From Breakdown to Breakthrough: Maurice Benard on Mental Illness and Healing

Summary

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Podcast Summary

Episode Overview

Podcast: We're Out of Time
Host: Richard Taite
Guest: Maurice Benard
Episode Title: From Breakdown to Breakthrough: Maurice Benard on Mental Illness and Healing
Date: October 28, 2025

This episode features Emmy-winning actor and mental health advocate Maurice Benard, best known for his role as Sonny Corinthos on General Hospital. Maurice opens up about his lifelong battle with bipolar disorder, the struggle of going public with his mental illness, and the importance of resilience, vulnerability, and support. With deep sincerity and humor, Maurice and host Richard Taite cut through stigma, discuss the state of mental health treatment, and dive into Maurice’s career and advocacy.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Maurice’s Journey with Bipolar Disorder

• Early Struggles & Misdiagnosis

  • Maurice recounts his first severe mental health crisis at age 21, spending his 22nd birthday in a mental institution, and the struggle to get a proper diagnosis.
  • Quote: “They could not tell me what I had for... I was in there for two and a half weeks... finally, Dr. Noonan tells me, ‘Your manic depressor... It’s a chemical imbalance. I’m going to put you on lithium. You’re going to be fine.’” (06:09)

• Breakdown on General Hospital

  • Maurice shares how he quit General Hospital after his third nervous breakdown, caused by being off medication for two years.
  • Quote: “Every time I’ve stopped taking my medication, I have a breakdown.” (04:28)
  • Lithium has kept him stable for 32 years: “Love and lithium saved my life, and it really did.” (05:01)

2. The Trauma of Institutionalization

• Experience in a Psychiatric Hospital

  • Maurice gives a raw account of being restrained and put in seclusion for “bad behavior.”
  • Quote: “They tie you from your wrist, waist and your ankles... Mom, dad came in and look at me like, what is happening to my son?” (08:08)

• Escaping the Hospital

  • He narrates his escape, including trading a jacket for tennis shoes, running past the staff, and seeking help from strangers.
  • Memorable Moment: The humility of asking a stranger for 25 cents to use a pay phone—“First time I felt, excuse me, can I... can I have 25 cent?” (12:12)

3. The Weight of Stigma and Upbringing

• Stigma Around Mental Illness

  • Maurice describes the social stigma, the misconception that “it’s not a big deal,” and the deeply ingrained fear of what others think.
  • Quote: “With mental illness...my whole head is worrying what everybody’s gonna think.” (15:35)

• Cultural Expectations

  • Raised in a Hispanic family, the imperative was to “never show weakness.”
  • “You shouldn’t show any vulnerability when you’re Hispanic. My father’s from Nicaragua, my mother’s from San Salvador. And you care what people think? Enormously.” (16:43)

4. Family, Support, and Recovery

• The Role of Family

  • Maurice credits his parents, wife, and especially his son Joshua for supporting him at his lowest points.
  • Touching Story: When Maurice felt he couldn’t go on, his son said, “Yes, you can, because I’m gonna get you through it. And he did. It was amazing.” (20:25)

• Advice to His Younger Self

  • “I would say... don’t care about what people think... it’s what thinking what somebody’s thinking of you does to your mind and what it does to you as a person.” (21:31, 21:48)

5. Mental Health Advocacy and State of Mind

• Origin of State of Mind

  • Inspired by a panic attack, Maurice started recording himself to show the real face of mental illness—first on Instagram, then as a podcast.
  • Quote: “I started getting people—10,000, 20,000. And I saw it grow... then from that, went to YouTube... Five years later, over 500 interviews.” (24:46)

• Most Impactful Guests

  • Maurice recalls guests whose stories transcend celebrity: a police officer whose suicide attempt failed because his gun jammed, a woman who lost her arm, Cheryl Underwood’s tragic story.
  • Quote: “It doesn’t have to be celebrities. I had Cheryl Underwood tell me her husband jumped off a building.” (27:24–28:02)

6. Societal Issues: Homelessness and Mental Health

• On Homelessness

  • Both discuss the growing crisis, especially among the mentally ill. Richard proposes practical, university-driven solutions.
  • Quote: “It can be fixed in two years... all you have to do is get a group of those people that are always graduating [from psychology programs]... and have a training program that teaches them how to be golden retrievers and just take them right off the street... it’s actually quite simple.” (30:09)

• Structural Barriers

  • “Homeless people don’t vote. They don’t have anybody speaking for them... If they fix the problem, these agencies go away. So they’re incentivized to keep the problem going.” (30:56)

7. Acting, Identity, and Legacy

• Living as Sonny Corinthos

  • Maurice discusses the toll of playing a bipolar character while living with the illness. “Here I am, I am bipolar. Playing bipolar. A lot of times I didn’t... couldn’t shut it off.” (33:59)
  • On acting style: “The better you are [as an actor], the more you suffer because you become that person.” (34:22)

• Future on General Hospital

  • Addresses rumors of leaving: “No. I got a year left in the contract... I don’t think it’s going to be before I’m 65.” (39:12–39:40)
  • Maurice contemplates retirement, the need for structure post-acting, and continuing with State of Mind.

