Maurice Benard’s latest episode of his podcast State of Mind didn’t go as planned when he was joined by General Hospital co-star Chad Duell, and here’s why.
A Change of Plans
Benard (Sonny) began the January 5, 2025 episode by announcing Duell (Michael) as one of the podcast’s most frequent guests, alongside another GH co-star, Dominic Zamprogna (Dante). “Something about this guy, I guess, people love him,” Duell’s on-screen father gushed. “He’s just appreciated, and he’s going to be missed.”
Benard went on to ask Duell questions about his childhood and education, which led to the actors delving into a conversation on medication for the second half of the episode. “I tried taking Adderall before, but it messed up my heart,” Duell revealed after explaining his ADHD symptoms. “So many people jump to medication as the first option.”
Duell assured Benard, who has been open about taking lithium for bipolar disorder, that he wasn’t anti-medication. “I’m not talking about you; when you have something legit off, you need to have medication.”
“My feeling is this — having done it all, and taken a lot,” Benard began in response. “I don’t like taking medication,” he admitted. “But lithium — it’s on the cover of my book — saved my life. Love and lithium saved my life,” he said, quoting the cover of his 2020 book Nothing General About It.
READ THIS: Here’s what’s coming up on GH.
After a fascinating back-and-forth on the positives and negatives of medication, Benard had a confession to make about his interview with Duell. “I was only going to talk soap opera in this whole half hour,” he said while concluding the first part of the two-part interview. “And this became just, like, amazing as far as mental health, acting; it just went a different direction, I loved it.”
The second part of Duell’s interview will premiere on January 12 and focus on why the actor is leaving GH and his father’s death.
Follow Duell on Instagram. To follow State Of Mind and subscribe, go to YouTube, Instagram, and Twitter.
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