The Maurice Benard Interview
By Art Swift
June 10, 2004
Maurice
Benard has two children, a third on the way, a Daytime Emmy and the central
role on the ABC soap “General Hospital.”
But he wants more.
He
wants his character, crime boss Sonny Corinthos, to battle manic depression.
“Sonny
is a complex individual who needs therapy,” Benard said last week on the
“General Hospital” set. “I’ve been playing him for ten years and they could
have had him in therapy all that time.
‘The Sopranos’ has had Tony (Soprano) in therapy for five years, we
could have been doing it longer than that.”
But
while Soprano, played by Benard’s nighttime Emmy-winning counterpart James
Gandolfini, has been diagnosed with a form of clinical depression, Benard wants
to do something radical for series television.
“I want his manic depression to
cause Sonny to have a breakdown,” Benard said. “And then he would need
therapy.”
Benard
himself lives with the chronic mental illness, also known as bipolar disorder.
He explained that when he joined the cast in 1993 he decided to play Sonny as a
manic-depressive, yet Benard’s ideas and what the writers came up with were two
different stories.
“I
wanted to bring the pain of the illness to the character,” Benard said. “But
then the writers started saying that Sonny was abused as a kid, locked in a
closet and the manic depression wasn’t really brought in.”
Like
his character’s path of crime, Benard steadily rose to the top of “General
Hospital.” A quick spin through any
given episode reveals this as Sonny dominates most storylines. Benard shoots 30 pages of script per day,
and with this power comes the ability to shape Sonny. He is trying to convince the writers of the “benefits” of Sonny
being mentally ill.
“They
said that once Sonny goes into therapy he wouldn’t be the same,” Benard said.
“But I still have my rage, my ups and downs and Sonny would have this stuff
too.”
And
if Sonny happened to go off his medication, there would be trouble.
“Big
trouble,” Benard said. “It’s a major
problem to stop taking lithium, and it can lead to a breakdown. This is something I want Sonny to have. It would make a great story, and people can
see how Sonny recovers from it.”
Benard
suggested the idea to the producers last year but they balked, believing the
nervous breakdown plot could sink the ratings.
“They
can’t say that anymore now,” Benard said. “The show has been consistently
(number) two or three, the ratings are strong and it won’t ruin the show.”
With
Benard’s contract up for renewal in December, more focus might be on whether
they infuse Sonny with these types of storylines. Benard hinted that whether Sonny evolves as a manic-depressive
might have an impact on his tenure with the show.
“I
may want to take some time off,” Benard offered, about his plans for the end of
the year. “But as long as they keep
giving me material that is realistic for a soap, then I’ll keep playing Sonny.”
Aside
from his desires for the future of Sonny, last month Benard delighted in his
involvement with the Daytime Emmys.
“I
did the red carpet, it was great,” Benard said about the procession of stars
before the awards show in New York. “Seeing all the fans, it was fun. There’s something about the East Coast; I
don’t know what it is. People always come up to me. It’s like being the mayor.”
Last
year Benard took the honors for Best Actor in a Daytime Series but he enjoyed
the ceremony more this year, even though he lost to cast mate Anthony Geary.
“I
was so stressed and nervous then,” Benard said about the 2003 show. “This year I was relaxing more and embracing
it more.”
Benard
said he was anxious last year because he had inside information that he had a
strong chance of winning the Emmy.
“A
little birdie told me,” Benard said carefully. “When they had a blue ribbon
panel deciding who won I knew someone on the panel who would say, ‘You have no
chance,’ or ‘You have a good chance.’ So last year I was 90 percent certain
that I would win.”
The
blue ribbon panel of 15 to 20 voters has now been replaced by a much larger
group of actors voting for the Emmys, Benard said. While this year he did not know in advance if he would win or
not, he said the submission process is the same: nominees submit two complete
shows for voters’ consideration.
“I’ve
realized that often the people who win are those who have two shows
specifically written for them to win,” Benard surmised. “And if you don’t do this, you could have a
show where you have four great scenes and two bad and you’re screwed.”
Benard
admitted that he was not happy with the two shows he submitted this year, and
felt the shows turned in last year were much better. He said Geary most likely had better performances, even though
Geary said at the ceremony that Benard was “robbed.”
“That
was the most gracious, incredible thing someone could say,” Benard said.
With
the Emmys over, and a vacation to Disneyworld complete, Benard is back at work
crafting Sonny.
“He’s
made a pact with God,” Benard said. “God saved his son’s life and he doesn’t
want to go back into the pool of pain with his wife.”
With
mistress Sam’s (Kelly Monaco) pregnancy by Sonny an ongoing issue, Benard
reveals that Sonny will be shot soon.
“And
Carly (Tamara Braun) comes out to save Sonny’s life,” Benard added about his
character’s estranged wife.
While
he admits Sam’s character may seem to be falling by the wayside lately, Benard
said she will figure prominently in the future of “General Hospital.”
“I
like Kelly Monaco and she’s a very skillful actress,” Benard said.
But
Benard said there was one time he worked with someone who he did not have
chemistry with, and asked the show to remove the person.
“It
was someone I was working with on a continual basis for eight months and it
didn’t work out,” Benard said. “The
fans will know who I’m talking about.”
As
for other future developments, Benard said Jason (Steve Burton) will always be
loyal to Sonny (“that’s the real love affair”) and sister Courtney (Alicia
Leigh Willis) will keep Sonny’s affections despite her erratic behavior
(“hitting her husband over the head, calling the cops on Sonny, and she’s now
with Jax”).
Things
aren’t as soapy in Benard’s personal life.
His wife Paula is expecting the couple’s third child in December. He already has two daughters, ages nine and
five. Benard shows a flash of Sonny
when contemplating how children have changed his life.
“Once
you have kids, if I want to beat someone up, or if someone drives in front of
you and cuts you off, you want to go after them, but you think, ‘I’m a family
man, I can’t do that.’”
Art Swift is a student at
the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York City.
Copyright
2004 Arthur Swift.