• Legacy

  • “I want my legacy to be... I was one of the—or the first—man to come out and say he was bipolar...” (43:11)
  • The pandemic radically changed perceptions of mental health: “Anybody who’s never had it and thought it was nothing now has it. And they’re like, oh, this is what that is.” (44:49)

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Medication:
  “32 years straight, no breakdown.” (04:56)

• On Compassion:
  “That’s why you give homeless people money, folks. Because it is embarrassing and dehumanizing.” (13:38)

• On Why He Went Public:
  “It’s not about the acting... It’s the mental health.” (43:48)

• On Legacy:
  “I want my legacy to be I was one of the... or the first man to come out and say he was bipolar.” (43:11)

• On Validation:
  “Now everybody else is like, oh, I’m not the only one... I’m not alone... I’m not a weirdo.” (43:53)

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Important Timestamps

• Early mental health experience and hospital stay: 05:36–08:15
• Story of hospital escape: 08:33–13:32
• Discussion on stigma and family values: 14:22–17:50
• Maurice’s relationship with his son, and surviving lowest point: 18:41–20:44
• Creating State of Mind podcast: 22:18–24:46
• Guests’ stories from State of Mind: 26:09–28:02
• Homelessness and mental healthcare system: 28:36–31:27
• Portraying bipolar disorder in ‘General Hospital’: 32:35–34:52
• Retirement and legacy: 39:05–43:53

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Tone & Atmosphere

The episode is deeply candid, heartfelt, and unflinching—but also peppered with humor and camaraderie. Both Richard and Maurice share personal moments and perspectives, often laughing through dark recollections to keep the conversation engaging and real. The tone is frank, supportive, and practical—matching the show’s mission to break taboos around mental illness and provide hope.

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Final Highlights

• Maurice will soon get Jeannie Francis (Laura of General Hospital) on his podcast State of Mind. (45:47)
• He closes with a memorable in-character Sonny Corinthos impression for the audience. (41:41–42:55)
• The episode ends on the importance of kindness and solidarity: “Gotta be good to each other, people.” (45:42)

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For more on Maurice Benard’s advocacy and stories, follow him on Instagram, and check out his State of Mind YouTube channel.

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Memorable Closing Quote:
“I want my legacy to be I was one of the first men to come out and say he was bipolar... It’s not about the acting. It’s the mental health.” (43:11–43:48)

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Transcript

[Maurice Bernard]

I've never heard anybody's knees under a table like this because she was so scared. I said, mom, I'm getting up. She goes, I gotta talk to the doctor. I got the doctor right here. And I said to the dude, I said, listen, just, just say what I tell you to say. So here's the doctor, Mom. She goes, who's this doctor? Whatever the name, she goes, my son says, you're letting him get out? Yes, he can get out. My mom didn't buy it for a second. Called the Real Doctor.

[Podcast Host (Outro)]

We want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our listeners because of your incredible support. We're out of Time has reached number one on Apple's mental health podcast, chart, number two on the health and fitness chart, and number 26 overall. We couldn't have done this without you. Thank you for being part of this.

[Richard Tate]

Journey with us today. I'm joined by Emmy award winning actor and mental health advocate Maurice Bernard, best known for his three decade run as such Sunny Corinthos on ABC's General Hospital. Maurice has been open about living with bipolar disorder and helping others through his show State of Mind. We're talking about mental health, resilience, what's next for him, and yes, a little bit of General Hospital too. How you doing, Maurice?

[Maurice Bernard]

Doing great, man. Good to be here.

[Richard Tate]

Before we get started, I've got to tell on myself.

[Maurice Bernard]

All right.

[Richard Tate]

When I was a kid without an alarm, my body knew what time to wake up. I would wake up at 1:58 sharp, go to the bathroom and be back in bed for da da da da da, General Hospital. And it occurred to me as I was thinking about you on the way over here, you're on the Mount Rushmore of soap stars. It's you, Luke and Laura, Susan Lucci. And that's it. That's my. That is my Mount Rushmore.

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, yeah, I put Eric Braden on that too.

[Richard Tate]

Okay. Well, there's only four people in Mount Rushmore.

[Maurice Bernard]

Oh, you'd have to put them over here on the side.

[Richard Tate]

Okay.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. I mean, it's been an incredible run. I can't. I've been on 32 years.

[Richard Tate]

But you're only supposed to be on for like a couple weeks.

[Maurice Bernard]

And yeah, what happened was I was supposed to be on for. It was supposed to be a six month contract. Then we kind of made a deal for a year. I thought I'd come in, kick ass and get the hell out, but I actually started loving it. But the problem was early on when I first started, the first three weeks I had My third nervous breakdown. Manic episode, quit the show, told my wife, took my shoes off, my socks off and said, I'm gonna be a preacher. I'm gonna go around town and preach. And one thing after another. One night I drank a bottle of red wine and threatened to kill her. And it wasn't, you know, I knew that I was going through this, my third breakdown, so maybe not at that moment I knew I was actually drunk and just wanted to scare. I've never heard anybody's knees under a table like this. It was. I'm like. Cuz she was so scared. She called my psychiatrist and she said, I think he's going through nervous. Another nervous breakdown. So he goes, put him on the phone. And she goes, okay. And put me on the phone. My psychiatrist. And I'm like, hey, Chuck, what's going on? How you doing? I get off the phone, he calls Paula and he says he's going through a breakdown. She says, how do you know? Because he's never called me Chuck. And sure enough, it was hell.

[Richard Tate]

Why? Do you know why you had that nervous breakdown?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Why?

[Maurice Bernard]

Because I. I was off my medication for like two months. I mean, two years.

[Richard Tate]

Why were you off your medication?

