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Sonny Corinthos
General Hospital character
Portrayed by	Maurice Benard
Duration	1993–present
First appearance	August 13, 1993 (1993-08-13)
Classification	Present; regular
Created by	Bill Levinson
Introduced by	Wendy Riche
In-universe information Other names Michael Corinthos, Jr. Alex Gaston Mike Smith John Doe Occupation Crime boss Family Corinthos Father Mike Corbin Mother Adela Corinthos Stepfather Deke Woods Half-brothers Ric Lansing Half-sisters Courtney Matthews Wife Lily Rivera ​ ​ (m. 1996; died 1996)​ Carly Corinthos ​ ​ (m. 2000; div. 2001)​ ​ ​ (m. 2002; div. 2005)​ ​ ​ (m. 2007; div. 2007)​ ​ ​ (m. 2015; div. 2022)​ Claudia Zacchara ​ ​ (m. 2008; died 2009)​ Brenda Barrett ​ ​ (m. 2011; div. 2011)​ Nina Reeves ​ (m. 2023)​ Sons Dante Falconeri Morgan Corinthos Daughters Kristina Davis Lila McCall Avery Corinthos Donna Corinthos Adoptive sons Michael Corinthos Grandsons Rocco Falconeri Wiley Corinthos Nephews Spencer Cassadine Nieces Molly Lansing Other relatives Gladys Corbin Brando Corbin

Sonny Corinthos is a fictional character from the American ABC soap opera, General Hospital. He has been portrayed by Maurice Benard since 1993. Initially a short term character, who was supposed last to for about six months, Sonny emerged into a popular antihero and romantic lead in the late 1990s under head writer Claire Labine. After Labine took notice Benard's performance, he was offered a contract. Benard was hesitant to do to another soap opera, but eventually signed a contract, and has remained a series regular for over 25 years. The character is widely regarded as a charming gangster with a heart of gold. Over the years, Sonny has been the center of several controversial plots and relationships.

Sonny was introduced as the owner of a strip club that forces the teenage Karen Wexler into working for him. After removing his "sleazy" exterior, Labine began exploring Sonny's backstory through his romance with Brenda Barrett. Sonny and Brenda's passionate dynamic would launch them into supercouple status.

Character development

Backstory

Former head writer Bill Levinson was credited with creating the character of Sonny. Sonny was originally scripted as "An Italian." According to Damon Romine of Soap Opera Update, "Sonny is a man from the streets who has scratched his way to the top of an underworld subculture." Sonny was said to be have been raised in Bensonhurst, Brooklyn, by his late mother. This is where he meets childhood friend, Lois Cerullo. Sonny was raised by his mother and an abusive stepfather while his birth father was absent from most of his life. At the time, Benard hoped the show's original leading man, the Italian John Beradino, who played Dr. Steve Hardy could be Sonny's father. Benard also noticed a resemblance between himself and co-star Stuart Damon, who played Dr. Alan Quartermaine. Labine commissioned scriptwriter Karen Harris to develop Sonny's backstory. "So I got to come up with Sonny's childhood, and his relationship with Deke, and the whole Joe Scully story." Harris also created Sonny's estranged father Mike Corbin. Sonny is born Michael Corinthos, Jr. to Mike Corinthos and his wife Adela in 1965. Sonny's birth year is revised to 1969 in 2012.

Personality

Damon Romine of Soap Opera Update characterized Sonny as a "rebel and a loner." Alison Sloane Gaylin of Soap Opera Digest categorized characters like Sonny as "perfect examples of soaps' new antiheroes." Sloane Gaylin described Sonny "shady" and "an undeniably sexy thug." Janet Di Lauro described Sonny as a "nefarious mobster" in 1996. ABC Soaps In Depth described Sonny as a "brooding mobster" in 1997. In 2006, Chicken Soup magazine likened Sonny to Don Corleone. In 2007 Rose Gordon of Bird Talk magazine described Sonny as "sexy and calculating but sensitive and generous." John Anderson of BP magazine described the "complicated mobster" as a "Tony Soprano prototype."

In comparison to his previous role as Nico Kelly on All My Children, Benard said "Sonny is much worse than Nico. He's not a good guy." In 1994, Benard said of the comparison that Sonny is "much darker and more evil." Benard described as "a kid who has lots of ambition." Because of his past, Sonny "wants all the respect and power he can get." Sonny is "very jealous and very insecure." According to Benard, Sonny is "always trying to prove he's going to become something in his life." Benard said of Sonny in 1996 "He can be charming. He can be a jerk. He can be intense. He can make you laugh." Sonny is "unpredictable" Benard said in 2007. "You never know from one second to the next what he is thinking, feeling or planning." In 2012, Benard described Sonny as a "gangster with a good heart. […] He’s does bad things (at times) for good reasons. He’s human."

