fiction.wikisort.org - Actor

Maurice Benard (born March 1, 1963) is an American actor. In 1993, he was cast as Sonny Corinthos on the ABC soap opera General Hospital.

Maurice Benard
Born	Mauricio José Morales (1963-03-01) March 1, 1963 (age 59) San Francisco, CA, U.S.
Other names	Maurice Bénard
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1987–present
Spouse	Paula Smith (m. 1990)
Children	4
Website	mauricebenard.tv

Early life and career

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 ancestry.

He started his acting career as Nico on the soap opera All My Children, from 1987 to 1990.

He then began appearing on General Hospital, a daytime soap opera on ABC. His role on the show was the fictionalized Sonny Corinthos, a manic depressive mobster King pin. His first air date on GH was August 13, 1993. Benard has been nominated for several Daytime Emmy awards for his role of Sonny Corinthos, winning Outstanding Lead Actor in 2003, 2019, and 2021, as well as winning three Soap Opera Digest Awards for Outstanding Lead Actor in 1996, 2003, and 2005.[1]

In addition to guest spots on several television series during the early 1990s, Benard appeared in television movies including the CBS television movie Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (1991), in which he portrayed Desi Arnaz. He also starred in the independent film The Ghost and the Whale, executive produced by his wife Paula.[2]

Personal life

Benard married Paula Smith on August 11, 1990.[3] 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.[4]

His cousin, Marvin Benard, played professional baseball.[5]

Benard was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 22. He has become a spokesperson for treatment of the disorder with Mental Health America.[6] 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

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1991	Her Wicked Ways	Steve	Television 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 Molina	Television film
1999	Operation Splitsville	Frank
1999	Restraining Order	Sicko
2000	Crystal Clear	Steven
2009	Confession	Mitch
2010	The Penny	The Penny	Voice
2015	The Ghost and the Whale	Joseph Hawthorne	Television film
2015	Joy	Jared
2019	Victoria Gotti: My Father's daughter	John Gotti	Lifetime movie
2019	Hold On[7]	Peter Duran	Feature film

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987–1989	All My Children	Nico Kelly	300 episodes Nominated — Soap Opera Digest Award for Outstanding Male Newcomer: Daytime
1990	DEA	Curro	Episode: "Bloodsport"
1991	Stat	Jorge Rosario	Episode: "Ladyfinger"
1992	Dark Justice	Kelly's Mob Boyfriend	Episode: "Anniversary"
1993–present	General Hospital	Sonny Corinthos	Series regular
2000	Port Charles	Sonny Corinthos	2 episodes
2007	General Hospital: Night Shift	Sonny Corinthos	Episode: "Time Served"
2016	Castle	Horatio Spate	Episode: "Dead Again"

Awards and nominations

List of acting awards and nominations

Year	Title	Award	Category	Result
1996	General Hospital	Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
1996		Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	Won
1997		Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
2003			Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Won
2003		Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	Won
2004		Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
2005		Soap Opera Digest Award	Outstanding Lead Actor	Won
2006		Daytime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series	Nominated
2011				Nominated
2019				Won
2021				Won

References

External links

• Official website
• Maurice Benard at IMDb

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