[Maurice Bernard]

Because I had come to la. I got a big job right away playing Desi Arnaz. What's the matter, honey? You know, I like that, I like that. And I thought, you know, let's. Let's move into this lavish place, this house. And I just didn't take my medication. Every time I've stopped taking my medication, I have a breakdown.

[Richard Tate]

On medication now.

[Maurice Bernard]

32 years straight, no breakdown, no breakdown.

[Richard Tate]

32 years.

[Maurice Bernard]

Lithium save. It's on the COVID of my book. Love and lithium saved my life and it really did.

[Richard Tate]

Good for you, man.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

All right, let me.

[Maurice Bernard]

Sorry to start out so.

[Richard Tate]

No, that was great. That was great. I was going to start off with, you know, who's sleeping with who on the show. That's what I really wanted to do.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. And I don't even know it, to be honest.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah, that's okay. You were diagnosed with bipolar disorder at 22. Now back then, okay, I didn't even know that that was a thing.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, okay, me too.

[Richard Tate]

They. They actually diagnosed you as bipolar, what, 45 years ago or so?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. But you know when they put me in a mental institution at 21 and I had my 22nd birthday in there, which was the timing of it. Right?

[Richard Tate]

Right.

[Maurice Bernard]

I mean, here I am with bars on the, on the windows and people yelling at night and that's My birthday. They could not tell me what I had for. I was in there for two and a half weeks. So it took about a two months to diagnose me. They said, is he an alcoholic? No, he doesn't drink. Is he a drug addict? No. Then we don't really know what it is. And finally, a friend of mine, now, my psychiatrist, Dr. Noonan, who told Paula that he's never called me Chuck. I walk in and I was devastated, man. I was just. And he listened to me, and at the end he said, your manic depressor. So what. What is that? It's a chemical imbalance. And I'm going to put you on lithium. You're going to be fine. Now, when I asked him a couple years ago, how was I at that? He goes, you were. It was really horrible, the amount of medication they had you on.

[Richard Tate]

Right.

[Maurice Bernard]

But it took two months. That's all.

[Richard Tate]

These psych hospitals are the same, I guess. You walk out of there and you're on and you've got so many drugs.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes.

[Richard Tate]

It's just. It's too much.

[Maurice Bernard]

But, Richard, now, they would tell you right away about your bipolar.

[Richard Tate]

That's. That's right. But that's why I said 45 years ago. It's like they didn't know.

[Maurice Bernard]

Right.

[Richard Tate]

That's why you were there for a couple months.

[Maurice Bernard]

Right?

[Richard Tate]

I'm sorry.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, it's tough. It was. They put you in a seclusion room. I don't think they do it anymore. Where they tie you down when you're a bad boy. When you're a bad boy means when you don't want. You don't want to take your medication or. I jumped on the counter, these big dudes come in, put me in a seclusion room with. Probably smaller than this, but, you know, with a window and a bed. And then they tie you from your wrist, waist and your ankles and.

[Richard Tate]

You.

[Maurice Bernard]

Know, mom, dad came in and look at me like, what is happening to my son?

[Richard Tate]

That's heartbreaking.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Okay. What was the turning point when you decided to start sharing your mental health condition?

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, you know, I. About a year or more. Year and a half. When I escaped from the hospital.

[Richard Tate]

No, no, no, get back to that.

[Maurice Bernard]

Oh, escaping, yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Oh, that's the good part.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. All I wanted to do is leave. Every second of the day. There was this little story I don't think I've ever told. It's not a big deal, but it's. It was to me at the time. They, they. I went into. I would go into A room. And there was a radio in there. And I locked the door. Cuz you're not supposed to go in the room. Lock the door. And I swear to you, man, Phil Collins songs would come on, like the timing of it. And one song was one more night. Just give me one. And I would. Because I was messed up. I would be like, God, give me one more chance. And that's the stuff that was happening in there. But when I escaped, I remember I was.

[Richard Tate]

I want to hear about the jailbreak. I need to hear about the jailbreak.

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, I would always try to get out. Like one time I call my mom, said, I'm getting out.

[Richard Tate]

That's hysterical. And she goes, I mean, they didn't know it, right?

[Maurice Bernard]

And she'd go, mauricio. I said, mom, I'm getting out. She goes, I gotta talk to the doctor. I got the doctor right here. It was this big dude with blood all over his lips. And I said to the dude, I said, listen, just. Just say what I tell you to say. So here's the doctor, Ma. And he come in. Hello. She goes, who's this doctor? Whatever the name, she goes, my son says, you're letting him get out?

[Richard Tate]

Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes, he can get out. My mom didn't buy it for a second. Called the real doctor. He's like, no, it's not right. So they were gonna let me out for my first walk. Ah, okay. So I started planning. I said, okay, tomorrow. But I had hard shoes. There's no way I could. And I, you know, I. I lost 30 pounds. So I, I went in there weighing 160, and I got to 129. It's horrible. So I said, okay. So I went up to a patient, I said, hey, those tennis shoes, can I, can I borrow? No. Can I bake? No. I said, you see this little jacket? Like $300. If I give you this little jacket, will you give me your tennis shoes? He goes, I go, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on, come on. He goes, okay. Gave me the tennis shoes. Next day, a nurse, man and a nurse walked me out. I remember, man, like a movie. It was one door, then another door. And then the outside. Get to the outside. I'm lingering and they're talking and they start laughing. And I run and I ran like there's no tomorrow. And I'm running and I'm running and then I hear sirens. Cops. So then I, I go into this like, real estate place. Had no money. I said, hi, I'm sorry. Is There any way I could use your phone? So I called my two friends, I said, I'm out. Pick me up here at this. Problem was they I'm out front, they drive by, they don't see me and they keep going. And it's a long ass ways to turn around. So then I have to now run down to the end of the street into a Denny's. And I had to borrow 25 cents to call. First time. Now, we talked about the homeless and this has, this is nothing like that. But the first time I felt, excuse me, can I. Can I have 25 cent? You know.

