Maurice Benard Opens up About Retiring from Acting
Fans of GENERAL HOSPITAL’s Maurice Benard (Sonny) look forward to his weekly State of Mind YouTube interviews, where the Emmy winner focuses on mental health in intimate one-on-one interviews with his special guests. But on April 24, rather than sit down with someone else for a personal chat, Benard flipped the script and instead did an “ask me anything” live episode on his channel, answering some fan questions. The GH legend discussed his own mental health, his upcoming guests on the revamped series — and made a shocking declaration regarding his plans for his future in Port Charles!
About 40 minutes into the nearly hour-long live stream, Benard chuckled before reading a question from a fan who wrote that they never wanted him to leave GH but wondered if he might open up an acting school when he does part ways with the soap. And the answer Benard gave in reply was rather shocking: He’s considering retiring from acting!
“I’m really happy right now,” the daytime icon clarified. “If you know me, you know it’s in waves how happy I am on GENERAL HOSPITAL. Up and down, up and down.
“Acting isn’t what it was when I was young,” continued the star, who began his career playing ALL MY CHILDREN’s Nico back in 1987. “Sometimes it’s difficult and it hits me in places to act that I don’t like. But right now, I’m really happy on GH.”
That said, the actor is starting to think about his future and that includes switching his focus to his mental health advocacy work. “If I ever left [GH], I would want to bring this State of Mind [series] in a place where I could make a good enough living to just do this,” he mused. “I think there’s less pressure here for me, and I can still work with mental health.”
Unfortunately for Benard’s GH fans, that day may come sooner rather than later. “But acting… I don’t know when, but soon enough I’ll be done with it,” he admitted. “Sorry. I hate to say that, but it’s the truth.”
Hopefully, we still have a few more years of Benard and Sonny Corinthos in Port Charles before that happens!
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