Maurice Benard Reveals Why Women Love Sonny!

Ahead of GENERAL HOSPITAL’s 60^th anniversary — which is coming this Saturday, April 1 — several of the show’s talented stars have appeared on television talk shows recently to discuss the iconic soap’s milestone. Longtime GH star Maurice Benard (Sonny), for example, stopped by THE VIEW on March 29 to chat about the 30 years he’s spent in Port Charles and why the soap remains a hit with fans.

When asked by THE VIEW hosts why viewers are still so hooked on the show after all this time, the actor flashed his dimpled smile and quipped, “Sonny Corinthos,” before supplying a more serious answer. “It gives you everything. It gives you romance, it gives you love, it gives you sex, it gives you gangsters… We’re in people’s lives every day. I’m just so proud of the show.”

Speaking of gangsters, host Joy Behar pointed out that the Emmy winner has “zillions of fan sites all across the internet” and is particularly loved by female fans, despite the fact that Benard plays a “ruthless” Mob boss. Comparing Sonny to another famous TV mobster, Tony Soprano from THE SOPRANOS, Behar wondered, “What it is about these mob guys that women just flock to them?”

Behar and her co-hosts at THE VIEW had Benard in the hot seat.ABC

One of the other VIEW hosts seated at the table then speculated that women find “bad boys” to be “sexy” — and Benard’s own theory wasn’t too far off. “Women want to fix a man that’s messed up,” he mused, sending the audience into a fit of laughter.

Benard went on to explain that his alter ego has come a long way from when he made his GH debut in 1993. “Sonny, when I first started, he was really bad,” the actor confessed, acknowledging that he was initially only supposed to do a six-month story arc. “I said if I ever got bored, I’m out. Well, I never got bored.”

After he decided to stick around, Benard made it his mission to find a vulnerable side to his character. “When I decided that I wanted to stay there, I played his pain,” he continued. “I started playing his pain and that’s when people started gravitating towards him. He wasn’t just one-level bad.”

You can watch Benard’s full interview with the ladies of THE VIEW below!