General Hospital’s Maurice Benard’s Emergency Hiatus – Why GH Almost Had to Recast Sonny Corinthos

General Hospital (GH) spoilers reveal that Sonny Corinthos (Maurice Benard) is in the middle of a worsening health crisis, but it turns out Maurice Benard recently dealt with a difficult one of his own.

On Maurice Benard’s State of Mind show, he opened up about a terrible battle with anxiety that ultimately forced him to take an emergency hiatus from GH.

Benard explained how he missed the triggers since he hadn’t been keeping up with therapy like he should.

Although Benard acknowledged that his bipolar-related storyline may have been a factor in his real-life anxiety, there were other factors that he felt played a bigger part.

Benard’s wife and son went on a trip to Europe, so that left him without the two people who can typically talk him off the ledge when anxiety hits hard like this.

However, the real problem came when that anxiety led to Benard’s trouble sleeping.

That made it even more difficult to cope, so Benard went to multiple psychiatrists and even faced a particularly rude one who made matters worse.

Fortunately, Benard’s friends rallied around him and helped get him through this rough patch.

Benard also praised GH Executive Producer Frank Valentini for being compassionate and generous enough to let him take a little time off.

Since Benard just couldn’t work in his anxious state when he was having such terrible sleeping issues, he wound up taking two weeks off from the show.

Benard was able to return to the role of Sonny Corinthos just in time since any more weeks off would’ve led to a recast.

“If I had to stay away another week, they would’ve had to recast,” Benard said. “And I’ll tell you right now, if I’d had to recast, I’d have been in really bad shape. Because, you know, the guy could be better than me, could be as good as me…”

Benard went as far to say that could’ve been the end of his run as Sonny Corinthos!

“You never know what’s going to happen. I might’ve never come back,” Benard confessed. “So thank you Frank and General Hospital for doing that.”

Once Benard’s wife and son returned home, he went to a facility briefly and had a hard time as he returned to work. Benard revealed that he eventually went on a tearful rant that helped release his emotions and became a turning point.

Maurice Benard is known for being honest about his mental health struggles with his fans, so this news was another great example of that.

We’re certainly glad that Benard is feeling better and that he’s back to playing Sonny.

As for what’s ahead for Sonny, General Hospital spoilers say Ava Jerome (Maura West) will unleash plenty more trouble, so stick with us for updates on her plans and predictions on Sonny’s downward spiral.

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Source: CNN