Today we’d like to introduce you to Benny Burns.
Hi Benny, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
I grew up in LA, and as far back I remember I have always loved daydreaming and performing. One of my oldest memories is of me singing karaoke on a cruise ship when I was around 2 years old!
When I was in High School, my favorite subject was history until I took my first film class as an elective. I thought it would be an easy A, but it ended up instilling in me a passion for filmmaking and storytelling and opening my eyes to what movies and TV can do. In my senior year, I would end up quitting the varsity wrestling team to perform in the school musical on a whim. That was my first real experience with acting, or performing at all in front of an audience, and I knew then that it was something I’d never want to let go of.
Coming from an immigrant background, and being the first generation born in the US, I was always reminded to take a safe, stable path in life – so I studied screenwriting at CSUN and ended up at Paramount Pictures after college for about 5 years. All the while, I had been training as an actor for “fun” and putting my writing ideas on the backburner in favor of the “safe” office jobs I had worked my way up to.
I eventually realized I would never be fulfilled if I didn’t take a chance on myself and fully committed to my acting and writing work professionally. At that point, I had been training in acting with Lauren Patrice Nadler for years (and still do), and felt I was truly ready to tough it out.
Since then, I’ve worked on several exciting projects, found incredible representation, and finished the pilot script and produced a proof-of-concept short for my musical series idea, “American Jukebox”, that I’m very proud of and exciting to be sharing with industry right now.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It has not been a smooth road at all, but it has been a fun one filled with incredible people!
Around the time I finally decided to pursue my creative aspirations more seriously I was working a very toxic office job that made me feel like I was getting nowhere and really took a toll on my emotional health and self-esteem. It did, however, make me realize where my passions really lied and pushed me to embracing them fully.
Even once I was “doing the thing”, I came across challenges: finding good reps, securing funding for film projects, trying to build a reel and resume with no one knowing who I am, none of it was easy – but the knowledge that I was now doing it for something I truly love made everything worth it.
As long as I am always refining my craft and doing what I love, I know I’ll get there. There’s no straight path in show business (or life, really), and knowing that is as freeing as it is terrifying!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
I am an actor and writer who loves to build complex, interesting characters and worlds.
Much of my writing explores historical topics and/or high-concept ideas and contains themes about human nature, coming-of-age, nostalgia, and more. I love the idea that someone might learn something new from my work, or at least be very entertained by it.
I am most proud of my pilot script and short proof-of-concept for American Jukebox – A jukebox musical anthology series I’ve been dreaming up for years now. Every season takes place in a different musical era and tells the story of that time using its pop music. I have very high hopes for the project, and it was such a rewarding experience to act in the short and sing for the first time since High School!
Let’s talk about our city – what do you love? What do you not love?
I love all of the variety that our city has to offer, from people to experiences and everything in-between. As a foodie, I love that I’ll never stop finding great restaurants, especially breakfast burritos, to try.
I think the thing I like least about our city is how mismanaged it is, and how bloated and ineffective our bureaucracy has become. I think this applies across-the-board, but as an artist it is most apparent in how expensive and difficult it makes it to produce even the smallest short film here. We are chasing away our home-grown industry and that really upsets me.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://bennyburns.com
- Instagram: its.benny.burns
Image Credits
Hugo Arvizu (Stills/Set Photos)
