Today we’d like to introduce you to Ben Coleman.
Hi Ben, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I grew up in New York and as far back as I can remember, I’ve loved movies and been interested in acting. In 2009, I finally worked up enough courage to try out for my first play and fell in love… There was no turning back. I found an acting school in NYC, The William Esper Studio, and I completed their program in 2012. Those were some of the best years ever, getting to train with some incredibly talented folks. I booked my first national commercial around that time and decided after working around New York for a couple of years that it was time to move to Los Angeles.
I landed a job as a video producer at Buzzfeed in 2015 and dove into directing, producing, editing and acting in hundreds of videos over the next four or so years. I helped produce some of the biggest shows for the brand, including Worth It Lifestyle, which I produces and cohosted. We had a blast.
Producing Youtube content was never the end goal, but I learned a great deal and met some amazing people whom I still work closely with today. After leaving Buzzfeed, several alum and I made our first feature film called THE END OF US – which we shot during peak covid in LA and got accepted into SXSW 2021. The film was loosely based on a breakup I was going through at the time where my ex and I had to quarantine together (as exes!) for several months once LA got put on lockdown. I played the lead character in the film and had the time of my life.
The directors, Steven Kanter, and Henry Loevner were two of my closest collaborators/friends at Buzzfeed and it was incredible to finally be acknowledged for what had always been our dream: making movies.
That same team got together again last summer to shoot our latest movie called PEAK SEASON which is a romantic dramedy set in beautiful Jackson Hole Wyoming. I played one of the leads and also came on as an executive producer this time. The film got into SXSW 2023 and going there this past March was undoubtedly the greatest week of my life… Especially since our first film was accepted during the virtual SXSW year in 2021 (Covid…) So we finally got to celebrate both films and the reception from the audience couldn’t have been any better!
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As I mentioned before, Covid started as a challenge but we were able to turn lemons to lemonade and make a movie about it/during it, THE END OF US. It limited the crew size and scale of the movie, but ultimately that added to the charm of the film.
The current challenge is the writer’s strike, which I completely support. Hopefully, it gets sorted out soon so we can all go back to doing what we love.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I’m an actor and filmmaker. Many may know me from the countless short videos/web series’ I made while working at Buzzfeed 2015-2019. However, I am most proud of the last two films I starred in/produced: THE END OF US & PEAK SEASON.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Credit certainly goes to the group of collaborators I work with most frequently… A talented team of passionate creative warriors: Henry Loevner, Steven Kanter, Claudia Restrepo, Derrick Deblasis, Patrick Ward, and Lovell Holder.
I am extremely fortunate to have surrounded myself by a group of people who are way more talented than I am!
And of course, to my family who has supported my career wholeheartedly from the start.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.bencoleman.biz
- Instagram: instagram.com/benthusiasm
Image Credits
Headshots: Brad Buckman
