For his role in General Hospital, Benard received three Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series.

[4] He later made guest appearances in prime time shows include DEA, Stat and Dark Justice.

[2] In 1993, Benard was cast as Sonny Corinthos, a manic depressive mobster kingpin in the ABC daytime soap opera, General Hospital.

At one point he had stopped coming in to work but expressed his gratitude to the network for keeping faith in him instead of firing him immediately.

[8] He starred in the 2017 independent mystery thriller film The Ghost and the Whale, executive produced by his wife Paula.

[9] He guest-starred on ABC crime series Castle in 2016 and appeared opposite Jamie Luner in the Lifetime thriller A Lover Betrayed (2017).

In 2018, Benard appeared in the horror anthology film, Nightmare Cinema starring in segment directed by Ryuhei Kitamura.