We recently connected with Benjamin Ting and have shared our conversation below.

Hi Benjamin, thanks for joining us today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

I wrote and starred in my directorial debut “APE” recently. I believe that the most engaging works of art offer a private part of the artist up for people to investigate and make their own judgements. APE was a deeply vulnerable experience – it addresses difficult topics on masculinity and generational rage coming from the perspective of an Asian men in the west.

I wrote this film at the age of 18 when I first arrived in the States. I was wrestling with my somewhat frayed and nomadic identity. Searching for a sense of belonging. And I noticed that often it is easier to fill that void with rage. This is what I was looking to address in APE. Two years in the making after plenty of stop and starts – getting producers and funding, the project falling through etc. I, through the privilege of having amazing friends and relationships, shot my directorial debut.

It’s an attempt to capture a feeling at a very specific point of my life that I hope the public will be able to relate to.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I’m from a Taiwanese French background. I began in the extremely volatile and competitive environment of competing for subscribers against my childhood friends on YouTube. My trademarks at the time were not-so-good skits and fight scenes. I’m a represented working actor based out of both New York City and London.

I graduated Atlantic Acting School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts through NYU Tisch’s BFA Drama program. My first love was film though over the past four years I’ve uncovered my love and passion for theatre – particularly Shakespeare.

Recently, NextShark helped publicise a short film I starred in named VISA on Film Shortage. It follows an international student realising he could achieve green card status through hate-crime status.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

Hm. I recently lost a loved one while on set. It’s a jarring experience to be honest. How is it appropriate to play pretend while people suffer? What is it to live suffering in imagined circumstances when there is much grief to be experienced in real life? I saw an interview where an actor inquires into the claim that art is unnecessary for the world to function. And while maybe on a practical level that’s true, it’s in those moments of heartbreak, loss and grief when we turn to poetry and art. Because you’ll ask “how has anyone ever survived this experience before” and realise that artists have been expressing these universal feelings across all time.

So – perhaps that characterises my resilience. That I continue to pursue this pipe dream that requires deep vulnerability because I believe the works that I create will provide meaning to someone, somewhere.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

Oh, everyone says this but I think it’s the process. You can never guarantee “success” on the superficial level of fame, box-office or influence so it’s important that in each project, audition tape or artistic piece you commit to learning and growing from it irrespective of the results that will come of the final product.

It’s a great privilege to be able to tell stories I care about. In the coming year, I’ll be working on a western set with longtime collaborator, Lenny Luo, in the early 1800s following a Chinese father and son duo who stumble upon a plot of gold in California. It’s an untold story and to attempt to find our voice within the stories of those who came before excites me.

But to live my own life, my own experiences through the body of an imaginary one, I find deeply rewarding. It’s playful, creative and exhilarating.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://benjaminpaulting.com
• Instagram: ben.jaminting
• Youtube: Benjamin Ting

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