Over the years, Maurice Benard has had several General Hospital stars on his State of Mind podcast, except for one. On the June 2, 2024 episode, the GH star finally had on a guest that everyone has been waiting for.
Here’s Jason!
Steve Burton – who recently remembered the late Johnny Wactor on his own podcast – joined Benard for an in-dept discussion about the intricacies of acting, Burton’s start in commercials, and their relationship when they first started working together.
Benard began the highly anticipated episode by saying, “This is a very special State of Mind today with a very close friend of mine.” Benard called Burton “one of the best, most popular actors in daytime” and “the next Tim Robbins.”
“I’ll forever be grateful for what you’ve done for me in my life,” Burton told Benard. “I would not be here if it wasn’t for you.”
From Commercials To Port Charles
The actors discussed Burton’s start acting in commercials, revealing he booked a Coca-Cola commerical at 16 and went on to do 30 commercials before auditioning for other acting jobs like Out of This World, and eventually landing the role of Jason.
The two reminisced about Benard joining the show and the way it made a young Burton feel. “I’m just serving Lila (Anna Lee) tea and I’m getting pissed off,” Burton confessed.
“Something hit me to say to myself, ‘This guy’s deep,'” Benard remembered after watching Burton film a scene in the 90s. Burton recalled the way Benard approached him at craft services and asked him his plans when Burton was about to leave the show. That was when Benard took Burton under his wing.
Benard asked why GH decided to change Jason’s story and Burton revealed it was a decision between current headwriter Elizabeth Korte and then-headwriter Bob Guza. “They made a decision to change my character and have me work with you, and that’s when it got real serious.”
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