General Hospital Star Maurice Benard Opens Up About The Carson Pregnancy

Maurice Benard won his second Daytime Emmy for his work in the Alzheimer’s storyline on General Hospital earlier this year. Now, the fan-favorite, who plays mob boss Sonny Corinthos, is perhaps headed to a hat-trick courtesy of his poignant portrayal of a caring dad and husband in his current storyline.

Recently, Sonny and Carly (Laura Wright) found out that their unborn child has spina bifida. According to the Mayo Clinic, “Spina bifida is a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don’t form properly.”

Last month, at the General Hospital Convention event in Burbank, Benard spoke out on Carly’s later in life pregnancy storyline.

“When I do appearances, fans ask me, ‘Do you want [Sonny] to have another child?'” The actor shared that his initial response is to say no! “Sonny doesn’t need any more kids!”

However, Benard feels a little bit differently in real-life! “I saw a baby at the mall [a while ago] and thought, ‘Damn! I want another baby!'”

At the Convention, in June (before the spina bifida diagnosis was revealed on-air), Benard admitted he had concerns about the story — not because of where it’s now headed but because Sonny has so many children! “I didn’t like it early on,” he shared. But the actor gives kudos to Wright for doing what she does so well on-screen.

“I gotta be honest,” he says about his Emmy-winning co-star. “She’ll do anything. That’s why she’s great. This story has really grown on me. I’m starting to like this little baby.”

Stay tuned to see what development happens next with Baby Corinthos! General Hospital airs weekdays on ABC. Check local listings for air times.