Casting and portrayal

This Rebel has a Cause

In my mind, I always aid 'I'll make this guy bipolar.' He started out being a bad guy, a really bad guy. And I thought to myself 'How can I make this guy come off in a way where it's justified, in his head, what he's doing?' I had always thought about the history of the character, what happened to him as a child. When I let it be known I was bipolar, we wrote it into the character.

Maurice Benard, BP (2007)

Benard was invited meet with General Hospital's executive producer Wendy Riche, supervising producer Shelley Curtis and casting director Mark Teschner in 1993 after struggling to find work for about two years. In a 2010 interview with We Love Soaps, Benard said "I actually didn't want to do another soap but I had run out of money!" According to Mark Teschner who was familiar with Benard's work on All My Children, Benard was one of the few actors considered for the role. Teschner told Soap Opera Update "We brought him in and he immediately clicked with (executive producer) Wendy Riche, and it was a matter of how soon can we get him on the show." Bernard admitted that he didn't plan on staying long. "I didn't want to sign a long term contract." In addition to Sonny, Benard was also considered for the role of mobster Damian Smith which came with a two year contract while Sonny was only six months. Benard was hesitant to take the role as he didn't have the best experience on All My Children but the producers convinced him. "So I said I liked Sonny because I liked the name and it was a short-term part." Benard said of his casting "I've never had this much fun in my life. […] I've only been here for (a short while), but it really seems like I've been here years because everyone is so cool." He continued, "I love it here. They let me act."

In an effort to "rationalize" Sonny's behavior, Benard created a backstory for Sonny. Benard explained that "I had been taught to do bios to get into the character, so I did. I got into Sonny." In a 1993 interview, Benard said "The way I've chosen to play Sonny is that he carries a great deal of pain, and has a lot of turmoil in side him. He doesn't want anybody to know he's good because he's been hurt so much." In a 1996 interview, Benard revealed the extent of his preparation for the role: "It's a lot of preparation, because you can't do the kind of work you see in the movies on soaps unless you are home doing this with it." He continued, "Everything I do in a scene is personalized. I make it about me." Benard later revealed that he used his hospitalization after a nervous breakdown to inform his portrayal. "When I act now […] I am back in that hospital. What happened was I leaned back and a [watch] cut into my wrist. It reminded me of being strapped [to a bed]. So I used it. I got scared." He continued, "My breakdowns have been the greatest thing for my acting." According to Benard, without the real life experiences, "I could act all right, but to go to that deep, bizarre place, to play somebody losing his mind, as Sonny is, no." "It was method acting without them knowing" Benard said of his portrayal in 2007.

Development

Introduction (1993–1994)

Sonny is introduced in the summer of 1993 as a the menacing owner of a local strip club, the Paradise Lounge, who takes in street kid Stone Cates (Michael Sutton). Stone later introduces Sonny to Karen Wexler (Cari Shayne), a girl Stone has crush on. Karen eventually confides in Sonny that she was being molested. Benard later revealed the scenes were difficult for him as he was in the midst of a breakdown when he stopped taking his medication. "If you look back at those scenes with Cari (Shayne), where Karen was telling Sonny she was abused, those emotions were very real" Benard said. "I had to prove I was this 'actor' and it drove me to the ground." Benard was on the verge of quitting when Wendy Riche and Shelley Curtis took him under their wing. With their support, Benard was able to bounce back and began taking his medication again. "With veiled threats and manipulation, he transformed good girl Karen into a pill-popping" said Alison Sloane Gaylin. At the time, according to head writer Claire Labine, "He was seen primarily as a threat to Karen." Sonny doesn't even have a last name and "he didn't have much depth because [GH] was thinking of him as a short-term situation." In a 2009 interview, Labine said "I found the thrust for the character really detestable. I hated the stripper story. He was supposed to be feeding Karen drugs in order to get her to do it." The storyline comes to a head when Karen has a bad reaction some pills and she quits stripping for good, presumably risking her life by defying Sonny. Benard said "Sonny gets bad, but not irredeemably bad." This was the beginning of Labine's tenure as head writer in October 1993.

