Jae Benjamin recently finished up working on the new movie, "The Legend of Jack and Diane," where he plays a sleaze-bag, crooked attorney, Monty Moskowitz.
"Monty definitely is a slick guy but has a huge heart and soft spot which wasn’t too difficult to become a conduit for, as I’ve met all sorts of low life criminally involved and dirty attorneys and people with huge hearts but do 'grey' stuff shall we say, all the way up to some of the most prestigious and top lawyers literally in the world," he told Newsbreak.com.
Benjamin has been "hooked" on becoming an actor since he was 10 years old. "All I’ve ever wanted to do was be an actor in Hollywood movies. For the first time in my life, after 25-30 years of hard work and dire struggles, I finally feel like I’m doing what I’ve always dreamed of and worked so hard for!”
"Jack and Diane" also stars the late Tom Sizemore, who passed away March 3rd, just 26 days before the film released on AmazonPrime. For Benjamin, working with the veteran actor was an inspiring experience.
"Sizemore was a cool guy and very kind to me. I got taken to his house the day I personally wrapped on the picture. We spoke for a while about the movie we were filming, his work with Spielberg and others, some super funny stories and his undying love and attention for his children. It was an honor to get to know him."
Sizemore was scheduled to appear on "FanRoom LIVE," the virtual live-streaming celebrity meets fans show Benjamin co-hosts and executive produces with comedian Cedric The Entertainer. "This was for a charity event furthering his sobriety. He was doing great; he had been clean and sober for quite some time and was putting in the work everywhere he could, even teaching open classes in Los Angeles to actors and Hollywood hopefuls. He will truly be missed."
With the writers strike now several weeks in and the possibility of other unions (SAG/AFTRA, Directors Guild) unifying, Benjamin said he is "not ‘worried" about his future projects.
"The solidarity of the unions across the board is what we want. It's why we have them; none of the guilds can prosper creatively without each other. There are so many issues that have not ever been addressed that affect all of us. And now, there are more challenges ahead, with AI (artificial intelligence) barreling itself straight into all of us."
Benjamin slightly fears the impact of AI on Hollywood.
"AI has a place in this world, it has amazing capabilities yet known, but one thing it can't and should not ever be allowed to do, is replace human emotions and experiences, based off our own lives, pains, trials and tribulations. As actors and writers, we use our own lives and experiences and dig deep within ourselves, to bring out those experiences onto the pages and then bring those words to life. To even think that AI could potentially be used indefinitely to replace all the aforementioned just so the higher ups can save money on pumping out more product faster and faster, as the streaming and content business continues to move faster and faster - is beyond scary and disheartening. Plus, we all love what we do. We need not to be out of work and lose our hard earned work and dreams to AI."
Benjamin is currently in pre-production on 3 new pictures he will film this year. "One takes place in the late 1800's/early 1900’s, and will be the first time Benjamin will lead a major motion picture. “I’ll be playing a real person who lived in those days, and Im beyond excited about the project as a whole! The film has witches, warlocks, demons, creatures, imps, animals, monsters, gangsters and so much more, audiences are going to be beyond engaged and love the picture! The ensemble cast are Hollywood legends but I can't say who yet," he enthused.
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