Pretty Darn Groovy - Joshua Benton

There’s a shortage of hip leading men in Hollywood these days. Have you noticed? I thought so. You know what? I think I’ve found a solution to this problem―Joshua Benton. Part Han Solo, part Bruce Campbell, and all cool, Josh Benton stars as lovable scamp Clarence Singer in Brain Dead, Kevin S. Tenney’s new zombie flick. Josh is the kind of guy you want to sit down and have a few beers with, and talk about everything from Christopher Walken to awesome action figures…and that’s just what I did.

 Joshua Benton, my man!  Thanks so much for talking with us here at ScreamTV.  I always like to do some research before I talk with someone, but there's not much out there on you.  Why don't you start off by telling us a little about yourself.  Where did you grow up?

Well, most people tend to think I’m from the Midwest; however, I am a true California native. I was born in Long Beach and spent my younger years in Orange County. We then made our way inland to Riverside, or the 909 as it’s also known, where I got in touch with my inner trailer park. I believe that might be why people think I’ve got a touch of the redneck in me. But I did junior high, high school, and some college in Riverside before making my way out to Los Angeles. 

Have you always been involved with acting?

Oh yeah! I think I came out of the womb acting. When I was a little chap, I would play with my G.I. Joes and each character had his own distinct voice, and I would have these characters engage in full conversations as if acting out a scene from a movie or TV show. Much to my parents’ dismay, this also included sound effects. But I was a movie freak at a very early age. I would go to the movies with my dad on the weekends and then go to school on Monday and reenact what I saw for everyone at school. This made some people mad because I usually gave the ending away―oops! But hey, I was like seven years old. Eventually I got into high school, where I joined the Drama Club and started doing plays. My first performance was singing and dancing in the musical L’il Abner. I did three or four plays in high school, and then I attended the University of California - Riverside as a theater major. I did two plays while at UCR (Talk Radio by Eric Bogosian and Fool for Love by Sam Shepard). Unfortunately, there were circumstances that forced my early departure. And then I was in limbo for awhile. I had strongly considered a career in law enforcement. But something kept pulling me back to acting―probably my jackass nature and need to entertain people. That’s when I came to Los Angeles and started plugging away at acting.

Oh my God! Kevin is so great. I was a big fan of his movies growing up as a kid. Night of the Demons totally freaked me out when I was younger. But I had the best time working for him, and I would do it again in a second. Not only is he a great dictator―oops I mean "director" [laughs] ―but he is a very easy person to get along with. That guy has a wicked sense of humor. We traded bad jokes throughout the whole shoot. That and we share a mutual love of Mountain Dew.

Well, I was rapidly becoming one of those people who hide out in acting class and call that perusing their craft. I had met my now girlfriend [Michelle Tomlinson] and future co-star of Brain Dead in class. She had been submitting herself for work for awhile and suggested I do the same via Backstage West. In truth, she kicked my ass. So I began submitting myself and got called for an audition. The funniest part is that I accidently showed up a week early for my appointment. But Kevin and Dan Duncan, who’s one of the producers, had me come in anyway. So I was the very first person they saw for Clarence. I had a couple callbacks, and then Kevin called me one day and said, I’ll never forget it, "Well, I have some bad news for you. I’m afraid we’re gonna have to go ahead and give you the job." I think my stomach started doing hula-hoops around my ass after that call, because this was my first lead role in a feature film. I was later told by Kevin or Dan that they cast me based on how I delivered one line in the first meeting. But that was it. Michelle had also been called in for the film and got the same call that day or the next day. So on a fluke, we had both submitted and gotten cast in the same movie. 

How was the shoot?  I hear it was grueling.

The shoot was grueling to say the least, mainly because of the heat. We were working in this cabin in the middle of summer, and doing a lot of night for day shots. So the cabin was tented over so we could do the nighttime stuff in the day, and that added about 20 degrees to the already 105 degree weather we were having. Not to mention I was dressed in jeans and a denim jacket. So it was about 130 degrees under the lights with 15 people standing around sweating; we officially labeled the cabin "the butt hutt." Aside from that, the shoot was a blast! It was truly the most amazing experience and the most fun I’ve ever had. Getting to run around and play with guns and machetes, doing stunts―all of it. Everyone in the cast was great, and the crew was really a top notch group of people to work with.