[Richard Tate]

Right. It's humbling.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. Yes.

[Richard Tate]

And embarrassing.

[Maurice Bernard]

And embarrassing. So I get to the phone, call my buddies that pick me up, we eat pizza, go home. And then the doctor said if he wants to stay home that bad, he doesn't have to come back. So I stayed there.

[Richard Tate]

Good for you.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. But eight months of depression after that was horrific.

[Richard Tate]

That's why you give homeless people money, folks. Because it is embarrassing and dehumanizing.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes.

[Richard Tate]

So give them the money. Okay. Drives me nuts when people aren't of service to others in need like that. I see somebody in need, I don't even have to think about it. It's just muscle memory.

[Maurice Bernard]

I know. Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

You know, Aggravating. What do you think the biggest misconception people have about living with bipolar disorder?

[Maurice Bernard]

I think, I think if you don't know anything about it and you. You're living with someone who has bipolar. I mean, if you're not living with somebody who has bipolar, I think, I think any mental illness, a lot of people don't think it's a big deal. Right. They kind of. I think with me, they do because they've. I got a book, I got this. They've seen me talk. I'm very open like you are. So they're like, okay. But sometimes even with me, when I'm talking about things, I feel like they're thinking.

[Richard Tate]

Thinking what?

[Maurice Bernard]

Just go take a nap.

[Richard Tate]

Who gives a. What they think?

[Maurice Bernard]

See, that's where we. I did, you know, I'm working hard on not caring what people think. You don't have that.

[Richard Tate]

Oh, I've never had that.

[Maurice Bernard]

Thank God.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

That's a big deal.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah. I was told I was going to get canceled here. I was like, good luck. Wow. Yeah. Don't be afraid.

[Maurice Bernard]

I know, I know.

[Richard Tate]

Don't be afraid to tell anybody anything.

[Maurice Bernard]

I. I get it.

[Richard Tate]

Nobody's important enough to lie to.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. But I think with, with mental illness, when I go through Panic attacks or whatever. I go through. My whole head is worrying what everybody's gonna think. Really? Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Why?

[Maurice Bernard]

It's just the way. It's the way I'm built, bro.

[Richard Tate]

You're perfect just the way you are.

[Maurice Bernard]

I know I am.

[Richard Tate]

Anybody who tells you differently, you tell them. Richard Tate says, God, you can't get.

[Maurice Bernard]

It out of here. It's, you know, it's almost like, it's.

[Richard Tate]

It'S like, you know what it's like, what it's like, what are the neighbors going to think?

[Maurice Bernard]

Exactly. But that's kind of the way I was brought up.

[Richard Tate]

Me, too.

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, how'd you get out of there?

[Richard Tate]

With my grandmother. Well, I told her at a very young age that I don't care what the neighbors think, but I love you. I love you more than anything in the world. Okay. Now can I have my eggies the.

[Maurice Bernard]

Way I like them?

[Richard Tate]

That's, that's how I handle that.

[Maurice Bernard]

Right?

[Richard Tate]

Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. It's a, it's a really. I'm, I'm much better because I have. I look in the mirror and go, this is killing me.

[Richard Tate]

Explain the part about your upbringing.

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, the upbringing is very simple. You shouldn't be weak. You shouldn't show any vulnerability when you're Hispanic. My father's from Nicaragua. My mother's from, from San Salvador. And you, you care what people think? Enormously.

[Richard Tate]

Right.

[Maurice Bernard]

And it's, it's not, it shouldn't be that way at all. But it is that way. What happens is because of the way I was brought up and, and they love me to death. And I, my dad, everything was great in that way. There's other things that happened that we, you know, whatever, but we have to pay for what they did. So I'm paying for this. You care what people think? I, I, I look at you like that's what I, that's what I want. Now, don't get me wrong. The, the less I have, you know, sometimes, you know, you wake up and there's days where I don't give a right. And sometimes it's been about a couple weeks now.

[Richard Tate]

Right. Good.

[Maurice Bernard]

Or I don't give a right. This morning I got up and a tad. I did. But in the past. All the time.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah. Just. Just to be completely transparent, the only reason I don't care about what other people think is because I, I hold myself to a higher standard than what anybody else would hold me to. So it doesn't, it's perfectionism. Yeah. Right. So that's what I'm constantly striving. For. Not good for your happiness, but excellent for your upward mobility. And, you know, that's just the trade off that I. That I. That's the contract I made with myself a long time ago.

[Maurice Bernard]

That's. That's incredible. Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

I'm lucky. When you were at your lowest point.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Who helped you to get out of it? Was there anyone?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes, my mother and father. On my first major breakdown when I was in the mental institution, they were there, although they. It's not their fault, but they went to work from 7 in the morning till 4 or 5 o' clock and I was alone. When I was out of the hospital, going through that depression for like eight months, Right. I would get up and curse. God. I would roll out of bed. I couldn't. Nothing felt good. Only thing that felt good to me was sleeping and dreaming that I felt good. Because in my dreams it would be beautiful. And then I'd wake up and I'd have to deal with reality.

