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General Hospital Character Descriptions
Michael (Sonny)
Corinthos
Played by Maurice Benard
Written by Sarah
Sonny Corinthos is one of most complex characters in daytime. He started out
as a sleazeball bad guy but has become a central character in the show that we
are supposed to sympathize with. This is difficult for some people because he is
a gangster. However, the charisma and great acting of Maurice Benard make many
people look past that and into the tortured soul that is Sonny.
When we first met Sonny, he was running the strip club called The Paradise. Poor
Karen started stripping there (she was having troubles because she had been
molested by her mom's boyfriend) and Sonny gave her drugs and seduced her.
Later, Sonny became a more sympathetic character when he took in Stone, a
homeless kid, who had been on drugs. Then still later Stone died and Sonny
grieved.
At some point they made Sonny more than just a low-level hood. After mobster
Frank Smith died, Sonny took over and became the head local mobster. Sonny got
involved with Brenda Barrett, a woman that was kind of a "bad girl" previously.
She had been dating Stone's brother Jagger. Brenda was very messed up herself,
having been neglected by her father. She was very needy. She and Sonny had a
long, tumultuous relationship. They had a great passion for each other but there
was a lot of mistrust.
It came out that Sonny had a very dysfunctional past. When he was a little boy,
his father ran off, leaving he and his mother alone. His mother married a man
named Deke who was very abusive to Sonny and his mother. He beat both of them
and he locked Sonny in a closet. So now Sonny is claustrophobic and has big
issues with trust. We also know that later, Sonny ran off and started working
for the local mob in Brooklyn, and eventually he killed Deke, but not before
Deke killed Sonny's mother (I think). Deke was a cop and also mentor to a young
Marcus Taggert, who later turned up as a cop in Port Charles. So Sonny's hatred
of the police, and Taggert's hatred of Sonny, go way back.
Since Sonny is the local mob boss, he has people doing his dirty work for him.
He doesn't like to get his hands dirty with violence, although he won't shrink
from it when necessary. Because of his past with the strip club and what
happened to Stone, he doesn't involve his business in drugs or prostitution, and
he won't allow drugs to run through his territory.
Brenda wanted Sonny out of the mob (because she was tired of them both getting
shot at), so she wore a wire to try to get him in trouble, figuring that he
would be forced to cooperate with the police and have to get out of the mob.
Sonny figured out the plot and that was the end of their relationship, for the
most part. They still had trouble keeping away from each other even after that,
even after he married Lily and she married Jax. Neither relationship lasted.
Since Sonny has trouble trusting anyone, then what she did was the worst kind of
betrayal. Later, Carly did the same thing, but their love eventually got them
back together.
Sonny loved Lily but not with the passion he’d had for Brenda. She was pregnant
with his child, and he wanted to settle down with her and the child. But right
after celebrating their engagement, Lily and the baby died in a car bomb meant
for him (planted by her father). Sonny viewed this as punishment from God, a
sign that because of his lifestyle, the money and power he had, he couldn't be
happy or have children. This was reinforced later when he and Carly lost their
first child.
In my opinion, it's very unrealistic that Carly and Sonny ever hooked up. I can
understand the initial sexual attraction, but beyond that it makes little sense.
Carly was already known as the biggest liar in town, so for someone like Sonny,
who has trust problems, this would be the last person he would seek out. But
they did get together and one of their main problems has been that Carly is
impulsive and her first instinct is to lie. Also, because of his past and his
power, Sonny is controlling and has a terrible temper. We also have learned that
he has manic depression, but he won't seek psychiatric help. In other words,
he's difficult to live with, and it doesn't take much to send him over the edge.
Carly doesn't like the fact that Sonny tries to control everything she does,
says, eats, etc. and that he won't tell her about his business or when things
are bothering him. He has a problem with the fact that she constantly lies to
him (usually to protect him, or to protect someone else from him). They stay
together because they love each other and live for each other, and for their
children.
Sonny is not a good man, but he can be very good. He is a flawed man. He is
selfish and, due to the lack of power and money growing up, he is greedy and
power-hungry. Now that he has what he wants, he fights to keep it. He achieved
money and power the only way he knew how, through breaking the law and stomping
on others. But he does know the difference between right and wrong. Respect is
important to him, and he does not disrespect people that are honest and
trustworthy, unless they disrespect him. He especially respects women, because
of his mother, and doesn't like to see them disrespected, even though he has
some old-fashioned (some might say chauvinistic) ideas about women. He does not
tolerate fools, but he can be a good and loyal friend and a great person to have
on your side. He is especially loyal and protective of his family. He is capable
of great love and affection, and he is a good father. It will be interesting to
see how he grows further as a character and how he will deal with a growing son.
We know that Michael, his son, will one day question what Sonny does and perhaps
want his father to stop doing illegal things. Only time will tell.
What keeps us watching is the powerful performances by Maurice Benard. He brings
a sympathy and sorrow to Sonny that is needed. Without us feeling sorry for
Sonny and the trials he has endured, we would not like him. He would just be an
unsympathetic bully.
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