Maurice Benard – The Ghost and The Whale

By: Jamie Steinberg

Q) How did you get involved with the film The Ghost and The Whale?

A) I had a small role in James and Anthony’s film called Duke, which is a damn good film. When we watched the film, my wife and I said we had to work with these guys. Paula got in touch with Anthony and one thing led to another. We got the money from a friend of ours, Tori Humphrey and Liz Gaspari. And here we are!

Q) What was your first reaction to the premise of the film?

A) For me, we wanted to have an element of bipolar in there since I am bipolar. Anybody who knows me knows that. So, we wanted to add that in there. I liked the element of the love that he had for his wife.

Q) Did you assume originally maybe Joseph was guilty?

A) You know what, that’s a good question. I wanted to play it like I didn’t know. My wife wanted me to play it like there was no way he could have done it. So, I just played it the way I wanted to. [laughs]

Q) How did you get into character?

A) I’m a method actor. I was always taught to just become the person that you are playing. It’s a lot of homework. I didn’t want to play Sonny’s (from “General Hospital”) mannerism. I had the directors there to help me with that. Sometimes I would use my hands too much and my wife would say, “You have to stop that because that’s Sonny.” But you have to get inside the other person’s head. And it wasn’t a fun head to get into!

Q) What was it like to film the whale scenes? Was it mostly green screen?

A) That was all green screen. A lot of that was done. I had to act with nothing but basically the ocean. It was cold. So cold! I was talking to myself filming those scenes, but when I first heard Jonathan Pryce’s voice for the film it gave me chills. It was like, “Wow! That voice is amazing!”

Q) What was the most challenging aspect of filming?

A) Honestly, the first take was like, “Why am I doing this?” It was so cold. That was probably the hardest thing. Then, maybe this monologue I did was difficult. Getting into the water was difficult. There were a lot of things that were difficult, trust me.

Q) What was it like to be acting alongside of the directors?

A) It was cool. I’d never really done that and they were so different in their characters, especially Anthony who I had to be afraid of. It was kind of tough with Anthony’s character because I’m not used to playing a character that is afraid of somebody. So, when I had to do stuff with him and act scared it was a little odd. With James, I don’t think I had the chance to work with him. I may have had a scene, but they cut it out.

Q) What was it like working with Anthony when he had to be the antagonist?

A) With Anthony it was great. It was pretty scary! I’ve been doing that on “General Hospital” for twenty-three years. Your best friend could be the character you are supposed to hate. It’s just what we do. But I loved what Anthony did because he changed his whole appearance.

Q) What were your most memorable moments from filming The Ghost and The Whale?

A) I think the end of the movie for me was memorable because I had to be in that water. I just loved Jonathan Pryce’s voice at the end. I just liked that.

Q) Was there anything the directors mentioned that you took to heart while filming?

A) The beauty of James and Anthony was that they are actors so they know how to speak actor’s language. I remember I was having a problem with this monologue and I thought I was like Al Pacino. They didn’t think it was good enough. My wife said it wasn’t good enough. So, James came out and said, “Treat this scene like an evangelistic character.” It was a great note and I did it. And he was right!

Q) What would you like to be sure fans know about the movie or about the character?

A) The main thing that would be nice for people to understand that the amount of love that this man had for his wife was second to none. By the end of the movie you’ll find out the truth of everything.

Q) What do you hope viewers take away from the film?

A) I just think that, for me, the bipolar element is important. I want them to see what it is like to suffer through that and hopefully get help from watching it. Also, I like the film because it is like a throwback to the 70’s where they used to do these horror films that were bigger than life at the same time.