Maurice Bernard is a celebrated American actor with a wealth of experience in Hollywood under his belt. He shot to fame after being cast as a series regular from 1993 in the American soap opera General Hospital as the mafia boss Sonny Corinthos. This dynamic and complex role enabled Bernard to show the depth of his range as an actor, particularly in the dramatic arena of soap.
Bernard was born and raised in Martinez, California. His first major television role was on the iconic soap All My Children, where he played Nico Kelly for two years, in 300 episodes. For this role, he was nominated for the Soap Opera Digest’s Best Male Newcomer Award. His success on this show was instrumental in his being cast in General Hospital. Bernard was extremely dedicated to his role as Sonny, and decided to share his own private suffering of bipolar disorder. Bernard requested that this be written into his character’s storyline, desiring to raise awareness of the disorder and reduce its stigma.
He won several awards for his role in General Hospital, the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor twice and the Soap Opera Digest Award three times. He has appeared in a variety of films, such as the mystery-drama film The Ghost and the Whale. Most recently, he appeared in the crime drama Equal Standard, which was released in May 2020.