Why Maurice Benard Almost Quit General Hospital Just After Landing Sonny

Posted by Aldo Pusey on Saturday, June 29, 2024

In an April 2021 Instagram post, Maurice Benard revealed the shocking news that he almost walked out on his fan-favorite role as Sonny Corinthos. As of April 2022, he’s starred in over 2,886 episodes of the hit series, per Daily Mail. He shared a sweet tribute to former “General Hospital” producer Shelley Curtis and credited her as one of his reasons for staying on the show. “I remember when I started ‘General Hospital’ I quit three weeks into the gig,” Benard revealed. “I said I didn’t want to act again. I wanted to be a preacher, ‘GH’ and Paula [his wife] convinced me to go back.”

In his Instagram post, Benard was vulnerable about wanting to throw in the towel after having a third breakdown. He recounted how everyone encouraged him to keep going, and the impact that this had on him. “I’ll never forget I was in my dressing room with Shelley Curtis crying like a baby on her shoulder,” he admitted. “I said ‘[T]here’s no way I can say a line.’ She looked at me and said, ‘[W]e will do it page by page line by line word by word if we have to.”

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