General Hospital doesn’t mess around when it comes to front-burner storylines.
Several permanent and temporary recasts have occurred over the six decades the ABC soap has been on the air.
Maurice Benard has been the only Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital, and he hopes to keep it that way.
Several actors currently on the show have held roles for decades, including Genie Francis as Laura Spencer, Kin Shriner as Scott Baldwin, Kristina Wagner as Felicia Scorpio, Finola Hughes as Anna Devane, and many more.
The GH actor opened up about a recent battle with anxiety that led to him having to take time away from work.
It wasn’t what the actor wanted, but it was what was needed.
Here’s why Maurice Benard was almost recast
In his recent episode of State of Mind, Maurice Benard was vulnerable with his subscribers and viewers.
There has been a shift in his feelings, which led to a bout of anxiety the actor couldn’t seem to get a handle on. At that time, his wife, Paula, and son, Joshua, were out of the country.
Fortunately, Maurice had the assistance of his daughters and friends.
He said, “About a month ago, anxiety came knocking, and of course, I couldn’t tell the triggers and a lot of that is my fault, not going to therapy like I should and like everyone should.”
During that point, Maurice revealed he knew he had to work but couldn’t. Instead, he talked to Frank Valentini and had all the praise for him. He got the time off he needed, which was two weeks.
Maurice said, “Because you have to understand, I took two weeks off work. Two weeks. And he was nothing but incredible every time I would talk to him on the phone. If I had to stay away another week, they would have had to recast.”
He then worried about what would happen if a recast was needed, and somehow, he ended up better than he was in the role.
Viewers know that could never happen because Maurice is Sonny, and no one else could step into those shoes that viewers would accept—no one.
When will Sonny be off-screen?
Details on when Maurice Benard and Sonny Corinthos will be missing from Port Charles haven’t been revealed.
He is involved in a front-burner storyline, which is foreshadowing the possible exit of Maura West as Ava Jerome.
With the way General Hospital is shot, it’s possible those episodes could be coming up; as Maurice mentioned, this was “about a month ago.”
It seems the GH cast is on summer break now, though. We recently saw a photo of Kelly Monaco spending time in Amsterdam with Tony Geary.
Speaking out about his recent ordeal and what can happen when anxiety wreaks havoc is something Maurice is passionate about. Mental health is a topic he discusses often on his podcast, and his being vulnerable is something that many viewers and fans appreciate.
General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC.