General Hospital’s Maurice Benard, who plays Sonny Corinthos, has been a fan-favorite since the early ‘90s, and he recently discussed potential retirement. Benard, who is 62 now, shared when he plans to depart from the show and retire from acting.
Maurice Benard says he won’t retire from General Hospital before the age of 65
During the We’re Out of Time podcast, Richard Taite, the host, asked General Hospital’s Maurice Benard about the online rumors surrounding his supposed upcoming retirement.
Benard responded, “No. And there are always a lot of people… I think they’re saying I’m dying, too. Like I have cancer and some s—.”
“I’m not leaving. I’ve got a year left in the contract,” the actor continued. “Look, I’m gonna retire, but I don’t think it’s going to be before I’m 65,” he added. He points out that he is 62 now. “So it is what it is, but we’ll let people say what they say.”
The host then chimed in, saying, “Sunny needs to go on till 75,” to which the actor responded, “But I don’t think that Maurice can,” cracking a smile.
Benard plays Sonny Corinthos, a mob kingpin and one of the main characters on ABC’s soap. He has been playing the role since the early 1990s and has remained one of the most beloved actors on the show.
In the interview, the two briefly go on a tangent to compare Benard’s age to Marlon Brando’s Don Vito Corleone in the Godfather movies. The host speculated that Don Vito was 75 in the movie, emphasizing that Benard can continue to act till he’s a similar age. But Benard responded, saying, “he just acted old. I think he was no more than 50.”
Back to the main subject, Benard continued, “My reason, Richard, is, mentally, it’s taxing on me.” Benard continued to say he needs to “figure” out what he will do after he eventually decides to retire
When the host added that it may not be “good” for him to be idle when he retires, the actor agreed. He then revealed that he’s financially “pretty good” and may work more on this podcast, State of Mind. The actor admitted to understanding what happens to his “mind” when he’s “living alone” in it. So, he expressed his wish to work on other things after he retires.
The host added, “Guys like you and I don’t do well without structure,” and the actor responded, “Exactly. I’m with you 100%.”
Originally reported by Harsha Panduranga on Comingsoon.