[Richard Tate]

You'd wake up and be pissed off?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. Well, more. Even more. I was, you know, there was bad thoughts, let's just put it that way, for a long time. So then it was my wife who I had met when she was 16. She's helped me through. Through it all and. And lately the last thing that I went through, a couple things that I went through, was my son.

[Richard Tate]

What happened with your son?

[Maurice Bernard]

I was in the car once, I was probably at the worst. And he gets in the car and he says, what's wrong, dad? I'm crying. I said, I don't think I'm gonna make it, buddy. Not this time. Yes. Yes, you are, Dad. I said, I don't. I don't think I can.

[Richard Tate]

I don't.

[Maurice Bernard]

He goes, yes, you can, because I'm gonna get you through it. And he did. It was amazing.

[Richard Tate]

What's his name?

[Maurice Bernard]

Joshua.

[Richard Tate]

Joshua is a beautiful boy.

[Maurice Bernard]

Oh, he's the greatest. And now he's a musician and an actor and he's. He's got. Things are going for him. Good form in music especially.

[Richard Tate]

You're really lucky you had that kid around because.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Parents that kill themselves have children that kill themselves.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes. And I'll tell you another thing, you know, I had. Can you imagine people that don't have anybody? Yeah, right.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah. They usually come here to me.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. I would have come to you. And my last one, I would have taken you.

[Richard Tate]

I'm sorry you struggled, man. Thank you. What would you say to your younger self if you could today?

[Maurice Bernard]

I would say exactly what we've already Talked about, which is don't care about what people think.

[Richard Tate]

You got to get better at it.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. I think that's a big freaking deal that we don't discuss.

[Richard Tate]

And it doesn't mean to be less empathetic, compassionate to anybody. It's not what it means.

[Maurice Bernard]

No, I'm extremely compassionate. Very sensitive. Vulnerability. It's not that. It's. It's what? Thinking. What somebody's thinking of you, what it does to your mind and what it does to you as a person. You got to get rid of that.

[Richard Tate]

Well, the worst part about it is they're not even thinking that. 95.

[Maurice Bernard]

Exactly. Exactly.

[Richard Tate]

They're looking at you, right? Going, wow, that's a handsome man.

[Maurice Bernard]

Right?

[Richard Tate]

Thinking, what's this guy looking at?

[Maurice Bernard]

Exactly Right.

[Richard Tate]

You created State of Mind, your podcast, so that people could talk openly and freely on your platform. What made you start it?

[Maurice Bernard]

I had fallen asleep, and when I woke up, I had anxiety. And I said, I'm going to film myself so I can show the people what it's about. As I was doing that. This is. This is no lie. And I just did Family Feud.

[Richard Tate]

You did Family Feud?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, about two months ago.

[Richard Tate]

That's bitching. Hold on one second. I want to do Family Feud, and.

[Maurice Bernard]

I want to sit.

[Richard Tate]

And I want to sit in the middle square. Is that the middle square?

[Maurice Bernard]

No, that's. That's. What is it? Family Feuds with Steve Harvey.

[Richard Tate]

Steve Harvey. No, it's.

[Maurice Bernard]

It's the.

[Richard Tate]

It's the guy that kisses everybody, that makes out with everybody.

[Maurice Bernard]

That's the old guy.

[Richard Tate]

What's his name?

[Maurice Bernard]

Richard Dawson.

[Richard Tate]

God, I loved Richard.

[Maurice Bernard]

Remember?

[Richard Tate]

Go on.

[Maurice Bernard]

So, you know, it's like I hear Steve Harvey say on tv, we're, like, talking two in the morning. I can't believe these celebrities who film.

[Richard Tate]

Them on their lowest moment.

[Maurice Bernard]

And I'm like, I just. I actually laughed, even though I was feeling not good. And the next morning, I. My. My friend. I told my friend, she goes, why don't you film. Why don't you do State of Mind? Not State of Mind. Why don't you do talk about mental health on the phone? I said, who cares? Who's going to care? She goes, just. Just do it. I said, when do I put it out? She goes, Sunday. I said, nobody watches on Sunday. So what I started doing is I was promoting my book at the same time, and I was creating this show on. On the phone, in the car, on Instagram story. Nobody talks for eight minutes on Instagram Stories. Like, real quick, right? I did it, and I started getting people 10,000, 20,000. And I saw it grow. And then I went through hell during the pandemic, but I still went out every Sunday and talk on the phone, not even the people on the phone, and did it. And then from that, went to YouTube and then, you know, five years later.

[Richard Tate]

You've been doing the podcast for five years.

[Maurice Bernard]

Five years, man. Over 500 interviews.

[Richard Tate]

You're excellent at that.

[Maurice Bernard]

Thanks, man. Well, you're. We're so similar because we're just. I don't know if you're real and you can be in the moment and you can look down for a second. Get us. I think those are the guys that I like.

[Richard Tate]

Truthfully, I'm just friends with you, so I can sleep with.

[Maurice Bernard]

I like to get Susan on my show.

[Richard Tate]

Is she like 70 now?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. Last time I saw, maybe a couple years ago at the Emmys, we talked.

[Richard Tate]

You know what was great about her? She kept losing every year. Every year.

[Maurice Bernard]

I know.

[Richard Tate]

And the best. That's the best thing that could have happened to her because now she's more famous than everybody else because they're all like, yeah, what about her?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, it's very true. Very true. Very true.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

But I like winning, so.

[Richard Tate]

You like winning? Did you win?