Despite the character's behavior, Benard expressed hopes that the character could find some sort of redemption. Thanks to Benard's charismatic portrayal of Sonny, Claire Labine "saw Sonny's potential to shine." She wanted to write for him and got her wish when Benard signed a long-term contract. Scriptwriter Karen Harris admitted "I fell in love with [Sonny] the moment I saw him." Harris found herself offering suggestions on what Sonny would and wouldn't do which led to Labine giving her the opportunity to write the first longstory for Sonny. The first thing Labine did was get Sonny away from the strip club. "Besides getting rid of that sleazy element right away, I don't think we've changed Sonny all that much. I think we just know him a hell of a lot better" the writer explained. Additionally, "Sonny exposed his vulnerability — and his humanity — during Stone's bout with AIDS when he also befriended Robin (Kimberly McCullough)." Unlike his previous portrayal of emotional scenes, when Benard took on Stone's death in November 1995, he didn't get "as depressed." Benard recalled "I told him he was like a brother to me. I've been waiting for the scene for 11 years as an actor. I just poured it out. Mike Sutton and I were both crying. It was heavy. But all that stuff is therapy. I release it. I release emotions." Benard categorized the storyline as one of his favorites.

However, Labine insisted that Sonny would never change who he was. "We have no intention of reforming Sonny. The edge has to stay because that is his appeal. It's the eternal appeal of the bad guy with a vulnerable side. There's the hope that we can change him and the knowledge that we never will!"

Relationship with Brenda Barrett (1993–1997)

In late 1993, Benard shared his first scenes with Vanessa Marcil who played rebellious teen Brenda Barrett when they meet on the docks. Benard admitted to being "nervous that day." However, when the producers saw the chemistry between Benard and Marcil, "They said 'that's when we knew you and Brenda would be together.'" Claire Labine said "We took one look at them together and said, 'Ohmigosh!'" Once the producers saw Sonny and Brenda together again in February 1994, on the Valentine's Day episode, "we knew that was pay dirt. We had a number of writers who really invested as well." One of those writers was Harris who wrote both of the scenes. It was Labine's decision to use "bad girl Brenda to introduce the real Sonny." Labine explained in Soap Opera Digest that because it "incumbent on us to flesh out the character," the viewers get to know Sonny through Brenda. "Brenda's a challenge to him and she stands up to him." Sonny has "exploited women and not understood them." But Brenda is the first woman "he really wants to understand" Labine said. "This is the first time he's had a relationship of equals." Their attempts "to ignore their spark" goes awry when Brenda nurses Sonny back to health after he gets shot. According to Damon Romine, Sonny and Brenda "are two people are two people who don't need each other." Labine said of the duo, "Theirs is not an easy relationship and it's not going to be an easy relationship to sustain." Benard said "I think there is something more than just physical, but not that Sonny wants to admit." Sonny likes Brenda because "she's a tease, she's a challenge, and she plays hard-to-get." According to Benard, Brenda "has this little girl thing about her. Maybe he feels he can change her… Mold her into what he wants." Sonny later funds Brenda and Lois Cerullo's (Rena Sofer) venture into the music business when they sign Miguel Morez, played by real-life singer Ricky Martin. Though Sonny and Brenda are together, Miguel's romantic feelings for Brenda come through in their friendship. Labine said "Miguel is very insightful in terms of Sonny and who Sonny is and he's been a very big help to Brenda during the tough times in her relationship with Sonny." According to Benard, Sonny's sees the friendship as "interference" in his relationship with Brenda. In an effort to distract him from Brenda, Sonny brings Miguel's ex-girlfriend Lily Rivera (Lilly Melgar) to town.

Betrayal (1995)

Brenda is "devastated" in 1995 when Sonny doesn't propose to her on her 21st birthday. While she doesn't really aspire to marriage, according to Marcil, Brenda likes the idea of being asked at such a "perfect time." Though she's younger, Brenda matures faster than Sonny and Marcil said "She already wants to go deeper." However, "I don't think he'll be able to match that unless he makes some changes" Marcil said of Sonny. Though he wants the relationship to work, it's difficult for Sonny to give Brenda "what she really needs — to be more expressive and open."

In May 1995, when Sonny is targeted in a mob hit, that puts directly in the line of fire, Brenda demands answers about what he does for a living. However, "Sonny fears that if he does tell her, she’ll leave anyway." Matt Webb Mitovich said Brenda is "in denial about her beau’s mob ties" so she does the unthinkable. In an effort to prove that Sonny isn't in the mob, Brenda wears a wire, and gets caught when Lily tips Sonny off, and Sonny dumps her. Webb Mitovich described the plot twist as the "first major test" of Sonny and Brenda's love. Hope Campbell of Soap Hub said "When Sonny found the wire, his reaction was visceral." Karen Harris wrote the story with an alternate ending, but Labine changed it. Harris and her colleague Elizabeth Korte tried talk Labine out of it. "I was convinced that if Brenda wore a wire, Sonny would NEVER forgive her" and they couldn't come back from it. However, Labine felt it would make for better story to see Sonny and Brenda work through this betrayal. In 2018, Campbell said the plot "nearly defined and decided everything else that has happened to [Sonny] up till now."

