Maurice Benard

Last updated
Maurice Benard
Born
Mauricio José Morales

(1963-03-01) March 1, 1963 (age 60)
Other namesMaurice Bénard
OccupationActor
Years active1987–present
SpousePaula Smith (m. 1990)
Children4
Relatives Marvin Benard (cousin)
Website mauricebenard.tv OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg

Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) [1] is an American actor. He played Nico Kelly in the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children from 1987 to 1990 and in 1991 portrayed Desi Arnaz in the biographical television film Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter . In 1993, Benard began starring as Sonny Corinthos in the ABC soap opera General Hospital . For his role in General Hospital, Benard received three Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

Contents

Early life

Benard was born Mauricio José Morales in Martinez, California, the son of Martha, a bank employee, and Humberto Morales, a bakery superintendent. He grew up in San Francisco, California, and is of Nicaraguan and Salvadoran ancestry. [2]

Career

In 1980s, he began career as a model before acting. [3] In 1987, Benard made his television debut playing Nico Kelly in the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children , a role he played until 1990. [3] He received Soap Opera Digest Award nomination for Outstanding Male Newcomer: Daytime in 1989. [4] He later made guest appearances in prime time shows include DEA , Stat and Dark Justice . In 1991, Benard appeared in a supporting role in the made-for-television movie Her Wicked Ways and later that year played Desi Arnaz in the biographical television film Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter opposite Frances Fisher. [3] The following year he made his big screen debut appearing in the biographical drama film, Ruby and later had secondary role in the 1993 independent film Mi Vida Loca . [2]

In 1993, Benard was cast as Sonny Corinthos, a manic depressive mobster King pin in the ABC daytime soap opera, General Hospital . His first air date on GH was August 13, 1993. Initially, the character was only supposed to last for six months as Benard was not interested in anything more than a year. He revealed that after his stint on All My Children, he was not interested in doing another soap. [5] He joined the cast of General Hospital because he had gone broke and acting was all he knew at the time. The producers offered him two separate roles, that of mobster Damian Smith, with a two-year contract, and that of Sonny. Benard revealed that just two weeks after starting work, he suffered a manic depressive breakdown. At one point he had stopped coming in to work but expressed his gratitude to the network for keeping faith in him instead of firing him immediately. [6] He reprised his role in the 1996 prime time special General Hospital: Twist of Fate , daytime spin-off Port Charles in 2000, and in an episode of prime time spin-off General Hospital: Night Shift in 2007.

Benard has been nominated for ten Daytime Emmy Awards for his role of Sonny Corinthos, winning for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series in 2003, 2019, and 2021, as well as winning three Soap Opera Digest Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1996, 2003, and 2005. [7]

In addition for his daytime television career, Benard also starred in a number of feature and made-for-television movies. He appeared in the 2015 comedy-drama film Joy directed by David O. Russell. [8] He starred in the 2017 independent mystery thriller film The Ghost and the Whale , executive produced by his wife Paula. [9] He guest-starred on ABC crime series Castle in 2016 and appeared opposite Jamie Luner in the Lifetime thriller A Lover Betrayed (2017). In 2018, Benard appeared in the horror anthology film, Nightmare Cinema starring in segment directed by Ryuhei Kitamura. In 2019 he played John Gotti in the Lifetime crime film Victoria Gotti: My Father's Daughter . [10] [11] He later starred in films Hold On (2019), [12] and Equal Standard (2020). [13]

Personal life

Benard married Paula Smith on August 11, 1990. [14] They have four children: three daughters and one son. He and his wife adopted his wife's younger sister Heather, after their mother's death. [15]

His cousin, Marvin Benard, played professional baseball. [16]

Benard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22. He has become a spokesperson for treatment of the disorder with Mental Health America. [17] He made the decision to have the General Hospital writers make his character, Sonny Corinthos, also have the disorder. Many of the struggles he faces on the show due to the disorder are ones he faced in his own life. Much praise has been given to the show for the realistic depiction.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotes
1991 Her Wicked Ways SteveTelevision film
1991 Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter Desi Arnaz Television film
1992 Ruby Diego
1993 Mi Vida Loca Creeper
1996 To Face Her Past Jesse MolinaTelevision film
1999Operation SplitsvilleFrank
1999 Restraining Order Sicko
2000Crystal ClearStevenShort film
2000 We Married Margo Himself
2009ConfessionMitch
2015 The Ghost and the Whale Joseph Hawthorne
2015 Joy Jared
2017A Lover BetrayedDetective AlvarezTelevision film
2018 Nightmare Cinema Father Benedict
2019 Victoria Gotti: My Father's Daughter John Gotti Television film
2019 Hold On Peter Duran
2019DukeWinky
2020Equal StandardCaptain Chavat Issak
2022PassionsFather Thomas RourkeShort film

Television

YearTitleRoleNotes
1987–1989 All My Children Nico KellySeries regular
1990 DEA CurroEpisode: "Bloodsport"
1991 Stat Jorge RosarioEpisode: "Ladyfinger"
1992 Dark Justice Kelly's Mob BoyfriendEpisode: "Anniversary"
1993–present General Hospital Sonny Corinthos Series regular
1996 General Hospital: Twist of Fate Sonny Corinthos Television special
2000 Port Charles Sonny Corinthos 3 episodes
2007 General Hospital: Night Shift Sonny Corinthos Episode: "Time Served"
2016 Castle Horatio SpateEpisode: "Dead Again"

Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations
YearTitleAwardCategoryResult
1996
General Hospital Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series Nominated
1996
Soap Opera Digest Award Outstanding Lead ActorWon
1997
Daytime Emmy Award Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series Nominated
2003
Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesWon
2003
Soap Opera Digest AwardOutstanding Lead ActorWon
2004
Daytime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesNominated
2005
Soap Opera Digest AwardOutstanding Lead ActorWon
2006
Daytime Emmy AwardOutstanding Lead Actor in a Drama SeriesNominated
2011
Nominated
2019
Won
2021
Won
2023
Nominated

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References

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  8. "David O. Russell 'Blown Away' by Soap Actors Because They Just Do Their Damn Jobs". Vulture. December 10, 2015.
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  10. Ramos, Dino-Ray (October 4, 2018). "Lifetime Greenlights 'Victoria Gotti: My Father's Daughter' And 'Death Of A Cheerleader' Remake".
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  12. Eades, Chris (December 4, 2019). "Maurice Benard Previews His New Movie, 'Hold On' (EXCLUSIVE)". Soaps In Depth. Retrieved November 21, 2021.
  13. Lewis, Errol (April 30, 2020). "'GH's' Maurice Benard Plays Police Captain in the Movie 'Equal Standard'". Soap Opera Network.
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