Yeah, I was lucky enough to be a part of several productions after Brain Dead, though that is my biggest to date. Shortly after Brain Dead, I was cast in an indie film called The Bed, which was directed by Dietrich McClure. It’s a thriller in the vein of Jacob’s Ladder. I play a rather ominous character, but I can’t say more without giving stuff away. Hopefully, that will be making its way into the festival circuit soon. I haven’t heard much on that project since I wrapped. I also had a small part as an Irish prison guard in another indie film called The Red Machine. It’s a period film set around WWI, if I’m not mistaken. The U.S. government is trying to get its hands on a box that can decode Japanese transmissions, and they enlist the help of a cat burglar to accomplish this. The little I’ve seen of this project looks good. They have a MySpace page you can find through mine for more info. That too should be hitting the festival circuit soon, as I understand. And the most recent film I did wrapped this past October, and it’s called Unfathomable. I played a shady detective who is trying to solve the case of a girl whose been kidnapped. This was produced through a company called Blind Faith Productions and directed by Richard Frantzis. This project was real journey to make because I started out with a couple scenes, then I was killed off. However, the director liked where I was going with the character and wanted to expand his storyline. So a number of rewrites were done, and I’m now a major part of the plot of that film. They are in the editing process of the film, so that should be out sometime at the end of the year or early 2009.

[Laughs loudly] Yes, I am a collector of rare antiquities, particularly those of nerd-like proportions. I am a Star Wars geeeek! My best friend got me back into it. I have acquired most of the Star Wars Unleashed figures. Though I’ve had to replace a few, as we were robbed two years ago and some butthole swiped a few of them. And the kicker is―they didn’t even take the best ones. They handpicked what I can only assume they needed to complete their collection [laughs]. I’ve been collecting the Star Wars Legos for awhile now. I know it’s silly, but there is just something relaxing about putting Legos together. Who says maturity comes with age?! There are a great many more things I would be getting were it not for a lack of room in my apartment, having three cats―don’t ask―and a girlfriend. But she’s great about all of it. I’m a nerd, and she still wants to date me. Heh heh! So I can’t complain.

I used to read comics all the time and still have some of my collection. But that became an expensive habit that I unfortunately had to give up. However, when I was collecting, I was reading The Amazing Spider-Man, Classic X-Men, Legends of the Dark Knight, Detective Comics, and a few of the Dark Horse titles. My favorite, which I still have, is a five-part AvP series, which I think they kind of bastardized into the first Alien vs. Predator movie, but who cares―it’s AvP!

I totally get it, dude. Speaking of AVP, what are some of your favorite films?

Oooh, that is the wrong question to ask me [laughs]! Do you have enough room for my list? Hmmm, okay the short list: Evil Dead, or anything with Bruce Campbell for that matter, The Professional, Indiana Jones 1−3, Jaws, Poltergeist, Star Wars 1−6…yes, I liked all of them. Who cares―its Star Wars! Let’s continue. Tron, Transformers, Highlander…the first one, Dune…Lynch version, Ladyhawke, Goonies, anything Marvel or DC, Star Trek, Connery’s Bonds, [and] True Romance, The Prophecy, and Pool Hall Junkies… all three of which had Christopher Walken.

Another thing we have in common is our deep commitment to two gods: Bruce Campbell and, yes, Christopher Walken. What is it about these guys that is so freaking awesome?

Oh man―well Bruce Campbell is just the epitome of cool. He is just so fun to watch. His delivery of what could be really lame dialogue is genius. I mean look at Evil Dead 2. How many actors out there could have pulled off that kind of physical acting and craziness, while making it believable, but without judging the work. He just seems to me to be one of those guys who loves what he does and doesn’t take himself too seriously. And Christopher Walken. What else can I say but Damn! He has such a subtlety to his work that he can freak you out, (Prophecy, True Romance, Kings of New York, etc.) or he can me you laugh your butt off (Balls of Fury, Biloxi Blues, and his numerous "Saturday Night Live" exploits). Plus you can tell that Walken just loves to act and doesn’t get all wrapped up in what is best for his career. And lastly, not to seem to braggadocious, but I can do a pretty dead-on impression of Walken.

Hey, man, it's not bragging if it's true...