The Sign Joshua Benard Takes Notes From Dad Maurice On General Hospital
Ardent fans of "General Hospital" know that Maurice Benard, who plays ruthless mobster Sonny Corinthos, is a Method actor. Essentially, that means he brings added depth to Sonny by staying in character at all times, including when he's not even in front of the camera. Since 1993, Maurice has refined his craft playing Sonny and has now passed on his knowledge to his son, Joshua Benard, who currently plays neurotic college student, Adam.
The younger Benard has been recurring as Adam since September 2023 and is now embroiled in a major storyline. Adam's parents put so much pressure on him to get nothing less than 100% in his grades that he seemingly attempted suicide on the January 16 episode as a result. Joshua has increasingly brought more intensity to the role, much like his father. Joshua explained his surprise as the part kept expanding to Soap Opera Digest, remarking, "Now that it just keeps going, it's almost like I get to go to acting class every day I'm there."
The actor shared how his dad often lends his expertise and offered a great example: "I had one scene where I was saying a bunch of medical terms and it was a super-long monologue and he told me, 'That's hard. I don't even think I could do that!'" Joshua proudly added that Maurice told him the scene was a job well done. Unsurprisingly, the father-son duo have very similar acting styles.
Maurice taught Joshua how to improvise
When Joshua Benard first played Adam on "General Hospital," back in March 2022, he came across as a total jerk because of some lewd comments the character made about a revenge porn video involving fellow college student Josslyn Jacks (Eden McCoy). Adam has since apologized, and as he started recurring, he whined to Josslyn about his parental pressures and seemed like he could snap at any moment. Joshua's performance was so convincing that we weren't sure if he was going to crack and kill Josslyn.
Happy to be able to add more depth to Adam but unable to relate to the character's woes, Joshua praised his father's advice to Soap Opera Digest, revealing, "My dad has told me, 'If you can't use yourself, use the people around you.' And what Adam is going through is actually very similar to someone I know." Maurice Benard himself has used his real-life issues with bipolar disorder, which was written into the show, to inform his character, Sonny Corinthos.
On the January 7, 2024, episode of Maurice's YouTube show, "State of Mind," Joshua discussed his appearance on the MAX series "The Rehearsal" in 2022, where he used improvisation. "You taught me to improvise," Joshua confirmed, elaborating that the showrunners had him stay in a room for an hour and a half as his character, coincidentally also named Adam. Clearly, both father and son enjoy Method acting, so it'll be fun to see where Adam goes next!