Relationship with Lily Rivera ("Clink-Boom!")

While Brenda finds comforts with Miguel, Sonny turns to Lily. Soap Opera Digest said "Though Sonny cares for Lily, he is still not over Brenda." Dorothy Gass of Fame10 said though Sonny "certainly had feelings for Lily and cared for her deeply," they actually "started off as friends."

In 1996, when Sonny is facing racketeering charges, Lily's father crime lord father Hernando Rivera (Ismael 'East' Carlo) offers to keep Sonny out of prison in exchange for him marrying Lily. "Though Sonny still loves Brenda, he’s determined to go through with the wedding. A devastated Brenda shows up at the ceremony, prepared to do whatever it takes to stop it." However, Sonny and Lily are married on February 5, 1996. Of the dynamic between Sonny and Lily, actress Lilly Melgar said "Lily brought out a softer side to Sonny. She made him feel safe." Soap Opera Weekly said "Sonny is marrying Lily for convenience, not love." Despite the plot, ABC Soaps In Depth said "Sonny and Lily had a sweet and beautiful love that very nearly survived his feelings for Brenda." Sonny plans to leave Lily for Brenda and Hernando secretly hatches plans to kill Sonny because of it. Being with Sonny also changed the typically "one dimensional" Lily. According to Melgar, Lily went from always doing the right thing for everyone else, specifically Sonny. However, when it came time to leave Sonny realizing he might never get over Brenda, a pregnant Lily tells herself "I’m going to choose grace in this moment because I love him. […] You saw that when she finally had the courage to leave Sonny. She was done." Lily is determined to leave Sonny and plans to raise her child on her own. However, Sonny commits himself to his marriage when Lily reveals she is pregnant. Of the scene, Melgar said "She was trying so hard to deliver good news but everything inside of her is breaking because she knows he doesn’t want it. And he’s trying so hard to be gracious when he’s torn. There is so much going on between them with minimal dialogue. That was powerful." Sonny "gets on his knees" and begs Lily to come back because he wants a life with her and their unborn child. Soap Opera Digest described the pregnancy as a "defining moment for Sonny, because his own father had run out on him and he could never do that to his own child." "Though he struggled with his passion for Brenda, in the end, it was Lily that he chose." Sonny was "finally happy" Melgar insisted in 2014.

Riche on Lily's death

It served the story to have her suffer an ironic death at the hands of her own father while he was trying to show his 'love' for her by killing her husband. It's a sick world she came from.

Wendy Riche, Soap Opera Digest (1996)

As Brenda marries Jasper Jacks (Ingo Rademacher), Sonny and Lily celebrate her pregnancy news when she is killed by a car bomb, planted by her father, intended for Sonny. The plot is most commonly referred to as the "Clink-boom" episode. Melgar reveled that she was ok with the the decision to kill the character as it came at a time when she was pushing to do more with the character, and the writers were against it. She worked with Benard "so we could bring levels of realism to Sonny and Lily’s marriage." However, the writers "were very adamant about Lily being a certain way." Melgar concluded that it was "the best way to go." In 1996, Riche told Soap Opera Digest that "The loss of Lily and his unborn brings a devastating realization to Sonny" that "he has caused harm to those around him." Before Sonny can even begin to think about pursuing Brenda, "He will have to heal himself separately." But according to Maurice Benard, "Sonny is in so much pain right now, he doesn't care." When Sonny inherits $30 million from Rivera and gives it away to charity, in Stone's name, Benard said "He's not thinking. He's just going through the motions."

Melgar said Lily's death "had the most profound impact on the character of Sonny" as it "has molded the character of Sonny Corinthos through what he has experienced to this day!" Michael Fairman TV noted that Lily's death would "set the course for all the next wives and women in Sonny’s life." In 2010, Melgar reflected on her experience working with Benard: "Maurice has been one of my greatest and most loving teachers. Blunt but kind and always on your side." She later said Benard "believed in me from our first scene. He was so encouraging, and took me under his wing." Daytime Confidential's Jamey Giddens said the plot "immortalized" Lily in the show's history. In 2013, Benard said it was one of his favorite plots.

