Maurice Benard’s State of Mind has been bringing the flashbacks. Last time we checked in with the show, he’d hosted Michael Sutton (Stone Cates). It was a great conversation and led to some surprising facts. Last Sunday, December 5th, he surprised fans with a double feature on interviews with for GH producers and writers. Let’s start with Wendy Riche.
Maurice Benard’s State of Mind: The beginning
Background is a big part of Maurice Benard’s State of Mind. To that end, Benard shared the story from Sutton’s chat where he didn’t want to go back to soaps. He spoke briefly about doing a TV movie where he played Desi Arnaz, and felt like it would be a step back returning to the soap world after his stint on All My Children.
Benard praised Riche and the others in the room when he eventually agreed to meet as sweet. Riche responded by saying he’d walked into a room of people who love what they do and enjoyed his work. They knew he could do the role, but didn’t know if he would. And it really did come down to chance. Benard had asked about the contract for both roles. Sonny Corinthos (Benard) was the shorter contract, so he took it.
Riche talked about knowing how it can be difficult to return to Daytime when one has left it for something else. So, she was understanding of his mindset and how difficult the business can be as far as age and being judgmental. That understanding came into play later on when Benard had a breakdown and wanted to leave. Again, we love how Benard chose a six-month role because he didn’t want to commit to two years, and here he is in the role decades later.
Maurice Benard’s State of Mind: Praise for the team
This Maurice Benard’s State of Mind was a bit of a love fest between him and Riche. She praised his acting, of course, and Benard praised the team for allowing him to do his own thing. He mentioned how he said “no” to notes to speak louder, and he was glad the team let him do the softer tone.
They also spoke a bit about coming into something she hadn’t really watched until shortly before taking it on. They also talked about how the genre is so fast paced, as well as how it’s more so now.
The also talked about the collaborative nature of the job. She related how sometimes an actor objects to something, thinking their character wouldn’t do that and it turns out to be right. Likewise, sometimes the behind the scenes team will have an insight into the character that the actor didn’t think of. We love that, as people working together like this can elevate a project.
Maurice Benard’s State of Mind: More flashbacks
Finally, they talked about the AIDS story. Benard opened the talk about the AIDS story as calling it one of the most important stories. And it was equally important to Riche. She wanted to do something that would raise awareness. She knew it was going to be important to make it a significant character.
However, this conversation led to some reflection on mistakes. It seems she believes it was a misstep to promote the story like they did. She felt it possibly made people tune out, so she felt they ultimately should have just thrown it out there and let people either stick with it or not. To do day, Riche apparently still gets mail about the impact this story had.
To see more about other GH moments they spoke about, the latest on The Bay, and more, check out the full chat above.
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