Part 2 of my conversation with actor, Emmy winner, best-selling author and mental health advocate Maurice Benard.
Photo by Jim Warren
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Hey, everybody, it's Aaron to really get the full effect of this episode, make sure and go back and listen to Episode 127 titled Sunny Corinthos OR Sonny with a Chance of Aaron (that's the title). Then, listen to last week's episode, 7 Minutes with Maurice Benard Part 1. But for now, let's get into Part 2 of my conversation with Maurice. And I think this is where he turns the tables on me and starts asking about my mental health.
Now, when you have anxiety, how does it manifest itself?
All right. So, there's a very good reason why I'm not including my entire original answer. And that's because it went on for 20 minutes. Maurice didn't know what he was getting into when he asked me that question, but he was such a good listener. And it probably comes from all the interviews he does on his YouTube show, State of Mind. I tune in every Sunday, you should do the same. But here's what I basically said. I told Maurice that my anxiety manifests itself slowly and subconsciously until I get so overwhelmed that I have panic attacks. But then I told him that being in therapy has really helped me with that. But then Maurice really and correctly pinpointed the cause of most of the anxiety we both suffer from.
I've curbed the severity of my panic attacks.
Yeah. And a lot of that starts with stress when it's all stress. If you think back at your time that's happened, it doesn't come from, you know, nothing. There's always something that's going to trigger it. For me, it's just stress. And how the stress is, my wife getting cancer, OK, that's stress. The pandemic, and then the thing, and no work. Stress. What else? My first nervous breakdown. A lot of stress. Threw me. Wooooo! Like I said, you can't let yourself get.. always stay in second gear, maybe third. If you start feeling the fourth man, you better figure it out because it's almost like it gets to fourth quicker than you think and then you're messed up.
Many of you might not know this, but I was originally trained as an actor, so I was geeking out to ask Maurice about his approach to acting because his characters are so full of life and have such dimension. I wanted to know more about his acting toolbox and how he approaches the craft.
What's your state of mind when you go from script to performance, because when you're in a scene, you're in it! I used to mimic you. I used to try to like you're in it.
(Laughs) Yeah. You know, I'm a method. I studied the method. So, that's that's what I wanted. And then I became a member of the Actor's Studio. So that was kind of one of my goals...
That's cool, I didn't know that. That's cool.
Yeah, it's cool. I worked hard for it, but I but I finally got it. It's just using, you know everything.... Like when I first started GH, a lot of people don't know, because I'm this was this method guy, I had a picture of a picture of The Godfather with Al Pacino on the wall, and every day I used to listen to The Godfather. It was like... And what happened was. I had a nervous breakdown three weeks into it. Because I couldn't get, you know, I wasn't taking my medication. And I couldn't get out of that, that darkness that Sonny especially was in the beginning, where he did bad things to a girl and he did this, he did that, he was bad. So, I had a breakdown and quit the show. I didn't want to, I said Paula, I don't want to act, you know, I want to be a preacher. I want to take my shoes off and go barefoot. Walk the country, I don't know what I was thinking. Yeah, it was great. And then finally I went back to work. Oh man, I couldn't act for nothing. I had no confidence. I remember crying with the producer in the room and she said, listen, "we'll do it page to page, line to line if we have to." And I said I don't know. And I did it. And that's how I built it up again. And as far as...That's kind of the way I work. I make choices that are based on my real life, and then I think about who the character is. When I first started the character, I wanted him to be like Robert DeNiro in New York, New York. Peter Falk. You know, and Al Pacino in The Godfather, I had these three kind of ways, and that's how I work and that's what it's all about. And, you know, and in scenes, why I love Sonny because I'm playing another character right now that I'm trying to take away all that. He's just a nice guy and I'm just playing me and laughing, and but with Sonny, what I like is I'm able to act like a boxer. To throw a jab. He thinks I'm going to throw jab, I throw a hook and play that, it's fun, it's very fun, very fun character.
Is is hard for you to transition out of when you when you get other jobs because of the longevity and the and the repetitiveness. I'm assuming with that that form of filming and you're filming and you do it for so long. When you have to jump into another character, you find that's hard to peel off those layers man?
Good question, man. It's absolutely it's difficult because I've been doing this for so long. I've played a priest in this movie with Mickey Rourke. And I tried to keep his hand straight. Try to change the inflection of how he talks. And it's not easy, but I did it, I did pretty good, I thought. When I played John Gotti, it is a Mafia guy, but it was different, and plus the producer hated my guts for whatever reason, So it made that my job so difficult. But I played it. He wasn't Sonny, he may not have John Gotti, but he was something that was cool enough, I thought, for the fans to like.
As the conversation started winding down, Maurice and I started talking about sports, specifically boxing. And I brought up the undefeated boxer, Floyd Mayweather, but little did I know that Maurice had a very interesting interaction and story about Floyd. All I can tell you is this. Even if I got my ass kicked, I'd always be in Maurice's corner.
You know, the story I have Mayweather, I was at Dancing with the Stars and he walked down the stairs and I went up to him. And I said, "I just want to say I'm a fan". And I shook his hand and he didn't shake my hand.
Oh..
And I looked at him like, I know my first look was, I'll kick your ass. And then my second thought was, Oh shit, it's Mayweather. And then it got real weird. Somebody came up and said, "this is Maurice, the biggest in Soaps like you are Floyd. And he goes, "I doubt that." And it got real ugly. His manager felt it came out, grabbed him, took him away, ruined my night. But great defensive fighter. The best probably, defensive fighter.
Yeah, that's an unbelievable story man. But hey, listen, the total opposite with you, man, You're approachable. Took your time. I appreciate it. We did a great interview. Hell, I think we turned this into two episodes of 7 Minute Stories. So, we'll grab 14 of the best minutes and we'll air it and all that stuff. But hey, I really do appreciate your time dude. Thank you so much!
Look, you all know how passionate I am about 7 Minute Stories and storytelling. It's what I was born to do, but sometimes living a passion can be hard. But I wanted to share a bit of advice Maurice left me with, right as the Zoom interview ended, and it meant the world to me.
Got to go with your strength. Your strength is in, like mine, is storytelling. When I first heard your story. First thing I thought of, "oh, man, he's a good storyteller, and that's a lot. And then whatever comes after that comes after that, but never lose sight that you're a good storyteller.
