 NEW!! "Maurice Benard’s consistent and passionate portrayal of GH’s softhearted but emotionally damaged mobster, Sonny Corinthos has never failed to rivet us. But the Emmy winner has yet again raised the bar, proving that his talent has absolutely no limit." Soaps In Depth Magaine * * * * * “I can't wait to work with Maurice. The TV doesn't do that guy justice. I walked around the corner at GH and I was like, 'Oh, my goodness. Hello!' He has a presence to him that is breathtaking.” Laura Wright (new Carly) on Maurice in SOW Magazine * * * * * “His eyes are like magnets...All you have to do is hone in on those eyes and, bam, you have a connection. An an actor, that's like candy.” Kari Wuhrer on Maurice * * * * * Canadian TV Guide “With
the impending departure of Tamara Braun (Sonny's ex-wife, Carly),
a Sonny/Reese romance appears inevitable. Though they haven't kissed,
Wuhrer hints, "You will see a growing intimate relationship,
beginning with trust." That's good news for Wuhrer, who loves
teaming up with Maurice Benard (Sonny). 'He's
the rock superstar god of daytime,'
she laughs, 'but I'm coming from 22 years in film and television,
and I feel I can hold my own.' That's for sure.” * * * * * Soap Opera Digest Best and Worst of 2004 “Best Chemistry...Maurice Benard and Everyone. Some complain that GH revolves around Sonny. But it would be foolish not to take advantage of the remarkable magnetism that MB has displayed for the past 11 years. To embody Sonny is to commit from the inside out, synchronizing a complex chorus of morality and passion on every level. Benard positively hums with it—which helps draw out the essence of every character Sonny crosses. So while he's riveting in scenes with everything from graves to ghosts—it's opposite flesh-and-blood characters like Carly, Sam and Alexis that he has helped spawn three boisterous fan bases. And we may joke about his closeness with Jason (they could be GH's hottest couple), but the truth is, this is one of the most intriguing male bonds on daytime. Creating sparks is hardly guaranteed, but with Benard at the nucleus, you won't be bored.” * * * * * SoapTown USA “Bombarded
on every front, always at the center of every drama...Maurice Benard
showed us yet again why Sonny (and Benard’s portrayal of him)
is still the most compelling, fascinating, mesmerizing, absorbing,
dynamic character and actor on daytime. Benard is and always has been
at his absolute best when he can bring forth Sonny’s inner personal
struggles, when he can play to the hurt and pain, guilt and abandonment
issues that plague the character from childhood. For my money, no
other actor out there today can reach into his soul and lay it on
the table for the audience to see like Benard can, nor find that one
line or moment that delivers the very essence of the character to
the audience as a revelation. When Sonny said to Alexis, “You’re
ashamed of me, now she’s a part of me, are you going to be ashamed
of her too”, quivering lips, trembling chin, eyes threatening
to overflow with tears, words that summed up the character more than
any other had ever before, Benard was simply…Sonny. Any time
an actor makes you forget, I mean truly forget you’re watching
an actor and engrosses you completely as his alter ego takes over
that’s a moment to behold. In that instant, Benard made me look
into Sonny’s eyes, past his flaws and wounded resignation right
down to his raw heart…it was both the most uncomfortable and
exhilarating moment I’ve ever watched.” * * * * * Alicia Leigh Willis, SID Online Talk Back Dear
AliciaLeigh, ALW: *
* * * * Kimberly McCollough, Soapnet Chat- 7/15/04 Finola
Hughes and Maurice Benard are the best actors I've ever worked with
and they absolutely taught me a lot about acting. I was only seven
years old and didn't know much. If it wasn't for them I might have
been another child actor who never learned how to act! * * * * * Soaps In Depth Question: Which co-stars gave you a first impression that turned out to be a totally different from who they really are? Tyler
Christopher (Nikolas, GH): “Maurice Benard. He’s this guy
that comes off ultra-serious. You think he’s a guy who never
cracked a smile in his life and that you couldn’t say one wrong
thing to him or he’d snap your head off. After I was on the show
for a few days, it turned out that he’s actually the opposite.” * * * * * Soaps In Depth...GH Sizzles With 11 Major (Emmy) Nods 3/30/04
* * * * * Soap Star Guide...Soap Star Stats Spring/2004
* * * * * Soap Opera Digest L.A. Story 3/2/04
* * * * * Chad
Brannon in SOAPNet Chat 2/04 Chad Brannon: Maurice, for his professionalism, the integrity he has about his work.” * * * * *
Linda Dano, Soap Opera Digest, 2/10/04 * * * * * Scott
Clifton (Dillon Q, GH) on Maurice * * * * * Soap
Opera Digest & Weekly Online * * * * * Rick Hearst Interview on daytimetv.net “What was your reaction when you found out you would be playing Sonny's brother? Weren’t you supposed to be Lily’s brother at first?” “Yes,
I was, I was supposed to be Lily’s brother at first. And I turned
out to be Sonny’s brother. I was ecstatic. For several reasons.
