It’s a big weekend for General Hospital’s Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos). The birthday boy, who turns 63-years-old on Sunday March 1, is celebrating with a very special episode of his mental health You Tube series, State of Mind on the same date.

In it, Benard who is used to interviewing his celebrity and soap star guests, had the situation flipped on him when his TV son, Dominic Zamprogna (Dante, GH) takes over the questioning and Maurice is the guest on his show. Look for Lisa LoCicero (Olivia, GH) to pop in too! “All in the Family,” State of Mind style!

Meanwhile, on General Hospital, Sonny is inching closer to a romance with ADA Justine Turner (Nazneen Contractor), as much as she protests and as much as he may have been playing her in the beginning! All this, while Jason (Steve Burton) and Sonny try to figure out how to stop Sidwell and their newest enemy WSB Director Ross Callum (Andrew Hawkes).

Photo: ABC

As a preview for Sunday, and to get the lowdown on the three-time Daytime Emmy winner’s life and times on-screen and off, Maurice visited You Tube’s Michael Fairman Channel for a livestream chat on Thursday, February 26 where lots of topic were discussed. Fans also had the opportunity to pose questions to the soap superstar. Here’s what Benard had to say in key takeaways below:

The Oprah Winfrey Show landmark appearance in 2004

Photo: JPI

“I’ve said this before, but I wish I could do it again, only because somebody said to me, ‘Don’t cry on Oprah.’ Showing that vulnerability is what you should do. And so, the whole time on Oprah, I’m trying not to cry. I’m like trying to be cool and stuff. That’s not the way to do it. But I learned my lesson there. That’s why now all I do is cry. If you watch State of Mind. I’m crying and I’m crying. I get vulnerable. I get emotional because I know there are men, even women, but mostly men that can’t. My theory is watch me and I have no problem doing it. It’s not a terrible thing and you should feel good about doing it. That’s what I’ve been doing and I’ll continue to do it. I don’t care.”

State of Mind skit

Photo: SOM

“You have to understand something about this skit. It is ridiculous. Funny as hell. If you are a fan of us (Sonny, Dante and Olivia)  you’re not going to expect what we do here. A lot of overacting. … a lot of good acting. Dom is very funny. Lisa’s just a comedian. So, if you can imagine that all in one, it’s a family affair.”

Rory Gibson as a recast Michael Corinthos

Photo: ABC

“I’ve never seen anybody so quickly come in, and do it as well as he’s done. He’s a good kid, and a sweet kid. Rory is talented and he’s just taken the role and just made it his own. I’ve been there a long time, and I’ve seen people come and go, who can’t do that.”

Another Bipolar storyline for Sonny?

“When I go through things, it takes me a while to get right back up again. I can still act, but now I’m feeling like I can kick your ass, and I’m taking no prisoners. I’m back to that mentality. Now, if you said to me, ‘let’s do a bipolar story,’ I could do it, but it would have to be the greatest story writing because we’ve gone down that road so many times. Give me something like the Alzheimer’s story, and like the one I had, I’ll do it tomorrow.”

Sonny and ADA Turner romance 

Photo: ABC

“I keep telling Nazneen and her husband Carlo Rota (Sidwell) that they’re so supportive of all the actors, and it’s not fake, and that says a lot about who they are.  This story between ADA Turner and Sonny is actually pretty good. So, Carly (Laura Wright) can have boyfriends and I’m supposed to be a monk! Now, I’m everyone’s uncle! I’m like, ‘Let’s go, man.’ I think I’ve proven I can do something. As for Nazneen, I think we are a good fit together, and she can very well. Now it’s a matter of how they navigate it. Actually, we’ve got something coming up, that’s pretty intense. It will probably air in the next week. So stay tuned for that.

Who’s zooming who?

“I felt like in the beginning Sonny is playing her. Then, I decided to get her to fall for me, so I can get what I want. Now, whether she’s falling, I’m confused. I don’t know. Sonny doesn’t need to know. But, it would be great if she started falling for Sonny more and more.”

Repetitive themes on the soaps

“How many stories on General Hospital or any soap opera have not been done 10 times over like people coming from the dead? How many times have they done it? It isn’t about how many times it’s been done. It’s whether there’s chemistry or not, and whether it works. But you can’t say, don’t do it because it’s been done. Of course, it’s been done a thousand times. But that’s the truth.”

Steve Burton’s hiatus

Photo: ABC

“I always feel like, especially now for him, he’s doing what’s best for his life and his wife and his kids. So, more power to him. He’ll be back. It’s not forever. So I’m going to miss Jason. I think Sonny always feels safe with Jason, but now he’s got Ricky boy! Rick Hearst (Ric)! For Sonny with his brother, I’m playing like I love him. He’s proven already that I can trust him. Now if he breaks Sonny’s heart …. that’s not good.”

Respect for the late Anthony Geary

Photo: ABC

“I saw Tony Geary (Luke Spencer) in a one-man play. It was literally the best acting I’ve ever seen, ever, anywhere. We were friends and we respected each other. I respected him a great deal, and we did some great stuff together. What made him great was that he could do play anything. He was such a versatile actor. That’s the quality of a great actor. Now I can play quite a bit, but I’m just going to be a gangster (laughs).

All My Children start as Nico Kelly/Lifetime Movie Reboot

Photo: ABC

“It was good in terms of the actors. I met Michael Knight (ex-Tad, now Martin, GH), Susan Lucci (ex-Erica), and Peter Bergman (ex- Cliff, now Jack, Y&R) there. But they didn’t let me act on that show. I mumbled. They would say, ‘Why do you put your hand on your face and why are you taking so long when you talk?’ I said, ‘because that’s what we do in life.’

As for the All My Children reboot and if they brought Nico Kelly back: “Oh, I’d do it. 15 years ago, I wouldn’t have done, but I’d do it.”

WWE’s AJ LEE (AJ Mendez) Mental Health Story

Photo: SOM

“I’m trying to get her on again.” She said, ‘yeah,’ but we have to touch base again. AJ told the story that blew my mind when she was on State of Mind, where she wanted to commit suicide, and she went to a motel. Before she decided to do what she was going to do, she made one last phone call and it saved her life. And I thought, ‘Wow! That’s amazing.'”

Speaking openly

“When I talk about this, I have no problem doing it because my intention is, I need to talk about it more so people can start talking about it. Because what happens is, when we don’t talk about it, and we have a certain judgment on it, we hold that in, and then it gets worse, And then your thoughts are, ‘I can’t take it. I can’t do it anymore. The pain’s too strong.’  You can’t go through another day with that kind of pain, but the reality is you can.  Always have hope that you can get out of it, if I did it, and I’ve done it, anybody could do it.”

You can check out the full conversation with Maurice below..

Drop your birthday wishes via the comment section below for Maurice! Then let us know, are you on-board for a Sonny/ADA Turner romance? Do you like Ric and Sonny becoming closer as brothers? What do you think about the inroads Maurice has made over the last 22 years for raising awareness for mental health? Would you like to see Maurice working with Susan Lucci in the All My Children reboot for Lifetime? Share your thoughts below.