Maurice Benard proves he is a real friend to Tyler Christopher

Maurice Benard shows himself to be a true friend

Tyler Christopher and Maurice Benard say they have been friends for 25 years. The two men worked together when Christopher portrayed Nikolas Cassadine on General Hospital where Benard plays Sonny Corinthos. Onscreen Nikolas had a son Spencer Cassadine (Nicholas Chaves) with Sonny's sister Courtney Matthews ( Alicia Leigh Willis) who died when Spencer was just an infant. Prince Nik and Sonny have locked horns on more than one occasion and do not really get along. Off-screen, however, Benard has been looking out for Christopher in times of trouble just as a real friend should.

Benard hosts a podcast titled State of Mind and Christopher has been his guest a few times. Both men have shared their journey with mental illness and Benard admitted that he has been on lithium for 3 decades. Tyler told his friend and the audience that he began drinking at the age of 9 after boys at his school told him to try drinking vanilla extract to get a buzz, Tyler has battled his alcohol use for decades and admitted that drinking is the reason he lost his job on General Hospital and also the role of Stefan Cassadine on Days of Our Lives.

Tyler wanted to return as Nikolas

Shortly before his recent arrest, Tyler said he would gladly return to GH as Nikolas after Marcus Coloma was let go from the role when his contract expired. Adam Hass was the last actor to portray Nikolas and GH has not said anything about a recast. Mason Gatlin (Nathanyeal Grey) is working for someone big who has yet to be revealed and they are holding Nik and caring for him.

Some fans believe it might be Selina Wu (Lydia Look) because Mason asked Ava Jerome (Maura West) to spy on Sonny.If General Hospital does recast the role they may not consider Christopher and hold his recent incident against him since his drinking is what cost him the role in the first place.

Christopher's fans are supporting him

TMZ recently reported that the actor was arrested because he had been sleeping on the floor of an airport while intoxicated. Fans of the soap vet immediately came to his defense saying that he had done no harm and asking if he might have been unjustly arrested. Several people said they understood alcoholism and they were sympathetic to the plight of Christopher. Often when celebrities fall the world turns against them.

They lose jobs and cannot get hired anywhere else and fans can be cruel. Friends in the business often distance themselves in order to protect their own careers but Benard is sticking by his former cast mates side and even had him to spend time at his home.

Maurice Benard is supporting Tyler Christopher when he needs it

Christopher shared his story on Instagram where he said that Paula Benard the wife of Maurice asked him over and he complied. it looks like the friends had a great time and Christopher seemed to enjoy hanging out with the animals. He said Paula asked him to come see the goat and he thought she was referring to Maurice as a GOAT greatest of all time but she was literally talking about a goat on their property.

Sometimes you get kicked when you are down and everyone is pointing out your faults. Maurice Benard took the high road and is showing Tyler Christopher that he is in his corner and that's admirable. Be on the lookout for updates related to what the actor will be doing next and best of luck to him wherever his future takes him.