Maurice Benard sits down with acclaimed actor Clancy Brown for a wide-ranging conversation about anxiety, mental health, acting, family, grief, and resilience. Known for unforgettable roles in The Shawshank Redemption, John Wick, SpongeBob SquarePants, and The Penguin, Clancy opens up about the nerves that have followed him throughout his career, how he learned to work through them, and the personal experiences that shaped him long before Hollywood knew his name.

The conversation moves from Clancy’s childhood in Ohio and the loss of his sister, to his mother’s artistic journey, to the emotional realities of performing under pressure. Along the way, Maurice and Clancy talk candidly about bipolar disorder, auditioning, soap operas, family, and what it really takes to endure in a creative life. It is a soulful, funny, and surprisingly moving episode about vulnerability, craft, and staying human in the middle of it all.

Show your support: Follow SOM, tap 5 stars, & share this episode with someone who needs it.

Video Versions of State of Mind available on YouTube! Watch! Read Maurice’s New York Times Bestselling Book! Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital

Follow Maurice on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauricebenard/

X: https://twitter.com/mauricebenard

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MauriceBenard/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbstateofmind/ State Of Mind Merch:https://www.mbstateofmind.com State of Mind Production Team: Host & Editorial: Maurice Benard Executive Producer: Paula Benard Director of Production: Anthony Cammarata Audio/Video/Editorial: Anthony Cammarata Podcast Consultant: Aaron Calafato

In this special birthday episode of State of Mind, the tables turn as Dominic Zamprogna (Dante on General Hospital) takes over the host chair to interview Maurice Benard.

Maurice opens up about his life, career, and lifelong journey with bipolar disorder—from his early days chasing acting dreams, to his first manic episode and time in a mental institution, to becoming one of daytime television’s most iconic actors as Sonny Corinthos.

The two longtime friends share stories from their years working together, discuss the pressures of fame, ego, mental health, and finding peace as you get older. Maurice also speaks candidly about medication, anxiety, and why helping others with mental health struggles has become his true purpose.

Plus, heartfelt birthday messages from friends, co-stars, and family celebrating Maurice’s impact both on and off screen.

This episode is honest, funny, emotional—and a powerful reminder that peace of mind is the greatest gift of all.

Show your support: Follow SOM, tap 5 stars, & share this episode with someone who needs it.

Video Versions of State of Mind available on YouTube! Watch! Read Maurice’s New York Times Bestselling Book! Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital

Follow Maurice on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauricebenard/

X: https://twitter.com/mauricebenard

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MauriceBenard/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbstateofmind/ State Of Mind Merch:https://www.mbstateofmind.com State of Mind Production Team: Host & Editorial: Maurice Benard Executive Producer: Paula Benard Director of Production: Anthony Cammarata Audio/Video/Editorial: Anthony Cammarata Podcast Consultant: Aaron Calafato

In this episode of State of Mind, Maurice Benard sits down with actress Kelly Thiebaud for a raw, funny, and surprisingly deep conversation about what it really means to start over.

Kelly opens up about growing up in a small town, being a sports kid turned model, and how the modeling world messed with her relationship to food, her body, and her self-worth. She shares what it was like moving to Los Angeles at 17, experiencing an early heartbreak that shaped how she viewed love, and why she didn’t fully step into acting until later in life.

Maurice and Kelly also get real about mental health: therapy, bitterness, anxiety, medication decisions, and the pressure of having to “perform” when you’re privately falling apart. Together, they talk about learning to be alone, rebuilding after blowing up your life, and treating your past not as proof you’re broken—but as information that helps you grow.

In this episode:

• The hidden toll of modeling: body image, starving, and laxatives

• Moving to LA at 17 and the heartbreak that changed everything

• Why Kelly didn’t truly start acting until her late 20s (and why she still trains)

• Therapy as a weekly practice for unloading what you carry

• Maurice on anxiety, medication, and the reality of “sixth gear” mental health

• Starting over after 40: loneliness, regret, hope, and self-respect

• General Hospital, leaving, returning, and navigating change

A conversation about reinvention, self-compassion, and the kind of honesty that feels like real communion.

Show your support: Follow State of Mind, tap 5 stars, & share this episode with someone who needs it.

Video Versions of State of Mind available on YouTube! Watch!

Read Maurice’s New York Times Bestselling Book! Nothing General About It: How Love (and Lithium) Saved Me On and Off General Hospital

Follow Maurice on Social Media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mauricebenard/

X: https://twitter.com/mauricebenard

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MauriceBenard/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mbstateofmind/ State Of Mind Merch:https://www.mbstateofmind.com State of Mind Production Team: Host & Editorial: Maurice Benard Executive Producer: Paula Benard Director of Production: Anthony Cammarata Audio/Video/Editorial: Anthony Cammarata Podcast Consultant: Aaron Calafato