Romantic triangle (1996–1997)

With Sonny now a widow, the writers developed a romantic triangle between Sonny, Brenda and Jax. In losing Lily, Sonny "feels totally incapable of giving anything to Brenda right now" Riche said. Meanwhile, for the first time, according to actress Vanessa Marcil, Brenda is completely "torn" by her feelings for Sonny and Jax. "That was never the case before. She was in love with Sonny and that was the end of it. She really decided to try and move on." Riche explained that "Brenda has finally grown to the point where she doesn't need to take from Sonny." However, she does offer her support in the wake of Lily's death because "She is genuinely worried about Sonny and wants to be there for him." But that is all. Brenda "sees where [Sonny] is and lets him be." Though it takes a lot for Jax to trust Brenda to be alone with Sonny, it is what's best for Brenda, and according to Ingo Rademacher, Sonny is no threat. But Marcil insisted that "Brenda is ready to let Sonny go. Not in her heart, but in reality."

By late 1996, though Sonny understands he still bares responsibility for Lily's death, "he's moved beyond the breast-beating and is getting back into life." It is "cathartic" for Sonny when he removes Lily's portrait from his home. Sonny is determined to uncover Jax's secret to win Brenda back. Ned Ashton (Wally Kurth) encourages Sonny's investigation and "provides the catalyst for Sonny's pursuit of the truth." According to Riche, "Underneath it all, [Sonny] wants to prevent Brenda from being hurt. He didn't marry Lily to keep Brenda alive just to see her get hurt in someone else's arms." Though Brenda is ready to profess her love for Jax, Marcil argued that is in love with the image of what Jax represents. Her family, particularly her late father, would approve of a union with Jax while "He'd never approve of Sonny." Though Sonny thinks she will help his cause, "even he has no idea how volatile" Jax's presumed dead first wife, Miranda (Leslie Horan) is when he finds her. But it backfires, and Brenda is upset. According to Marcil, Brenda's anger is more because she is thinking with her head by trying to build a life with Jax, instead of with her heart and choosing Sonny.

Matt Webb Mitovich of TVLine said "‘Twas a triangle that in one form or another, and off-and-on, would span some 17 years."

Departure (1997)

In 2007, a decade later, Benard revealed that it was a bipolar breakdown that forced him to leave the show after he stopped taking his medication. It took Benard a year to recover.

Beginnings of Sonny and Carly (1999–2005)

Main article: Sonny Corinthos and Carly Benson

Bipolar diagnosis (2006)

In early 2005, Benard signed a new contract with the series which he said "gives me a lot of creative freedom." The actor revealed that "I've tried to convince the writers to include a story line where Sonny evolves into a manic-depressive." Benard himself was diagnosed in 1985 at the age of 21. "I think being bipolar has helped me in my portrayal of Sonny, who comes from a place of rage and pain," the actor said in 2005. In 2006, Sonny was officially diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Benard said "I talked with the writers, and they did a beautiful job for me. It was hard. Every week my wife would ask me how I was doing, and I said fine, fine, fine."

In 2006, Sonny experiences a nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with bipolar disorder.

"That was important for us. I think the show did a great job at portraying the beginning stages of a breakdown, and what it's like to have it, get help and get on medication."

The plot "chronicled a bipolar breakdown as experienced by a character who has bipolar—who, in turn, is being portrayed by an actor with bipolar." Not only had Benard's real-life experience informed his life and work, "it has also become a part of the daytime drama—something that's probably unique in the history of entertainment. As a dramatic technique, it might be dubbed 'Extreme Method Acting.'" Guza acknowledged that "Maurice wasn't just playing it, he was living it. And he went to some scary, scary places."

"In my mind I always said, 'I'll make this guy bipolar.' […] I thought to myself 'How can I make this guy come off in a way where it's justified, in his head, what he's doing?' I had always thought about the history of the character, what happened to him as a child. When I let it be known I was bipolar, we wrote into the character." Guza gave Benard the freedom to green-light the story. "When you're ready, let me know" the scribed said.

Sonny develops a romance with Dr. Emily Quartermaine (Natalia Livingston). Emily "seeks out psychiatric advice and her fears about Sonny are confirmed." She later helps Sonny understand the causes of "his spending sprees, rages, and manias. Sonny eventually seeks further psychiatric help the corroborates the bipolar diagnosis."

In 2013, Benard said the bipolar diagnosis was his favorite plot because Sonny "was a broken man. It was very intense, and the most personal storyline I’ve ever had. And I think we educated some people — as much as you can on a soap opera."

Reception and impact

Bipolar disorder

John Anderson of BP magazine said "Benard, in effect, barges up to the precipice, acting out symptoms of his own illness, almost daring them to come on. It's this virtual placing of his head in the lion's mouth that earned his head writer's admiration." Guza said of Benard's portrayal of Sonny during the arc "It was the most courageous thing I'd ever seen." He continued, "It's above and beyond the call."