We recently connected with Dan Bennett and have shared our conversation below.

Dan, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today We’d love to hear about when you first realized that you wanted to pursue a creative path professionally.

Growing up, one of the first major films I found myself drawn to was Star Wars, courtesy of my dad, and sci-fi and fantasy became a big influence in terms of writing. I’d write prose fan fiction and come up with all kinds of stories, and in college, I began to feel that some of my stories, while still fun as narrative, would be a lot more fun on screen.

In terms of acting, my father has always been an eccentric and showy, and he would perform in dinner theater shows. He’d ask me to help him learn his lines, and I found it very easy to absorb the dialogue to where I knew it better than him a lot of the time. But my “big break” was in a high school production of “Pippin” my step-sister was cast. She pitched her 10-year-old step-brother for the role of Theo, and that was that. I suspect that hanging out with a bunch of high schoolers probably made it seem a lot cooler at the time too.

Dan, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

My name is Dan Bennett. I received my degree in Broadcasting, English, and Theatre (yes, you read that right. Three majors. Someone’s a glutton for punishment…) from Central Michigan University. After graduation, I moved from (roughly) Detroit, Michigan to Los Angeles, California in 2015. I’ve tried my luck at everything I can get my hands on: acting, cinematography, writing, directing, podcasting, music composition, editing, and I’ve had a lot of fun with all of them.

Like many aspiring writers, I started with fan fiction, which transitioned into original stories, which evolved into screenplays. I’ve written and produced short films, been commissioned for demo reels scenes, and I’ve got a number of feature scripts in my back pocket. I strive to not restrict myself to one genre of storytelling, and that’s how I’ve had some of my best experiences writing.

In acting, aside from local TV promos and poorly made high school assignments, my first real exposure to Hollywood was working as a background actor on “Real Steel”, starring Hugh Jackman and directed by Shawn Levy. The respect everyone had for the production left me with fond memories of my five days on set and drove me to want more.

I’d say that some of my proudest achievements are rooted in my time working alongside my friend, Tyler Cole, and his production company, Lost in Time Pictures. He and I met during my first full time day job in California and, when he asked me to be Director of Photography on his film “Deacon”, it was a no-brainer. I’ve always had a very imaginative and cinematic mind, so getting to play with that and bring his characters to life was awesome. After that, Tyler and I starred as brothers in “Falling Sons”, which let me stretch my legs and explore a level of empathy and trauma I’d (luckily) not had to experience in my own life. Outside of my work with LitPics, my partner, Millie Ortiz, and I put together a Hallmark-style holiday rom-com short, on YouTube as “A Dream of Christmas (2023)” over the course of a week and, given a crew of just us, we’re very happy with how it turned out.

What I offer as a creative is a collaborative mind, always looking for ways to solve problems and push a project to be the best that it can be. I love challenging myself with skills I haven’t necessarily delved into much, such as scoring “A Dream of Christmas” from the ground up. GarageBand was a life saver.

Making movies has always been my endgame, and I have countless stories and characters to share with the world, and I think they’d love them as much as I do.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

The goal of my creative journey has never been to become a Hollywood A-Lister. It was to have the opportunity to make a living working on things that mean something to me and that I believe will mean something to others. Every project I’ve had the pleasure of working on has had simple goals. To make people think, to make them laugh, to make them feel happy, or sad. And that’s the core of my journey as well. To allow other people to feel the way I do while I’m working on them. I love my characters, some times it hurts me to kill them or break their hearts, but sometimes I can help them find love or peace, and if I can allow people to step in and live those same emotions, that’s what makes it worthwhile.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

I think that one of the greatest things society can do to support artists and a thriving ecosystem is to realize that people’s desires to be a part of a collaborative art form is not a wrong choice. We cling to art because it makes us feel complete. I challenge you to find me a person that doesn’t enjoy indulging in something artsy, whether it’s a movie, a play, an art show, or music. Support artists by looking for lesser known movies on streamers, seek out indie premieres, or find a local jazz club. Show your appreciation for what others have to offer and share it with your friends.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @realdanbennett
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@RealDanBennett

Image Credits
Jamie Goto; Jim Garrett; Bridgette Cannell; Tyler Cole