say it’s past time to change agents! Getting a commercial (or a few!) would get him some great exposure too — he’s not too hard on the eyes! 😉
of course being on GH and it’s intense scheduling, he would have a movie schedule nearby that could work around the GH schedule – or take a break from GH, which is difficult if the fans are in charge! te he he
Maurice Benard ?
Have we all gone insane?
When is the movie TheGhost and the Whale going to be on. I really want to see it. Is it T.V. or theatre?
Nancy
I am so excited to see this film. I won’t wish you good luck, the film is already a success. I can’t for August 1st to see the screening. My son, Bryan McKinley plays Mitch and the Guadioso Twins are fabulous! I hope this film launches your new career…………..
when can we buy a dvd or whatever of The Ghost and The Whale. Idearly love sonny on G.H.Sonny don’t leave G.H.yet. I hope Kate Sullivan comes back and be a couple on G.H.You guys are HOT”’You have a wonderful family.
I’ve watched GH a long time and Sonny is GH. However I can see why he wants to try something different. Maurice is a great actor, he is sure to succeed in another phase of Entertainment. How could he not be noticed with those dimples, sparkling eyes and all his seductive looks and generally Good Eye Candy….