The funny thing is I probably wouldn’t have had… there would
not have been such a danger involved in what they had this character
do as much as if I was Lily’s brother. If I were Lily’s
brother I probably would have been dead by now. The fact that I was
Sonny’s brother…that kept me alive. But even now, blood
is definitely not thicker than water or revenge in that so I was really
excited about it, because I was just crazy about working with Maurice.
And I think they really tried to capture that on the fact that we
play adversaries so well. Because of how strong a presence that he
is and not to toot my own horn but the
level of commitment that I bring to what I do as well. We’re
very strong in our own perceptions of our characters. The only reason
I was super excited about taking the job in the first place was that
I would be working with Maurice, Tamara and all those guys. But mostly
Maurice, I followed his career for so many years.” “He (Maurice) seems to bring that out in a lot of the actors…they seem to really enjoy working with him.” “Do
you want to know why? Because if you’re somebody who considers
yourself a dedicated actor, a good actor...a working actor in the
truest sense of that word, you want to work with people that have
that same integrity. And he truly epitomizes that. He’s done
this character for so long but at the same time, he never phones it
in. Which can happen after being on a show for so long. I think no
matter where he would be he would be bringing the best that he’s
got. It’s just like like a professional ballplayer—you know,
you want to work with the best. And that’s that there.” * * * * * Scott
Clifton's SoapNet.com Chat 11/13/03 Question
from Anita: Scott
Clifton (Dillon Q.): * * * * * Vanessa Marcil on SoapTalk 10/22/03 “I don't think I'd be where I am today without Maurice.” * * * * * Soap Opera Digest...ABC Gossip 10/21/03 “The
first day I worked here, I had scenes with Maurice Benard (Sonny),”
Rick Hearst (Ric) recalls. “I knew I had to be on my game for
several reasons. I wanted to be able to not be locked into the script;
* * * * * The
road to stardom begins at 'Hospital' ... USA Today.com “I've always considered General Hospital to be the champagne of soap operas. At 40, GH isn't the longest-running soap on TV (that would be Guiding Light, which debuted in 1952), but it's had a bigger impact on American culture than any other daytime soap. And judging by the number of soap stars who are now venturing into prime time, maybe the era of shameful soap-watchers is coming to an end. As
for the future of General Hospital, I wouldn't be surprised if the
current cast spawned some future Oscar winners: Maurice Benard (he
plays Sonny Corinthos, Port Charles' resident mob boss)... *
* * * * Vanessa Marcil on Lifetime's Intimate Portrait 10/6/03 “Maurice walked in, and we looked at each other, and I have never to this day felt the kind of lightening bolt that I felt when I looked at him...um, with another actor that I was working with.” * * * * * Soap Opera Weekly...“In The Ric Of Time” 9/23/03 [Rick Hearst on coming to GH] “The allure was that I'd be working with Maurice (Benard, Sonny). I'd followed Maurice's career for years. The amount of respect and admiration that I have for him as an actor is as high as it can be.” * * * * * Soap Opera Digest: Interview with Kristen Storm 9/9/03 SOD:
“If you had the choice to play some other soap character, who
would it be?” * * * * * SID
Star Talk: “Who were you most intimidated by when you first started
the show?” Lindze
Letherman(Georgie): “The very first time I watched GH, I turned
on a scene with Maurice Benard. So when I got on set and the first
time I saw Maurice, I was, 'Oh my gosh! What am I going to do?!' When
I first got on, I never said hello to him and he's the nicest guy.
