State Of Mind with Maurice Benard

Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis served 537 days in a Japanese prison after he lost consciousness while driving, resulting in a car accident that left two Japanese citizens dead. Japanese authorities denied Ridge access to a translator or legal counsel resulting in a prison sentence that was much longer than if this incident had occurred in the United States.
Join me for a phenomenal conversation with Ridge and his best friend Andrew Eubanks, who along with Ridge's wife, Brittany, rallied to get him out of prison in a story that will leave you breathless. 
To learn more, please visit: https://www.instagram.com/bringridgehome

This week I'm joined by Carolyn Hennesy. Carolyn is an accomplished actress, NY Times Best Selling Author, Animal Advocate and believe it or not a Flying Trapeze Artist. You may know her best as lawyer Diane Miller on General Hospital, but Carolyn's appeared in recurring roles on hit television shows like True Blood, Dawson's Creek, Cougar Town, Revenge and won a Daytime Emmy Award for her role on the web series The Bay. Carolyn has stared in features films such as Click, Legally Blonde 2 and Terminator 3.
As an author Carolyn has penned the popular “Pandora” children’s book series and the New York Times Bestseller “The Secret Life of Damian Spinelli."
While we talk a lot today about acting and our first scenes together on General Hospital, Carolyn opened up to me about her father, his death and her achievement of being 21 years sober.
We talk about Carolyn's dad, Dale Hennesy, who won an Oscar for Art Direction back in 1967 for Fantastic Voyage. 
Note: This episode was shot prior to my father's passing, so his illness is mentioned today.

In this episode of State Of Mind I'm joined by Sharon Lawrence.

In this episode of State Of Mind I'm joined by Castin Marion.
Castin and her family have been friends of my family for many years; I've known her since she was a little girl. Years ago something happened to their family that changed their lives forever. Castin has had so much to deal with in her young life and she's hear to talk about that with me today.

In this episode of State Of Mind I'm joined by Réal Andrews. You'll hear a conversation between two friends that have known each other forever and yet there's still things we don't quite know about each other.
It's raw, emotional, deep, funny, truthful, as we discuss anxiety, mental health, love, family!
Don't forget to pick up Réal Andrews book 'Do You Want It? No Fear, No Limits, No Excuses' 

In this episode of State Of Mind I'm joined by Preston Durnford. Preston is the author of Epic Journal; Owner and Founder of Epic Journey, Inc; and Founder of Fresh Start of California, which is a detox and residential treatment center. My daughter, Cailey, is the Clinical Director at Fresh Start working with Lindsey Centanni, the Chief Operating Offer, who has also been on State Of Mind.
Preston and I talk about how he was able to harness the power of journaling to transform his life after battling heroin addiction, losing his father to suicide, and brother to drug overdose. 
He says the 'Epic Journal' is not just a writing tool, but an invitation to harness the transformative power of introspection to achieve one's fullest potential. https://theepicjournal.com

You won’t find a more driven, dedicated, and inspirational man than my guy Clark Bartram. And oh, did I mention his guns! Not the deadly kind, I’m talking his arms. You want to feel good, listen to Clark. You won’t regret it!

Mark Teschner has been the Casting Director at General Hospital since 1989 and has won ten Emmy Awards for Casting.
Mark has unique ability to communicate with actors, encouraging them to deliver their best performances and he shares insight in his casting of Vanessa Marcil, Steve Burton and Michael Sutton.
Maurice and Mark talk about the younger generation's outlet of being able to showcase their talent being on platforms like TikTok and Youtube and shows like American Idol and America's Got Talent.

Jillian Barberie (Good Day LA, Fox Sports, EX-treme Dating, American Idol Extra) Jillian is incredibly candid as she opens up about her life. She and Maurice talk about her incredible career, marriage and divorce, leaving Good Day LA, going to therapy, dealing with alcoholism, depression and anxiety and how she aggressively battled breast cancer.  Through it all Jillian has always found a way to move forward.

Jordi Vilasuso (Young and The Restless, Guiding Light, All My Children, Days of our Lives). Jordi is Cuban-American, raised in Miami, Florida, and even with a family full of doctors he knew he wanted to be an actor at a young age.
 
He talks about his childhood and when he moved to NYC and joined Guiding Light, but things get deep when Jordi opens up about his relationship with his wife Kaitlin. When things got tough, they sought out therapy and continue to put the work into their marriage.
 
Jordi and Kaitlin have a new podcast called “Making It Work” where they candid about lessons they’ve learned in their own relationship and discover new ways of making it work in life, love & marriage.
 
Socials:
Youtube: mbstateofmind
Instagram: @MauriceBenard @mbstateofmind
Twitter: @MauriceBenard @mbstateofmind
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