Brian Benson
Actor/Author/Film Maker
Brian Benson is an award-winning author, filmmaker, actor and TEDx speaker. Benson inspires others through his personal journey of pushing the limits as a 4X Ironman triathlete, author of an award-winning book, "How To Live A Fun, Balanced, Healthy Life,” and TEDx speaker. Through hard work and never giving up on his dreams, Benson is sharing his message of how to live an authentic and fulfilled life with audiences from stage to pen.
By Jules Lavallee
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Copa: What does it mean to have an authentic and fulfilled life?
Brian: I think it’s something that we are all continuously working on. As I continue to grow and become more self-aware, I find that I move toward things that bring me a truer sense of happiness and authenticity; the simpler things. I spend more time looking for and cultivating peace inwardly instead of outside of myself. I have also found that tempering expectation and just living fully in the moment has extremely helpful. Now that doesn’t mean I can get to that place all of the time…but I am working on it. And in regards to my career, I think the more that I can share my work without fear the more fulfilled I have become. Copa: When did you realize that you wanted to be an Actor? Did you go to school for acting?
Brian: I had never planned on being an actor. I signed up for an acting class as another way to try and become more comfortable in front of others back in 2011. I had a fun time, but never planned on pursuing it. But shortly thereafter I had an idea come to me in a dream, which I wrote down when I woke up and then proceeded to meet a young filmmaker named Michael Sweeney and asked him if he wanted to make a movie out of it. He said yes and a few weeks later we were filming on the streets of Reno, Nevada and that become my short film "Guitar Man." I was very surprised about how it was received at film festivals and it still gets a lot of views on line. It was a very empowering experience for me. I had never acted or played guitar in front of anyone before and the whole experience really made me feel alive and after that I began to think more about pursuing acting and one thing led to another and I moved to LA 4 years ago where I continue to study and keep my career moving forward. Copa: How does someone go from being an actor to an author?
Brian: Well actually I was an author first and for me it was a matter of just trusting my intuitive pulls. Once I started to really own that I was a creative person, capable of coming up with unique and hopefully interesting material my shields came down and I have enjoyed tapping into this fairly new part of me. I have had to work a lot on my own self-worthiness through this whole process, which kept part of me playing small. And I think ultimately to be a good author as well as an actor you have to share from your core and from a very soulful place and that can be scary. The more you do it the more easier it gets and the more fulfilled you are. There's nothing more rewarding than to speak your truth and share in an authentic way |
Copa: Can you briefly describe your career!
Brian: My career is definitely a work in progress. Nine years ago when I left my family's business out into the unknown, I had no idea that I would be a writer or an actor and be doing any of the things that I am currently involved in. Basically everything that is happened to me with my career has happened to me as a result of my own personal growth process and just following my intuition. My first book was a result of me trying to find more balance for myself while I was going through the process of leaving my family's business and my intuition just told me to expand some of the ideas I had come up with for myself and make it into a book. And that's how my first book came about. After it came out, I then intuitively knew that I would need to learn how to be comfortable in front of people talking about my book to market it, but I was terrified of speaking in public so I begin the process of learning how to be more comfortable. I started taking community college speech classes, I did Toastmasters for a while, I created a workshop as well as co-hosted an Internet radio show. Everything was very scary for me at first but it got easier and I became more confident and then it became quite fun to share and be in front of others. Copa: How do you choose your roles and which was your favorite role?
Brian: I'm still at the point in my career where I don't have a lot of choice with my roles, but that hasn’t been a problem. In some ways it’s helped me learn how to stretch my abilities and learn more about myself during each particular project. I have been cast in a wide variety of roles. Teacher, counselor, caring father, priest, businessman, doctor, blue collar and lately I have been cast as the normal guy with a bit of a dark side, which has been interesting. No matter the role I definitely try to bring myself into it and to make it as honest as possible. We all have a bit of everything inside of us that wants to be expressed. Love, greed, lust, compassion etc. and I actually have found those somewhat darker rolls quite cathartic as it allows me to explore some areas in my life that maybe I haven’t expressed. Copa: You have such a diverse background as an actor, filmmaker, children's book writer, self-help author and TEDx speaker. Which is the most rewarding to you?