One day he said to me 'Hi, how are you?' It was a freak-out moment
for me.” * * * * * SOW:
“If you could trade places with anyone for a day, who would it
be?” * * * * * Maurice
speaks about the Emmys! “
“I knew I had a lot of support [from my peers]...and people kept
saying, 'Oh, the buzz is this,' 'The buzz is that.' But I was up against
an amazing group of guys—I mean, Tony Geary (Luke)...he's unbelievable.
AND... “I just try to play somebody who's always out to prove he's bigger than he is. Sonny has got a lot of pain because he was abused as a child, and that's what I try to bring to the role...as much pain as I can.” * * * * * What
actor (that you haven't already worked with) would you like to share
scenes with on GH?: Scott Clifton (Dillon Quartermaine, GH), from his website * * * * * “And
an egregious wrong was gloriously righted. I've attended every Daytime
Emmy ceremony since 1987 and never, ever witnessed an outpouring of
adoration like the one for lead actor winner Maurice Benard. Michael Logan, TV Guide * * * * * Soap Opera Weekly...Critical Condition by P.K. Waddle 6/10/03 “There is no disputing that Maurice Benard's performances have been mesmerizing. I said it was his turn this year, and I am very pleased the Blue Ribbon-panel voters agreed with me!” * * * * * Soap Opera Weekly...Winners and Losers 6/10/03 WINNERS: *
* * * * Soap Opera Weekly...Emmy 2003 6/10/03 “Maurice winning was special to me because I've been there, I've seen what he goes through, what he puts into it.” Real Andrews (ex-Taggart, GH) * * * * * More from Finola! “Maurice, at last, at last. I am so happy you have beenacknowledged for your outstanding work. You inspire and surprise me. Congratulations.” Finola Hughes on her website * * * * * SID: What ABC character would you like to play? Susan
Lucci- “Also Brenda on GH. Brenda is such a complex character. Rebecca
Budig- “I'd like to play Carly on GH because of Elizabeth Hendrickson- “I'd also love to play opposite Maurice Benard (Sonny).” Marc
Menard- “I would love to play Sonny Corinthos on GH... David Fumero- “I'd love to play GH's Sonny Corinthos. He's really smooth.” Catherine
Hickland- “I'd be GH's Sonny Corinthos, because he's Sherri Saum- “It would be Sonny. In my next life, I want to be a gangster.” Cynthia Preston- “It'd be Carly, because I'd get to work with Maurice (Benard) all the time.” Alicia
Leigh Willis- “I would like to play Sonny, because I could
have Kelly Monaco- “I'd want to be Sonny Corinthos on GH, because he's such a badass!” * * * * * SOD: What soap star are you a secret fan of? ALW: "It's so funny because before I came to GH, I was such a fan of Maurice. I loved Sonny, I was like 'Oh my God, he's so hot, and he's such a good actor'. That was before I was on the show. Now, I know him, and it's totally changed. NO, I'm just kidding!" *
* * * * The Emmys! “It was wonderful and so well deserved. Something that Tony Geary had said in print actually in SOD; he said that Maurice has re-defined the genre in the way that he performs. I think that's true because he takes these amazing risks as a quiet actor and I just adore him, I can't say enough about him. ” Finola Hughes on SoapNet * * * * * “He
walks away from what you expect and he walks to something that is
so new and surprising and yet so true. It's not a trick, it's not
a gag, it's not for that one day, it's not an arched eyebrow. It is
true. What amazed me sitting there is when Susan Lucci won and the
explosion that night. Walt Willey on SoapNet * * * * * “BEST
ACTOR: MAURICE BENARD (GH's Sonny) -- Michael Logan, TV Guide * * * * * “He's [MB] one of my favorite actors on the planet, so I feel honored to be on the list with him...I feel in my heart that this is Maurice's year...” Anthony Geary on the Emmys, SID *
* * * * Soap
Opera Weekly... “...It is perhaps time for Emmy to reward the manwho plays this character with such brilliance and consistently mesmerizing emotional depth.” * * * * * Soap
Opera Weekly... “If his fans could vote, Maurice Benard should bepreparing his acceptance speech for winning the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor next month.” * * * * * OUTSTANDING
LEAD ACTOR Charlie Mason, Soaps in Depth
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