During a recent State of Mind podcast episode with General Hospital co-star Cameron Mathison, Maurice Benard revealed that another soap they share in common wasn’t very happy with him.
A Tricky Time
Many remember Mathison as Ryan on All My Children, long before he joined GH as Drew. But what some may not know is that before originating the role of GH’s Sonny, Benard got his start on daytime as Nico on AMC, a role he held for over two years.
When the co-stars talked AMC, Benard reminded Mathison of his time in Pine Valley. “It was a tricky time for you,” Mathison recalled.
READ THIS: Here’s what’s coming up on GH.
“It was a year and a half out of the mental hospital, so I was kind of fragile and went out by myself,” Benard revealed. “But the funniest thing was, I’m waiting to audition and Stephen Schenkel, who was the producer, came past my door with a headshot and he goes, ‘We’ve got our guy!’ and it wasn’t me.”
The story left Mathison with his jaw hanging open while Benard continued. “So, I’m auditioning next and I’m thinking, ‘I ain’t getting this one.'”
READ THIS: Here’s why Benard got emotional chatting with The Young and the Restless’ Lauralee Bell.
But there was a silver lining in the end for Benard. “They had me come in for another role and they created the role,” he shared about his character Nico.
When Mathison asked how long Benard spent on AMC, he had a very specific number. “Two years and three months,” he said. “They wanted me to sign another contract, I said ‘Nah,'” he admitted, explaining that he only signed a three-month contract, causing AMC to “be pissed at him.”
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