Maurice Benard’s State of Mind welcomed a guest that brought the nerves for Benard, as he spoke to a man he describes as the man in the history of soaps. That would be Eric Braeden, who plays Victor Newman on The Young and the Restless. To Braeden’s credit, when Benard messaged him talking about how nervous he was, Braeden said, “Let’s just shoot the shit.” Braeden also made a point of talking about how he admires Benard and the work he does. Here are some insights from their chat.
Maurice Benard’s State of Mind on a long career
So, Maurice Benard’s State of Mind started with some love for Benard and his work, but Braeden wasn’t so complementary, however, about his own career. Or that start of it, that is. He described his first part as a “dreadful” film. Funny enough, it actually took Braeden by surprise to realize it has been over 60 years since that part. Something that also blew Benard away.
They continued the talk of his career by Benard asking about working with Marlon Brando. He reminisced about discussing German history with Brando, a fitting topic as Braeden was playing a German radio operator and Brando was a German spy. They also talked a lot about politics. However, strangely enough, they didn’t talk acting. In fact, Braeden was advised to not be in the business, as he’s too bright. He apparently disliked the medium that he was famous for, which we found interesting.
Maurice Benard’s State of Mind on beginnings
The talk then turned to some background information, specifically school. Apparently, Braeden was a great athlete who excelled most in Track and Field. But school wasn’t exactly the best for him. While he said he loved English and was always good in languages, he didn’t like the teachers. He felt they were too tough and he rebelled a lot against them. We had a laugh out of the conversation about school leading to Benard admitting he wasn’t even sure if he graduated or not.
Maurice Benard’s State of Mind on anxiety
Of course, you can’t have an episode of Maurice Benard’s State of Mind without getting into mental health. When they discussed anxiety, Braeden spoke about an experience in the theater in 1965. He apparently made a huge mistake and looked through the curtain before a performance and panic set in. Nothing he tried worked, but he decided to take control. He went back to the curtain after a little while and peeked again, telling the audience they were not going to intimidate him.
Continuing on the whole anxiety topic, he talked about learning to meditate back in the ’60s. The thing was, the practice worked too well, so he wasn’t performing well in games. So, he stopped meditating before a game, but he does continue the practice to this day. Benard once again stressed how when you get to a certain state mentally, it doesn’t help. However, he also meditates now and finds doing State of Mind to be helpful for him as well.
Maurice Benard’s State of Mind on acting
The talked turned once again to acting, with Braeden talked about how he loves doing a good scene. However, Benard feels the opposite. A lot of scenes hurt, and it’s just yet another hint that Sonny Corinthos’ time in Port Charles might be coming to an end sooner rather than later. Braeden couldn’t quite understand the concept of not getting the same level of satisfaction that he does.
They talked about the audition process a bit, which Benard thinks is getting slightly better for him. But Braeden has a whole different attitude. He’ll walk out of one if the person is late, which was the case for his audition for Titanic. Thanks to some family telling him he had to do it, he eventually accepted the call to come back.
While he was reluctant to get involved after hearing stories from people about James Cameron, eventually he’d talk to the director himself and decide this could work. However, he had a surprise in store for him when he saw the crew getting into diving suits before he filmed his big scene. He wondered what he’d gotten into. It was a fun moment hearing about the filming of that movie, so if you’re a fan, check it out. Also, to hear more about his career, background, and The Young and the Restless, check out this episode.
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