In an April 2021 Instagram post, Maurice Benard revealed the shocking news that he almost walked out on his fan-favorite role as Sonny Corinthos. As of April 2022, he's starred in over 2,886 episodes of the hit series, per Daily Mail. He shared a sweet tribute to former "General Hospital" producer Shelley Curtis and credited her as one of his reasons for staying on the show. "I remember when I started 'General Hospital' I quit three weeks into the gig," Benard revealed. "I said I didn't want to act again. I wanted to be a preacher, 'GH' and Paula [his wife] convinced me to go back."
In his Instagram post, Benard was vulnerable about wanting to throw in the towel after having a third breakdown. He recounted how everyone encouraged him to keep going, and the impact that this had on him. "I'll never forget I was in my dressing room with Shelley Curtis crying like a baby on her shoulder," he admitted. "I said '[T]here's no way I can say a line.' She looked at me and said, '[W]e will do it page by page line by line word by word if we have to."
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