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, it took me 10 years to win my first one and then another 20 years to win two more.

[Richard Tate]

You won. You won three Emmys.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. You.

[Richard Tate]

We have an Emmy winner, a three time Emmy winner here, folks. Yeah, no, yeah, yeah. This morning we won the Signal award for our episode with Lamar Odom.

[Maurice Bernard]

Oh, shoot.

[Richard Tate]

Isn't that cool?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, that's very cool.

[Richard Tate]

Lamar, where's my doll? Promised me a doll. Unbelievable. You've had some incredible guests.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Who stood out the most? Or a few of them that stood out the most?

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, for me, you know, Stephen A. Smith was. Is great.

[Richard Tate]

Love him.

[Maurice Bernard]

Frank Grillo from all those movies and everything, he was great. But what stands out to me is when a cop comes on, right? And he says to me, we're talking about darkness and whatnot. And he says, well. And I said to him, it's pretty safe to say our wives saved our life, right? He says, no. I said, but what. What saved your life or who saved your life? Because one night I was in my darkest and I took my gun and I put it to my forehead and the gun jammed. I said, oh. He goes, that. That saved my life. Because after that, I changed completely. That type of stuff. Another girl who came on, she had no. No hand or arm from here, from the elbow. I said, how did it happen? She goes, well, I was driving, and I had my hand out, and this truck hit me, and it took my. And she said she'll never forget when he came in the doctor and said, I got good news and bad news. Good news is you're alive. Bad news is you'll never. You'll never use that hand again. But that. That's the kind of stuff that you don't forget, Kind of. It doesn't have to be celebrities. I had Cheryl Underwood tell me her husband jumped off a building.

[Richard Tate]

Ah. What was your favorite guest?

[Maurice Bernard]

Damn, that's like. It is like asking your favorite child, you know?

[Richard Tate]

Okay, then we won't do it. That was diplomatic. I couldn't answer that either.

[Maurice Bernard]

Right. It's really. It's kind of.

[Richard Tate]

There's so many good people. I just can't. How do you think we can better support people with mental illness? It's. Especially the homeless.

[Maurice Bernard]

Oh, man. Look, I mean, that is the question, isn't it? How do we fix it? Or how do we help? Or how do we. I think for mental health, you're doing what you're doing. It's helping. I'm doing what I'm doing. That's the way I. That's kind of. If there was another way to help, I would do it. If you told me, maurice, we can do this, we can do that, I would be there. But this is my way of doing it. Now, as far as the homeless, this is. This is just everywhere. Everywhere. Right around my little Studio City place, there's a bunch of homeless people. And it just hits here, man.

[Richard Tate]

We were doing our podcast.

[Maurice Bernard]

Oh, I know.

[Richard Tate]

And we had that homeless guy screaming right outside.

[Maurice Bernard]

Right outside the door.

[Richard Tate]

And, you know, they're just becoming more aggressive.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, yeah.

[Richard Tate]

And it feels like they're getting sicker.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, I agree with you. And. Well, who's supposed to help that? The governor.

[Richard Tate]

Our governor?

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. He's not.

[Richard Tate]

No chance. No, not our governor.

[Maurice Bernard]

But what can you do, Richard, to help?

[Richard Tate]

Mental.

[Maurice Bernard]

No, I'm talking about homeless.

[Richard Tate]

Okay, well, that's easy, actually.

[Maurice Bernard]

Okay.

[Richard Tate]

That can be fixed in two years. There are psychological universities all over California. All there has to do is you get a group of those people that are always graduating. Right. And you have an executive order that signs off on their hours, because you got to do 3,000 hours, and it gets signed off on their hours automatically. And then there's a training program that teaches them how to be golden retrievers and just take them right off the street and put them into Treatment or long term housing. It's actually quite simple.

[Maurice Bernard]

I think it's quite. It's pretty simple. Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah. It take two years, couple billion dollars.

[Maurice Bernard]

Why doesn't anyone want to do it?

[Richard Tate]

Because homeless people don't vote. They don't have anybody speaking for them. All they have are all these little different agencies that if they fix the problem, these agencies go away. So they're incentivized to keep the problem going.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, right, right.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah. I've done my. I've done my work on that.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, it makes sense.

[Richard Tate]

We're picking people right now off the street and putting them right into treatment. Veterans. We're doing all the veterans.

[Maurice Bernard]

Beautiful, beautiful.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah, we love them.

[Maurice Bernard]

It's kind of like lithium.

[Richard Tate]

Veterans are like lithium.

[Maurice Bernard]

No, it's my, my psychiatrist. I did. I did a state of mind two years ago in Graceland. Yeah. With an audience. I don't, I don't love doing it with an audience because. Not as personal and subtle, but it was cool. And I hadn't seen him in 30 years. Man came in, I was crying and he said to me, on. And I didn't know this, I mean, lithium's on the COVID of my book. So he said, you know, big pharma hates lithium, huh? I said, why? Because it's cheap and it works. Yeah, they don't want it. You know, you don't hear about lithium. I don't hear about lithium. Other drugs we hear about. Right. Lexapro. And so it's a problem.

[Richard Tate]

Sunny's character has bipolar disorder.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes.

[Richard Tate]

Was that you?

[Maurice Bernard]

No. Sonny. They came to me about a year and a half. They knew because I had had a breakdown, and when I started the show, they knew that they, they came to me and said, it's all right for you if we have. Have Sonny be bipolar.