Brian: That's an impossible question for me to answer because they all are very rewarding and important to me and I feel like I'm supposed to be doing a little bit of everything. I truly have enjoyed the creative process in all the different forms and have found that they have helped me learn and grow personally in so many different ways. |
Copa: Can you tell us about the Children books you have written and where you got the inspiration to write them?
Brian: The children's books are kind of an interesting story. When I wrote them originally I didn’t really have plans of sharing them. I didn’t even realize if they were any good. I started writing them 15 or so years ago as just a mental exercise or form of meditation because I write them in rhyming form and it was kind a like putting a big jigsaw puzzle together for me. My first book “Stevie the Alien” which came out last year was completed way back in 2007 and just sat around until I decided to do something about it finally! I'm really excited to release my next book “Lucy and Chester’s Amazing Adventures!” this winter. I feel like it's going to be a very empowering and inspiring book for kids. And I'm very lucky to have an amazing illustrator to team up with in Paul Hernandez.
Brian: The children's books are kind of an interesting story. When I wrote them originally I didn’t really have plans of sharing them. I didn’t even realize if they were any good. I started writing them 15 or so years ago as just a mental exercise or form of meditation because I write them in rhyming form and it was kind a like putting a big jigsaw puzzle together for me. My first book “Stevie the Alien” which came out last year was completed way back in 2007 and just sat around until I decided to do something about it finally! I'm really excited to release my next book “Lucy and Chester’s Amazing Adventures!” this winter. I feel like it's going to be a very empowering and inspiring book for kids. And I'm very lucky to have an amazing illustrator to team up with in Paul Hernandez.
Copa: What would you like kids to get from your books. Where can they be found?
Brian: My stories have messages such as acceptance and sharing, but ultimately I want the child and parent if they are reading it to their child to have a truly fun experience. My stories rhythmically flow and are a bit whimsical and I want them to be fun and put smiles on everyone’s faces. All of my books can be found on my website www.gbrianbenson.com as well as Amazon.
Brian: My stories have messages such as acceptance and sharing, but ultimately I want the child and parent if they are reading it to their child to have a truly fun experience. My stories rhythmically flow and are a bit whimsical and I want them to be fun and put smiles on everyone’s faces. All of my books can be found on my website www.gbrianbenson.com as well as Amazon.
Copa: What does the day in the life of Brian Benson look like?
Brian: It's interesting although I'm doing a lot of different things and can be focused on multiple projects at the same time; I still lead a pretty routine life. I usually start my day with exercise and then walk down to my favorite coffee shop with my laptop and do a lot of my work there. I then head back in the early afternoon for some lunch and try to meditate or take a short nap. Then work some more. I am more of a morning person for sure and get most of my work done before early evening. I will say that I am trying to incorporate more fun into my life. I can be pretty driven. I have been in LA for 4 years now and haven’t really explored it like I would like to.
Brian: It's interesting although I'm doing a lot of different things and can be focused on multiple projects at the same time; I still lead a pretty routine life. I usually start my day with exercise and then walk down to my favorite coffee shop with my laptop and do a lot of my work there. I then head back in the early afternoon for some lunch and try to meditate or take a short nap. Then work some more. I am more of a morning person for sure and get most of my work done before early evening. I will say that I am trying to incorporate more fun into my life. I can be pretty driven. I have been in LA for 4 years now and haven’t really explored it like I would like to.
Copa: Tell us about your acting career and your part on the show "Sangre Negra?"
Brian: My acting career is still in its early stages but I've been very blessed with some very fun, interesting parts as well as been cast in some fantastic award-winning projects. I've been very proactive in creating my own content as well which has led to many other things. I'm a big believer in creating one’s own success and not waiting around for it. And because of that philosophy a lot of amazing opportunities have presented themselves to me in all areas that I'm working in. I've really enjoyed working on Sangre Negra. It was a huge confidence booster for me. I have a very interesting part, which has really required me to bring my A game and step out of my comfort zone. I have some very heavy scenes. I am looking forward to watching it when it comes out this fall.
