What To Know
- Maurice Benard spoke with TV Insider about his reaction to former GH costar Anthony Geary watching his podcast interview with Genie Francis.
- Benard named other GH stars he wants on his State of Mind podcast and teased upcoming interviews with notable guests.
- Despite ongoing speculation about retirement, Benard remains committed to his work on General Hospital and his podcast.
General Hospital‘s Maurice Benard didn’t anticipate the reaction that his latest podcast episode would generate. But news that legendary actor Anthony Geary (Luke Spencer) tuned in to State of Mind from Amsterdam to watch Benard’s interview with Genie Francis (Laura Collins) left him genuinely moved.
It all began when Geary’s husband, Claudio Gama, posted a video of the eight-time Daytime Emmy winner watching the episode, and the clip soon made its way to Benard. “Somebody sent me the post, so my wife looked it up, and we found out that it was real and good,” Benard told TV Insider. “I thought, ‘Wow, that’s maybe the sweetest thing I’ve seen.’ I mean, Tony just watching her on State of Mind? It was like, ‘Damn, of course.’”
Although Benard and Geary haven’t stayed closely in touch since Geary, who last appeared on GH in 2017 and relocated to Amsterdam, their mutual admiration hasn’t faded. “The only in touch we are is through this thing that he wrote on Instagram, which was very nice,” he said. “I love Tony, and we got along great. We respect each other.”
That enduring respect makes a future reunion easy to imagine, and Benard would welcome it without hesitation. “Oh, I would work with him in three seconds,” he said. “Like I said in the post, I saw him in a one-man play, and I thought, ‘You can’t be better than this.’ It was just amazing.”
Benard has had hundreds of guests on his podcast, but there are still a few names he’s hoping to add. One of those is his former onscreen love interest Vanessa Marcil (Brenda Barrett). “She may have a book that she’s doing or an event, and that’s when she wants to come on,” he explained. “She’s a big fan of the show, and she’s a big fan of Genie, so she’s always responding to stuff that I put out. And last time I wrote her, I said, ‘You better do the show. I think it’s time.’ And she goes, ‘Give me a little more.’ I think she’ll do it. I just don’t like to really push people.”
Howard Wise / jpistudios.com
Another dream sit-down would be with Finola Hughes (Anna Devane). “I really want to talk to her,” he shared. “But I’ve got three really interesting ones coming up. I have Kelly Thiebaud [Britt Westbourne], who should be interesting. And Chris McKenna [Jack Brennan], and he’s going to talk about something that he’s never talked about, which is pretty freaking interesting. And then I have Scarlett [Spears, who plays his onscreen daughter, Donna Corinthos, and is Young Glinda in Wicked: For Good], to talk about Wicked and all that.”
Despite a hot new story arc on GH and a thriving podcast, the 62-year-old Benard continues to field questions about retirement. “I don’t know why,” he mused. “I hope it’s not the way I look, like, ‘That dude needs to retire.’ But I think maybe because when I do appearances, I say, ‘I think I’m going to retire soon,’ or whatever. I may say that, and then people take that as I’m retiring, but I have a year left in the contract, and then I think I’ll stay at least until I’m 65 and then make a decision.”
Benard has long been candid about his bipolar diagnosis at 22, and his mental health remains central to his career choices. “There’s been times I’ve come in here and I’ve said, ‘I don’t know if I can do this anymore,’” he revealed. “There have been times that it’s affected my acting. I can still do it, and I’ve done it for over 32 years, but it gets taxing on my mind. But now, I’ve been really clear for four months, five months, and there’s none of that thinking. I come in, I act, I do it, and it’s easy.”
Ultimately, Benard feels this season of his life is defined by clarity. “I have four grandkids, and kids that are all working and doing well,” he relayed. “There’s no reason for me to complain. The main thing for me is peace within. If I have that, nothing can penetrate that — not somebody dying, not this, not that. When I’m in my mind in chaos, everything affects it. That’s the difference.”
The next episode of Benard’s State of Mind podcast drops November 23 on YouTube and all other major podcast platforms.
General Hospital, Weekdays, ABC