General Hospital (GH) veteran Maurice Benard (Sonny Corinthos) had Ignacio Serricchio on his State of Mind podcast this week, and ABC fans loved hearing from him. You might recall that he played the role of Diego Alcazar. Trigger warning: this article talks about people unaliving themselves.
A Blast From The Past
Maurice opened his podcast and soon started talking about Clint Eastwood’s movie, Mule. Ignacio landed a major role in the movie, and Maurice could hardly believe how well he’d done. Initially, as a young student who had little idea about acting, Ignacio got the role of Diego. He went on to bigger things but appreciated that old hands like Maurice helped him learn the ropes.
Ignacio Serricchio starred as Diego Alcazar between 2004 and 2006. Then he left, but returned and reprised his role briefly in 2008. His character on GH was killed off in March of that year. He was associated with the storyline about the Text Message Killer, who terrorized Port Charles. After chatting about their respective careers, the two men talked about mental health.
A Tragic Loss
Maurice Benard helps others with his State of Mind podcast, but the former Diego Alcazar actor took a different road. He learned how to engage with people in Sicily and taught them that it’s okay for a man to cry.
The suicide distressed Maurice Benard, who said:
You know, I’m about to—I’m not sure—go on a crusade with suicide. It’s since the pandemic, the amount of suicides is unreal. Now, like I say, and I’ll say it again, the pandemic was a curse and a blessing. The blessing is, if you turn on TV, if you’re bipolar one, you know commercials everywhere. If you’re depressed, if you have anxiety, it’s great. That wasn’t there before the pandemic. But the suicide is just out of control. And I, maybe you and I can do something…
Ignacio’s done a lot with mental health, and something might come of the idea. The former ABC star told Maurice that he is involved with Active Minds. It’s a nonprofit supporting youth mental health through university and K-12 chapters, connecting them to counseling. He also founded Mind the Music, an artistic collective where his band performs concerts to unite people, share experiences, and convey that no one needs to bear their burdens alone.
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