General Hospital Star Maurice Benard Loves Showing Off His Silly Side With Granddaughter TT
As Sonny Corinthos on "General Hospital," Maurice Benard plays things very straight, especially considering the life of the most powerful mafia boss on the Northeastern seafront is always in danger. In reality, Benard has dealt with some pretty serious issues himself although they thankfully haven't been nearly as dramatic. Benard has been very open about having bipolar disorder, and it was even written into the show as Sonny also grappled with the diagnosis. The soap star often shares his experience on social media, as well as via his YouTube show "State of Mind," in which Benard raises awareness about mental illness.
He also likes to let loose with humor online, often making funny videos with co-stars including Kin Shriner (Scotty Baldwin), Evan Hofer (Dex Heller), and Marcus Coloma (ex-Nikolas Cassadine). Likewise, Benard regularly shares sweet family moments with fans, particularly with the "General Hospital" star's three beloved grandkids, Eloise, TT, and Milo. In particular, Benard loves displaying his goofier side with TT as he shares her wonder of the world through the little girl's eyes and actions. On December 30, 2023, he posted a quick clip on TikTok of him holding TT and lovingly captioned it: "There's nothing like my granddaughter TT. A star in the making."
Just a couple of months prior, in October 2022, the soap stalwart shared a video on Instagram of him showing TT a scene of Sonny on "GH," confirming, "TT Watching Grandpa Sonny 4 the first time." His granddaughter hilariously, albeit understandably, looked more than a tad confused, then quickly nonplussed by watching her beloved grandfather on the television.
Benard's videos are like a chronology of her life
In June 2022, "General Hospital" star Maurice Benard shared an Instagram video from when TT was still in diapers. He demonstrated how good of an actor he is by opening a small box, from which pops out a fake spider, and the soap star gamely pretended to softly scream. TT apparently thought this was the funniest thing in the world because each time he let the spider out, she burst into uncontrollable laughter. The "General Hospital" fan favorite wrote, "Is this an EMMY winning performance[?] You B the judge."
The videos Benard has shared of him and TT also double as a wonderful chronology of his granddaughter's life so far. In July 2022, the Emmy winner posted a reaction clip on Instagram of TT watching her parents' wedding, with the caption: "This is a video as TT is watching her mommy and daddy get married." The youngster was thoroughly captivated with her eyes wide as she smiled at the proceedings.
Not all of Benard's posts are contained to Instagram although his X, formerly Twitter, account is mainly dedicated to "GH" and "State of Mind." He does cross-post Instagram to TikTok, but some only appear on the latter app, such as the video from February 2023 of the actor on his hands and knees, pretending to be a horse while TT rides atop, laughing her head off. The two clearly have a lot of fun together as he gushed, "Another day with my beautiful granddaughter, TT."
TT loves being a total ham for the camera
In December 2022, Maurice Benard posted a "Star Trek" spoof in which he and "General Hospital" castmate Kin Shriner, and former co-worker Marcus Coloma, are all dressed as Captain Kirk and transported to another planet where they meet its leader, played by TT, who's sporting a unibrow. Benard fills Shriner in on their encounter, hilariously noting, "She has one eyebrow, though. She kind of talks like a Klingon. I don't know if it's a little girl, or if it's an alien, or a Klingon, or just a little girl with an eyebrow."
Fast forward to March 2023 when Benard shared an Instagram video of TT dressed as Disney's Princess Aurora (from 1959's "Sleeping Beauty") and twirling around. He lovingly captioned it: "My granddaughter TT is an incredible actress. She goes from frustrated a little bit annoyed to some thing that happens at the end that's beautiful." At the end, TT hilariously mugs for the camera. And, in July 2023, in another clip in which she meets her baby brother Milo for the first time, TT immediately warns her grandfather not to touch him.
Benard enthused, "Granddaughter, TT [meets] her new baby brother Milo, [which] brought incredible joy to my life!!! It didn't matter that she didn't want me touching her baby brother. if you are ever feeling down, just go, find yourself a child or a puppy, everything will turn around for you." Evidently, these two have a lot of fun together no matter what they're doing!