We were lucky to catch up with Benjamin Hardy recently and have shared our conversation below.
Hi Benjamin, thanks for joining us today. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?
I got into acting kind of by accident! I’ve had a long career in visual effects but I’ve always had a passion for writing. I spent nearly 10 years at Rhythm & Hues Studios on the technology side, working with the software and systems departments. When the company went bankrupt in early 2013, I decided to spend some time writing while I searched for a new job. My good friend Stephanie suggested I take an acting class to learn more about character from the inside; that didn’t appeal to me because I didn’t want to be an actor. I’ve known lots of actors so I understood the kind of dedication it takes. So Stephanie suggested signing up to do background work for a couple of months just to see what it’s like on set and to meet people. I registered with Central Casting on a Monday and was on the set of Criminal Minds to play a sheriff’s deputy on Tuesday. As I took my place in front of the camera, surrounded by cast and crew, I began to understand the pull of acting. Whatever it was, I wanted more. That led me to sign up for those acting classes. I started with acting coach Robert Amico before I even joined SAG-AFTRA. When I met Murisa Harba at the SAG-AFTRA Conservatory, I clicked with her chakra-based approach. I’ve been studying with her at About the Work Acting Studio since 2015. I also discovered a love of improv that took me in new directions thanks to Second City and UCB. I’m constantly finding ways to get out of my comfort zone which keeps expanding. Last summer, I spent five weeks in London studying Shakespeare performance at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. I still write and I’ve started directing but at this point, I can’t imagine not acting.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
I moved to LA in 1991 from Boston though I’m a Virginia native. I knew I wanted to work in the film industry and wanted to write. I bounced around doing a lot of free and low-paying PA and assistant jobs but got burnt out. I temped in a variety of industries but the film business remained in the back of my mind. By 1995 I was a banker working in Downtown LA, trying to ignore the screenplay ideas I always had. I started work on an MBA at USC in 1997 with a focus on finance when my employer was acquired by a larger bank and I was laid off. Suddenly, I wasn’t that interested in finance! The USC School of Cinematic Arts has a program that allows MBA students to take business-related classes toward a certificate from the film school. That was an obvious option for me. I took several IT classes in database design and project management, then got my MBA and certificate at the end of 1999. I landed a job at a non-profit think tank where I met John Hughes, the president of Rhythm & Hues Studios. He introduced me to the company’s CTO, Mark Brown, who hired me to work in the technology division. I got to work on some amazing movies (‘The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,’ ‘The Incredible Hulk,’ ‘Alvin & the Chipmunks 1, 2 & 3, and dozens more). In 2011 I started a screenwriting certificate program at UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television; I earned my certificate in 2012, just months before Rhythm & Hues declared bankruptcy following the release of ‘Life of Pi,’ a project I worked on for two years. Since becoming an actor, I have also worked at Method Studios and Digital Domain, the latter as a pre-visualization coordinator on ‘Spider-Man: No Way Home.’ I’m in an unusual position in that I’ve spent a lot of time in post-production, experience I can bring to my craft as an actor and writer. I may be on set for a few days but there are people working on it for years.
What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?
It’s only been three months since the SAG-AFTRA strike ended and only a little longer since the WGA strike did so this topic is still pretty fresh. One thing my non-industry friends don’t understand is that very few actors and writers work full-time and their craft. Everyone I know works at least one other day job. Often those side gigs are terrible. We all face the choice about how we want to allocate our limited resources, especially time and money. I constantly see friends who are torn between work and family obligations that leave little time for their crafts. An anonymous executive was quoted in the press during the strike that the producers should starve the actors and writers out until they start missing mortgage and car payments. That struck me as naive because my friends and I don’t have mortgages or car payments. Most of us made more money during the strike because we could work extra shifts. The down-time was spent on spec scripts and theater projects. I got in better shape because I walked for miles on picket lines every day. I was lucky in visual effects in that it paid well and I worked every day. Something else people don’t realize when (and if) they watch film credits that most of the names of people who worked on the movies are not up there. It’s true in visual effects, actors, writers, musicians, etc. When someone thanks me for the work I’ve done, it means a lot, partly because it’s rare.
What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?
It’s exhilarating! I knew from the first moment I stood in front a TV camera and heard ‘Action!’ that this was what I wanted to do. I had gotten up at 4:00 in the morning to get to the Criminal Minds set as a non-union background actor but there’s an electricity on set. I’ve worked on dozens of student films and it’s there too. When I’m on stage and the lights go out and the end of a show, the first thought that goes through my head is, ‘Nooooooo!’ There’s another sense of satisfaction that comes from watching a project I worked on. Some actors can’t watch themselves, but my heart races the whole time, even if I have a tiny part. I’ve stopped thinking ‘and I need to lose weight,’ thank goodness. There’s also that feeling when friends tell me they saw me in something. I got a taste of this when I saw my name pass by, deep in the credits of ‘The Incredible Hulk,’ and later when on ‘Life of Pi’ which I watched with my family. Nothing compares to the feeling of having made a contribution to something worthwhile. Not everything I’ve worked on has been great and I’m not always thrilled with my performance but it always feels good to know I was there.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @benjaminhillhardyiv
- Facebook: @benjaminhillhardyiv
- Other: https://www.imdb.me/benjaminhardy https://resumes.actorsaccess.com/benjaminhardy https://app.castingnetworks.com/talent/public-profile/4e4b8e24-c754-11eb-adff-532a921f977e
Image Credits
Allison Bacis, Tandem Photography