In the first State of Mind in 2024, Maurice Benard welcomed everyone to the new year and handed out heartfelt thanks to everyone who had subscribed to the channel and purchased his book in 2023.
Benard said that he never thought he’d be doing what he is doing today regarding mental health, and the support of the fans has been the encouragement he needs to keep going.
This week, Maurice brought on his son Joshua Benard (Adam, General Hospital) and his girlfriend Sydney Shea, both of whom are musicians, actors, and entertainers trying to break through in Los Angeles.
Starting solo with Joshua, Maurice wanted to talk about a project Joshua had taken part in before their previous State of Mind interview.
Joshua Benard had starred on Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal on HBO playing a character named Adam. Joshua spoke to the artistry of Fielder and the project, as it didn’t have a script, and Fielder holds a uniquely realistic approach to comedy.
Joshua said for the job, he had to be in character for more than an hour as the cameras rolled while he was in his character’s bedroom. Maurice asked what Joshua did in the time, and Joshua admitted to playing the guitar and sleeping — two things Joshua Benard enjoys in his own free time.
Occasionally, Nathan Fielder would pop in randomly to play Joshua’s character’s father, all improvised.
Both Maurice and Joshua spoke about how different the approach to filmmaking was in comparison to acting on General Hospital. With GH, there is always a script. Joshua credits his father for the successful appearance on The Rehearsal in that Maurice taught him that a great actor is able to live in the moment and improvise a situation.
Maurice Benard had a couple of hard-hitting questions for his son, asking the young man to define love and what scared him the most.
Joshua defined love as “being there for someone — every single part.” He thought back to the struggles he watched his parents go through, especially when Maurice was feeling the worst effects of his bi-polar depression. “Like when you threatened to kill mom.”
Maurice was taken aback by his son’s answer and was immediately filled with emotion. Benard, who is a champion of speaking the truth, especially on the State of Mind, took the opportunity to speak to the ill effects of alcohol and bipolar. Maurice mentioned losing two friends in the last year, and he feels the only difference between him and them is the fact that he put the bottle down.
Joshua said that he’s seen so many breakups and divorces because people only want to experience the good parts with someone else and leave when things get horrible. He also says that it’s also important to be aware if you’re staying when it would be safer to leave.
Maurice suggested staying together for the love of shared children, though that’s probably not the healthiest thing to do, and people should split up for their own sake.
For fears, aside from breaking his back again, Joshua struggled to identify ones that would be out of the ordinary. He specifically mentioned heights and the ocean but wanted to know if Maurice was looking for something deeper. Joshua said he doesn’t get nervous very often; performing doesn’t scare him.
Next, Joshua Benard flipped the script on Maurice and asked him, “What do you think it would be like if I was this age when you were 30?”
Maurice had a quick answer in that although that time was dark for him and he isn’t proud of who he was every day, the people he liked the most got the “real me.” But he also admits that even then, he would have his hard days with his close friends and family.
Afterward, Maurice directly addressed people who have spoken critically about nepotism on General Hospital and the fact that Joshua has been cast as Adam. Maurice tells of Joshua’s time on the soap opera being executive producer Frank Valentini’s idea and it was Valentini who informed Benard that they would be bringing Joshua on.
Maurice then compliments his own, saying that it’s Joshua’s skill that has kept him on the daytime drama, and it’s because of the accusations of nepotism that Joshua has to be great; otherwise, he’d be gone quicker than if they weren’t related. “Frank Valentini doesn’t want to deal with accusations of nepotism and they’re also bad actors.”
Joshua wanted to know what Maurice thought made a great actor, to which Maurice replied, speaking about having a natural empathy and access to emotions, but that doesn’t mean a bad actor can’t become good, a good can become great, and a great can become incredible.
Sydney Shea was brought on next to join the conversation. As an LA native, Sydney has been in pursuit of her dreams. Both Benard men were fascinated by her answers to questions of growing up in LA, her thoughts on relationships, and especially her stance on teaching the importance of mental health to children.
Maurice remembered a time in which he saw another child have a breakdown before he understood what it meant to have mental health challenges and thought that if he was given some tools back during that time, his life would have ultimately been a little easier to navigate.
Joshua and Sydney treated the State of Mind audience to a duet for the remaining time. Watch the full interview below!
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