Maurice Benard Reveals Who He Really Wanted To Play On General Hospital

Soap opera blog We Love Soaps once dubbed Maurice Benard as one of the greatest soap stars of all time. But the Sonny Corinthos that fans know and love today almost didn’t come to be. During a July 10 episode of “State of Mind,” Benard opened up about what sparked his decision to become Sonny. His financial situation played a big part. “I was out of work,” Benard admitted. “I owed money. Two years between playing Desi Arnez, then running out of money, then GH calls and I don’t want to do it. My wife says, ‘Yeah, you do.’ I said, ‘No, I don’t.’ She goes, ‘We’re broke.’ I go, ‘Alright, let’s go!'”

Despite painting the offer as a lifeline, Benard was honest about his resistance to making it a long-term career move. In his conversation with 10-time-Emmy-award winning casting director Mark Teschner, Teschner dropped major news: the crew loved Benard so much that he was originally given the option of playing a doctor or the mobster. “You were offered Dr. Baranski, a series regular role, and you were offered a six-month role of Sonny Corinthos,” Teschner pointed out on the podcast. “You jumped at the six-month because you didn’t want to stick around.”

Despite the revelation that his appearance was meant to be temporary, Benard still went on to become an integral part of “GH.” There’s no question that Benard made the right choice!

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