‘General Hospital’ Maurice Benard Says Health Scare Almost Ended Career

General Hospital fan favorite Maurice Benard, who plays mob boss Sonny Corinthos, has been facing tons of speculation that he is leaving the soap. He’s been a longtime iconic symbol on the show and fans can’t imagine not seeing him in Port Charles. Recently, he spoke about his onscreen health issues as well as an off-screen health scare that nearly ended his acting career for good. What did he share with everyone?

General Hospital Mob Boss Maurice Benard Aka Sonny, Talks Health Scare

General Hospital fans have been concerned that Maurice Benard’s on-screen heart problems were gearing up for a grand exit from the soap. Many believed that perhaps he was leaning toward retirement. Luckily, Sonny Corinthos survived his heart surgery and the crazy nurse sent to kill him. Of course, there is no doubt that there will be more danger for him in the future.

Maurice spoke about his character as well as a health crisis he faced in real life that almost ended his career. Benard spoke with Woman’s World about his retirement plans, Sonny’s heart issues and his own personal struggles.

Recently, even those close to Maurice wondered if he was really exiting the show after 32 years of playing Sonny. He said, “I’ve been here for 32 years, and Sonny’s almost died I don’t know how many times—a lot! Well, I have never seen so many people think I’m going to retire! Even people I know came up and said, ‘Are you leaving the show?’ I like to compliment myself and think that I played the heart attack really well.”

Sonny Corinthos-Maurice Benard-General Hospital-YouTube

Sonny did survive his latest crisis. However, there was a time during the past year that Benard feared his acting career was over for good.

Last August, fans saw Sonny Corinthos on a ledge after turning dark thanks to his meds being switched up. However, it wasn’t just his character that was suffering. Benard was facing his own health scare.

What Happened To Almost End His Career?

Maurice Benard faces mental health issues off-screen just like his character on-screen. When Sonny Corinthos found himself standing on a ledge last August on General Hospital, Benard was facing his own issues as well. He’s never shied away from sharing his struggles and he didn’t do so now either.

Benard said, “I called in sick for two weeks—and I’ve never called in sick. I was in a really rough period where I didn’t sleep at all and had enormous anxiety. It was physical, as well as emotional. I was in bad shape. I didn’t know if I’d ever act again.”

Thankfully, some of his co-stars, who are also some of his closest friends in real life, helped pull him off the ledge. He said, “The people who got me through were Steve Burton and Jonathan Jackson. It would have been very difficult without them. And I’m so grateful to (executive producer) Frank Valentini, who was just so generous and incredible about it. It was scary, and my first day back to work was Sonny on a ledge, wanting to kill himself.”

Thankfully, Maurice pulled himself out of this dark spot. Many fans have said that General Hospital without Sonny Corinthos is not something they want to see anytime soon. And good news, it doesn’t seem like he has retirement plans anytime in the near future.

What do you think about Maurice struggling off-screen as much as Sonny was on-screen? Do you listen to his podcast, State of Mind?

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