Maurice Benard has seen the fictional character of Sonny Corinthos through a lot of dramatic storylines. However, the General Hospital star admitted that Sonny’s recent battle with mental health issues has been ‘difficult’ for him. Keep reading for more.
Maurice Benard Admits It Was ‘Difficult’ To Play Bipolar Storyline
The August 5th episode of General Hospital ended with Sonny Corinthos about to commit suicide by jumping off the hospital roof. Months of the character’s mental health issues led to that moment of desperation.
Maurice Benard has effortlessly played the mobster off and on since 1993. In 2006, it was revealed that Sonny suffered from bipolar disorder. It was an ‘art imitates life’ moment: The actor has been open about his own mental health struggles and living with bipolar.
The fictional character eventually went on medication to control the symptoms. But a recent storyline saw a rival character mess with the medication, causing Sonny’s mental health to rapidly decline, leading to the rooftop moment.
Maurice Benard admitted on social media that it had been a “difficult” storyline to play. The confession came as a reply to a fan who shared that a big payoff was coming soon in the storyline.
Fans Show Support
Most General Hospital fans know about Maurice Benard’s person struggle with bipolar. He detailed it all in his 2020 memoir, Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital.
Fans took to social media to praise the actor following the episode featuring Sonny contemplating suicide. Check out some of the supportive comments:
- Today’s episode had me crying so much because I’ve lived this before with myself and with my niece. Bravo @MauriceBenard You truly deserve another Emmy for your performance lately.
- You are an inspiration and amazing man to play Sonny !
- I am looking forward to this coming to an end because it’s been very hard to watch. Not saying the performances arent fantastic because they are. Just don’t want to see Sonny suffering like this anymore
- I just saw today’s episode. I’m with Sonny on the edge. I appreciate you bringing mental health illness to light!!
- I hope you don’t have to play him in this way for much longer. I understand that they want to bring awareness, but i can’t imagine it is easy for you to experience this both in your personal life and then have to also deal with this at work
Is He Leaving The Show?
Maurice Benard has openly contemplated retirement and becoming a full-time advocate for mental health awareness. Will Sonny go through with ending his life?
According to reports, a very important person returns to talk Sonny literally down from the ledge. Bryan Craig reprises his role as Sonny’s son, Morgan, for one episode.
