For the first time in a long while, Ric and Sonny aren’t circling each other like two men waiting for the bell to ring on General Hospital. They found a fragile middle ground so Ric could defend Rocco in court, and something about that truce nudged them into a deeper thaw — the kind that feels earned, not forced. It opened a door that both brothers have spent decades pretending wasn’t there. And when Rick Hearst sat down to talk about it, he didn’t hold back on what this shift means for the characters and for the work he and Maurice Benard get to do together.
Key Takeaways
- Ric and Sonny found real common ground for the first time in years.
- Hearst and Benard are genuinely energized by working together again.
- Their trust on set fuels the new dynamic between the brothers.
- Ric pushes toward a calmer chapter rather than a full redemption arc.
- Hearst sees future conflict with Jason as a natural next step.
- Ric’s bond with Sonny is tied to his longing for a connection to Adela.
Ric and Sonny’s New Rhythm
Hearst (Ric) told Soap Opera Digest that he and Benard (Sonny) were genuinely excited to see a stack of scripts finally pulling their characters into the same orbit again. He said he felt “thrilled” to reunite with Benard on heavier material, describing how naturally they fall back into a shared energy even when the scenes get messy or he briefly blanks on a line.
He recalled one moment where he fumbled mid-dialogue and Benard simply stayed with him, letting the scene breathe until he found his footing again. Hearst said, “We stay with each other during those times when something like that happens.” For him, that trust — that willingness to ride the unexpected beat instead of killing it — is what makes their scenes land with more weight than the words alone.
And as Ric works to meet Sonny halfway, Hearst is watching his character push toward something more vulnerable: not a redemption arc, exactly, but a man trying to stop tripping over the same old wire.
What Comes Next For Ric and Why It Matters
Hearst is openly rooting for this new chapter, saying, “If there’s any opportunity for the development of this character to go into a new chapter, and have that chapter involve his history with Sonny, I’m all-in.” That history is long, jagged, and crowded with the kind of resentment that leaves bruises even decades later.
He pointed to the old Ric and Jason (Steve Burton) rivalry as fertile ground, noting how powerful it could be to revisit that triangle now that Sonny’s trust is something all three men understand a little differently. And beneath all that, Hearst sees Ric’s deepest pull — the part of him still chasing a connection to their mother, Adela. As he put it, “Sonny is the only living connection that he has with his mother.”
All of it adds up to a man who isn’t looking for absolution — just a seat at the table without setting it on fire. (Has Ric really changed? Find out here.)