[Richard Tate]

That's awesome. You're like, cool. Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

I said, yeah, I'm a method actor. So I become this thing and. But the truth of the matter is it's been incredible for acting, but for my life at this point, I'm 62 years old and it takes a stall. It does, yes. The kind of. Look, look, Richard, let me explain it to you about acting. The bad actors, or not that good actors, it's. It's kind of. They don't go through anything. It's pretty easy. It's the better actors that suffer and the. Almost the better you are because you be. If you're doing that kind of work. So here I am. I am bipolar. Playing bipolar. A lot of times I didn't. I Couldn't shut it off.

[Richard Tate]

Right. It gets you going.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes. So, yes, I've done well and great and all this, but would I trade for not going through the. That I went through? I don't know. It's almost just easier being a bad.

[Richard Tate]

Actor because you're not in it.

[Maurice Bernard]

You're not all in.

[Richard Tate]

You're not all in. Well, that's what you have to do. You have to just get shitty, and you'll be fine.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, but I. But like my mom says, can't you do it half. I said, mom, I've tried a little bit. I can't do it because then it just feels wrong.

[Richard Tate]

It's hard to turn off.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah. Feels wrong to just be. Go in and not be as deep.

[Richard Tate]

No, you got to do your thing, and you got to be you, and you got to put it. Put it out there best you can. All right. What's happening right now with Sonny?

[Maurice Bernard]

Well.

[Richard Tate]

And what's around the corner?

[Maurice Bernard]

I don't really know what's around the corner. I really don't. Or I'd say, because I don't. I talk about this stuff, but I'm with. I'm trying to protect my. My son Michael. And I have this new chick that. She's really good. Her name is Nazneen Contractor, and she plays ADA Turner. She's the ADA and I'm the mobster. And it's get. You know, it's starting to get kind of interesting.

[Richard Tate]

You're gonna sleep with the. I don't know, district attorney?

[Maurice Bernard]

You know what? I haven't you heard it here first. I haven't had a chick in a long time, Sonny, so we'll see.

[Richard Tate]

You know, I hate it when they don't give you a check on soap operas. Like, what are you supposed to do there? You've got all the eye candy around, and you feel like you're a redheaded stepchild.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, you know, I've always had. I've had. Sonny and Brenda was big, big couple, and then Sunny and Carly, big couple, and I did Sonny, Carly with three different actresses.

[Richard Tate]

Who is your favorite actress that you worked with? Just the two of you? The.

[Maurice Bernard]

The. The.

[Richard Tate]

The rhythm, the connection. Who was it?

[Maurice Bernard]

You know, I can never answer that, but I can say this. You got to love the one you're with.

[Richard Tate]

That was the coolest answer.

[Maurice Bernard]

And I'm not with anybody.

[Richard Tate]

That's the coolest answer you can give, and that's good enough for me. All right, so you were just with Erica Slayzak on screen, doing a scene yeah. What was that like?

[Maurice Bernard]

She's. I think that she's won, like, I don't know how many Emmys, but she's like a legend, and she was great. And she told me a story that her husband's doesn't watch soap operas, but he's a huge fan of Sunny. And I said, really? She goes, oh, my goodness. You don't understand. It's all, what does Sonny do? Where's Sunny? And, you know, coming out of her was just. It was pretty funny. But we worked together and she was. She's great. She's great. She reminds me of Ellen Burstein.

[Richard Tate]

Remember her? No.

[Maurice Bernard]

The mother from Exorcist?

[Richard Tate]

No.

[Maurice Bernard]

Ah.

[Richard Tate]

I never saw the Exorcist.

[Maurice Bernard]

Let me tell you something.

[Richard Tate]

I don't like scary movies. Great people that end up in jail. Movies with people in jail or people. Or movies where people lose their money.

[Maurice Bernard]

Listen to this. Yeah, The Exorcist.

[Richard Tate]

Okay.

[Maurice Bernard]

It's a. It's two little stories. One little story is my mom. Dad went to go see the extras. I was 10 years old. I was babysat by my brother's girlfriend's girl, girlfriend and sister. And as a young boy, I don't. You know, that's just what it is. I made out with both of them and gave them hickeys.

[Richard Tate]

That was Sunny.

[Maurice Bernard]

But I never saw the Exes. My dad saw the Exis and couldn't sleep for three nights. Then I finally saw it. Well, Richard, that movie traumatized me to the point when I had my first breakdown in the hospital. I was telling everybody I was the Exorcist. I was spitting on people. They were great. It was just horrific. That's what that. Because, you know, a lot of what go back to this, but nervous breakdown or manic episode, being bipolar, whatever. A lot of is God and the devil fighting each other in your mind, Right? And most. Well, most of the time, God wins, but there are times when he doesn't and the person is not here anymore. But that's. That's how I was brought up. And it's all very spiritual. And.

[Richard Tate]

There'S been buzz online that you're leaving the show. You leaving the show?

[Maurice Bernard]

No.

[Richard Tate]

You're not?

[Maurice Bernard]

No. There's always a lot of people. I think they're saying I'm dying, too. Like I have cancer or some.

[Richard Tate]

Well, you're not dying.

[Maurice Bernard]

No. And I'm not leaving. I got a year left in the contract. I. Look, I'm gonna retire, but I don't think it's going to be before I'm 65.

[Richard Tate]

How old are you now?

[Maurice Bernard]

62. Right. So we'll. We'll just, you know, it is what it is to let people say what they say.

[Richard Tate]

Sonny needs to go on till 75.

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, yeah, but I don't think Maurice.