Brian: My acting career is still in its early stages but I've been very blessed with some very fun, interesting parts as well as been cast in some fantastic award-winning projects. I've been very proactive in creating my own content as well which has led to many other things. I'm a big believer in creating one’s own success and not waiting around for it. And because of that philosophy a lot of amazing opportunities have presented themselves to me in all areas that I'm working in. I've really enjoyed working on Sangre Negra. It was a huge confidence booster for me. I have a very interesting part, which has really required me to bring my A game and step out of my comfort zone. I have some very heavy scenes. I am looking forward to watching it when it comes out this fall.
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Copa: How did you get the role on "Sangra Negra?"
Brian: It's one of those classic cases where I was in the right place at the right time creating my own luck. It was a couple years ago and I was working on my laptop in a coffee shop in the valley that I had been going to regularly and I began chatting with the director of the show Frank Pinnock. We had seen each other quite a bit because we both went to the same place but we had never chatted prior to that. I asked Frank what he did and he told me that he was putting a show together and then he asked me and I said I was an actor and a writer. He then said what are you doing next weekend? And I jokingly said “whatever you want me too.” And then he said, “I think I may have a part that might be right for you.” And after reading the script I was a little hesitant because my character is not a very nice person but I went for it and I'm so glad that I did! |
Copa: What is it like on the set? Are you one big happy family?
Brian: It’s been amazing. I love being on set. Everybody's kind and hard working and supportive. It was really fun to see Frank do his thing because he's a very talented director.
Brian: It’s been amazing. I love being on set. Everybody's kind and hard working and supportive. It was really fun to see Frank do his thing because he's a very talented director.
Copa: What other projects are you working on?
Brian: Right now I'm in the finishing stages of putting my next children's book “Lucy and Chester’s Amazing Adventures!” together for a late winter release. I'm still working on "Sangre Negra" and I have another self-help book of mine being pitched by my literary agent so my fingers are crossed there. Other than that I go to auditions, think of creative ways to market my books and continue to write.
Brian: Right now I'm in the finishing stages of putting my next children's book “Lucy and Chester’s Amazing Adventures!” together for a late winter release. I'm still working on "Sangre Negra" and I have another self-help book of mine being pitched by my literary agent so my fingers are crossed there. Other than that I go to auditions, think of creative ways to market my books and continue to write.
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Copa: How do you juggle everything?
Brian: Its not always easy but having a routine definitely helps me. Exercise, eating healthy and meditation/quiet time help me stay in balance, which in turn helps me to thrive and do all that I am doing. Copa: Can you tell us about your company and what is your mission?
Brian: The company that I founded is called "Reawaken Media" and I started that as an umbrella for all the projects that I'm personally working on; the books, short films, videos etc. It's mission statement - Reawaken Media creates conscious, inspiring, and thought-provoking content designed to powerfully wake up the world through the written, visual and spoken word. I am very excited about it’s future, not only in producing my work, but potentially other inspiring, positive and thought provoking projects. Copa: How has being an Iron Man triathlete been an influence to your career?
Brian: I think doing all those triathlons when I was younger really helped me to believe that anything is possible if I put my mind to it. I am very grateful for that period of my life and those endurance accomplishments. Riding my bicycle across the country and finishing 4 Ironman races really gave me confidence and made me feel alive. |
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Copa: What's the next big thing for you?
Brian: Well I have a lot of goals, some of which I keep private but I would really love to be able to share my work on a large scale and try to make a positive and inspiring difference in other people's lives while growing, learning and having fun at the same time. But like I always have, I ultimately just follow my intuition and happily expect the unexpected. That’s what got me to where I am at now.
Brian: Well I have a lot of goals, some of which I keep private but I would really love to be able to share my work on a large scale and try to make a positive and inspiring difference in other people's lives while growing, learning and having fun at the same time. But like I always have, I ultimately just follow my intuition and happily expect the unexpected. That’s what got me to where I am at now.
~Copa
(Layout by Rodney Wayne Branche)