General Hospital star Maurice Benard celebrated his March 1 birthday on Monday by sharing his directorial debut with the world. The short film, which he’s titled The Birthday Bash, was released on Benard’s “State of Mind” YouTube channel.
Maurice Benard Shares Directorial Endeavor
On the subject of what was once described by a fellow GH cast member as his “personal secret project,” Benard said, “It was fun to see a lot of my friends acting outside of the box and I want to thank each and every one of them for being so willing to join me in this adventure, no questions asked.”
The short film’s cast includes Benard, Carlos Avila, Victoria Gotti, Jim Warren, Majid Raees, and a whole host of GH favorites – Ian Buchanan (ex-Duke Lavery), Bryan Craig (ex-Morgan Corinthos), Brooklyn Rae Silzer (ex-Emma Scorpio Drake), Steve Burton (Jason Morgan), Dominic Zamprogna (Dante Falconeri), Kin Shriner (Scott Baldwin), and Jeff Kober (Cyrus Renault).
The story plays like an affectionate parody of both past gangster pictures (think GoodFellas), as well as Benard’s GH role. The actor, known far and wide and to millions of TV viewers as Sonny Corinthos, plays a similarly bombastic “made man” though his and Sonny’s daily problems differ significantly.
This new anti-hero has to deal with an equally unhinged second in command, a wife, and a mistress who have rejected his loving, and he’s embroiled in both a battle for an innocent orphan’s soul and the hunt for his missing nephew.
Though the entire 23-minute project is a treat to behold, the true gems are a series of “bonus” clips tacked on at the end.
They consist of a scene featuring Benard’s character undergoing therapy with an overly familiar doctor, a re-enactment of one of the many Rose and Jack confrontations from the epic romance and disaster film Titanic (with Silzer subbing for Kate Winslet and Joshua Benard pinch-hitting for DiCaprio), and a “frustrated” Benard struggling to act opposite his diva (or is it divo?)-licious co-star, Buddy the Goat!
You can watch the film by clicking here. General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check your local listings for airtimes.
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