[Richard Tate]

How old was Marlon Brando when he put the orange peel in his mouth and then falls over and dies in the Godfather?

[Maurice Bernard]

Can we look that up?

[Richard Tate]

I guarantee at 75.

[Maurice Bernard]

No, he just acted old. I think he was no more than 50.

[Richard Tate]

Okay. But he looked 75, so.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah, but he. You know, Brando, obviously, he. He wanted to stop acting forever. You know, he just did it for the money. And I think his reasons weren't like my reasons. My reasons, Richard, is mentally, it. It's taxing on me.

[Richard Tate]

But what are you gonna do?

[Maurice Bernard]

No, I know. I know. I.

[Richard Tate]

Before I leave, you got to figure that out.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yes.

[Richard Tate]

Leave and do nothing. No, because it's not going to be good.

[Maurice Bernard]

Absolutely. I already know that for sure. So when I leave, I'll have you know, State of mind, the lease come in, maybe do that more. Maybe. Financially, I'm pretty good, so. But you're right. I already know what happens to my mind when I'm living in it alone.

[Richard Tate]

You guys, like you and I don't do well without structure.

[Maurice Bernard]

Exactly. I'm with you 100%.

[Richard Tate]

If Sonny were sitting here today with us, what would he tell Maurice?

[Maurice Bernard]

He would probably say, don't worry about anything. I got your back.

[Richard Tate]

Well, that would make me comfortable.

[Maurice Bernard]

You want me to play Sunny right now?

[Richard Tate]

I'd give anything for you to play Sonny right now.

[Maurice Bernard]

All right, I'll try to get into this. Dude, what are you doing?

[Richard Tate]

Nothing.

[Maurice Bernard]

Why'd you put your glasses on? Take the them off. Don't want to see your eyes. You don't scare me a second. But I do want to kiss you. How's that?

[Richard Tate]

That was awesome. You did really good.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

You become a serious man.

[Maurice Bernard]

Okay. He's got to be in there. He's got to get the thing, and you gotta. And when he was young. When I was younger, playing Sonny, it was more. He was more like a caged animal. So he'd be like, you with me right now. Don't with me what?

[Richard Tate]

You know, that kind of guy now.

[Maurice Bernard]

He'S older, so he's a little less.

[Richard Tate]

More mellow.

[Maurice Bernard]

A little more? Yeah, a little mellow. Yeah, but it's still. He's still got to be serious.

[Richard Tate]

You've spent three decades on General Hospital. You've spent five years doing State of Mind, helping people what do you want your legacy to be?

[Maurice Bernard]

I want my legacy to be I was one of the. Or the first man to come out and say he was bipolar. I'm not the first, because Patty Duke came on way before, but that's a woman no man had. And so the legacy has to be something. I. It's. You know, it's funny when you asked me that. I think somebody else asked me that. It's not about the acting.

[Richard Tate]

Right.

[Maurice Bernard]

I don't really. You know, I know I've done well, but it's not. It's the mental health.

[Richard Tate]

You know, I didn't know that. You're one of the first or the first men to come out publicly and say he had bipolar disorder. That's magnificent. That's magnificent. Because now everybody else is like, oh, I'm not. I'm not the only one. I'm not alone. This is a thing. I'm. I'm not a weirdo. Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

But I will say, when I came out, it was on Oprah. My wife came on. She didn't want to. Come on. She was eight months pregnant. And then she finally came on because Oprah said, come on, come on. But nothing. You know, Richard, I. I was proud to do it, and I was. It was Oprah. And great. Nothing really happened with Mental health from that, except I've seen a big change with the pandemic.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

That's when it just blew the.

[Richard Tate]

Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

Because anybody who's never had it and thought it was nothing now has it. And they're like, oh, this is what that is. And you see commercials. I'm bipolar one. If you're bipolar, I get smile every time I be. I'd be on my bed, you know, like this. And I heard, if you're bipolar one, I'm like, damn right.

[Richard Tate]

That comes right after the Restless Yeah. Syndrome commercial. All that. Yeah.

[Maurice Bernard]

So I think we're in a better place. But I think. And I think you know this. The suicides are up. And I hate to even say it, because I know how you feel about it, and I feel the same way, so.

[Richard Tate]

Well, if we continue to treat each other like.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

That's not going to stop.

[Maurice Bernard]

No.

[Richard Tate]

Got to be good to each other, people. You got any. You got any breaking news for me?

[Maurice Bernard]

Well, it's not even breaking, but I'm finally going to get Jeannie Francis on State of Mind.

[Richard Tate]

Jeannie Francis.

[Maurice Bernard]

And it's been with. Her and I are really good friends, and we work together all the time now. She's fantastic. And I've been just, you know, saying to her, you know, whatever you want. This that'll get you, you know, and she's coming on, so. Can't wait.

[Richard Tate]

Maurice, thank you so much for coming today, man. I really appreciate it. This is a great episode.

[Maurice Bernard]

Thank you. You're just. You're. You're a pro, man. And I love watching it. I love watching it. So you can. You can, if I have to, just Maurice Bernard on Instagram and all my social medias, you know, all that kind of stuff. State of mind on YouTube. And I'm glad I was. This was fun, but it went so quick. I know.

[Richard Tate]

Do me one last favor.

[Maurice Bernard]

Yeah.

[Richard Tate]

In your best, Sonny, look into that camera and say, see you next.

[Maurice Bernard]

See you next Tuesday.

[Podcast Host (Outro)]

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