Sonny Corinthos is a hunky mobster.
"He's a guy you don't mess with," said Maurice Benard, the actor who portrays Sonny on ABC's "General Hospital."
"He (Sonny) loves his children and he's a good guy in his heart. And he loves his women," added Benard, by phone from Los Angeles.
Benard had planned to perform in Connecticut this past winter, but was unable to make that trip; now he's making good on his promise to local fans. He'll come to Newtown on Friday, June 24, for a meet-and-greet and stage show at Edmond Town Hall. He will perform comedy about "General Hospital" and its characters.
"The fans are great, always respectful," said Benard. "Whenever I'm in New York, the taxi drivers yell out my name. It's great. That kind of thing doesn't happen so much out here because people are used to (seeing actors). I haven't been to New York in seven years and I love going there, love the fans."
In Newtown, Benard intends to poke lighthearted fun at people from "General Hospital." For example, there's Steve Bueton, who plays Jason, who has really built up his physique. "He's now got a Brock Lesner body," Benard said, comparing Burton's rippling muscles to those of the heavyweight wrestler.
"It's going to be an interactive thing," Benard added. "It will depend on what the audience wants to talk about. I'm very candid. I will talk about anything the audience wants to talk about."
Benard has held court at these types of shows in the past.
"Sometimes we laugh; sometimes we cry," he said. "There will be a lot of laughs."
Asked what it's like to work on love scenes, the actor said it can be tedious.
"It's not about the women; the women are great and we're all respectful," he said. "But love scenes get tedious. The lighting takes forever. One scene can take hours to do."
Benard said he appreciates the attention he gets for playing Sonny.
"If you're not flattered, then you shouldn't be doing what you're doing. I don't turn down autographs. I'm looking forward to seeing my fans in Connecticut. I hear there are a lot of `General Hospital' fans there, fans that have been with me since day one and I'm ready to get it on."
Asked how he responds to seeing celebrities he especially likes, Benard said he does "get nervous" around some of the sports players he likes and has met, but "I'm cool."
Benard added, "All my fans are cool," too.
San Francisco is where he grew up. People sometimes wrongly guess he's from New York, and "I'm not Italian either," he said. His parents are from Nicaragua and El Salvador.
He joined the cast of "General Hospital" in the role of Sonny in August of 1993. He left the show for a yearlong hiatus in December of 1998.
Benard earned an Emmy for outstanding lead actor in 2003.
It was back in 1987 that Benard was cast on "All My Children" as Nico Kelly. After two years, he left for Los Angeles and was cast as Desi Arnaz in the TV movie "Lucy and Desi: Before the Laughter."
Benard has been a popular voice in the battle against bipolar disorder. He has been very open about his personal battle with the illness, appearing on "The View," "Entertainment Tonight" and "Oprah." The illness has been featured on "General Hospital" as Sonny has dealt with the disease.