A new installment of Soapy, the podcast hosted by your favorite duo and real-life buddies Rebecca Budig and Greg Rikaart, featured none other than soap legend Maurice Benard. General Hospital’s Sonny Corinthos himself stopped by for a fun, wide-ranging chat.
Maurice opened up about a lot, from thinking he’d never do another soap after All My Children to diving into his hit YouTube series State of Mind and even addressing those swirling retirement rumors.
When asked if he had any hesitation about joining another soap after AMC, Maurice got real.
“I left All My Children because I wanted to be a movie star. So, I quit after two years. They got upset with me, and I said, ‘Well, I’ll sign for three more months.’ I signed three more months with some money, and then I moved to Los Angeles, and then I got Desi kind of quick. And then I went broke,” he said with a laugh.
Maurice added that when his wife told him GH was calling, he told her flat out, “I am not doing another soap opera.”
Well, fast forward to now, and he’s still going strong on General Hospital, all the way from 1993 to today.
He also revealed that just two weeks after starting GH, he actually quit. He’d had his third nervous breakdown. But he came back, and the loyalty he felt from the show really stuck with him. Maurice says GH has been the greatest job for him, especially considering everything he’s been through.
On top of all that, he shared his love for his podcast State of Mind, which continues to be a passion project close to his heart.
Maurice Benard Talks Retirement
Then came the retirement talk.
He explained that while Sonny has had plenty of near-death experiences, he’s never seen this much chatter from fans worrying that Sonny’s going to die, or that he’s about to have a heart attack.
He laughed, “Maybe because they think I’m old now. It’s like ‘he’s going to he’s going to retire.‘”
But for now, there are no solid plans to hang up Sonny’s suit just yet.
“So right now I’m 62. Maybe another couple years, three years. And then we’ll see what happens.“
Check out Maurice Benard’s full conversation with Rebecca and Greg in the video below. It’s one you don’t want to miss. (Photo: CBS.)
Click here to follow Soap Opera News on Google News. Stay up to date with all the latest news, spoilers, recaps, interviews, and more.
Leave a Reply