UPDATE (10/27/25 1:15 p.m. ET): Two months after first opening up about his retirement plans, General Hospital vet Maurice Benard shared a new update about his future with acting. On Richard Taite’s We’re Out of Time podcast, Bernard was asked directly whether he was leaving the show. “No, I’m not leaving,” he said, according to People.
He added, “There have always been a lot of people [saying that]. I think they’re saying I’m dying, too, like I have cancer or something.” Benard pointed out that he has a “year left” in his contract, but he’s not ready to bid farewell to Port Charles. “Look, I’m going to retire, but I don’t think it’s going to be before I’m 65,” he said, which will make his GH fans breathe a massive sigh of relief. (Benard will turn 63 in March 2026.)
Benard has been a soap opera staple for over 30 years, having played Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital since 1993. With more than three decades under his belt, it’s hard to imagine the world of Port Charles without Sonny.
In his August 2025 Soapy podcast interview, Benard addressed his future with General Hospital. Host Rebecca Budig asked Benard if he’ll still be playing Sonny on GH when he’s 80, like The Bold and the Beautiful‘s John McCook and The Young and the Restless‘ Eric Braeden have.
“I don’t know, in all honesty, if I can last that long and not because I don’t want to,” Benard explained. “People are going to get mad at me for saying this, but I’m always just going to be honest. I don’t think mentally if I can keep going that long, and I don’t know if I could act on GH if I’m not at least at 90 percent. That’s the truth.”
He added, “Right now, I’m 62. Maybe another couple of years, three years, and then we’ll see what happens.”
Host Greg Rikaart noted that Benard’s got to do what’s best for him. Benard said he’ll know when it’s time to retire. “I’ll know from mental health,” he said.
When asked about what career he’d have if he weren’t an actor, Benard said, “I’d say a boxer or a lawyer. I always wanted to be a lawyer.” The Daytime Emmy winner noted that he’s a huge fan of Dateline, 20/20, and Netflix documentaries.
In a previous interview, Benard opened up about a time in 2024 when he didn’t know he’d be able to return. He told Woman’s World that he “called in sick for two weeks—and I’ve never called in sick. I was in a really rough period where I didn’t sleep at all and had enormous anxiety. It was physical, as well as emotional. I was in bad shape. I didn’t know if I’d ever act again.”
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