Ghosts, Glee, and Car Blinkers with Michael Benjamin

Michael Benjamin is an actor, writer, and comedian based in Los Angeles. Originally from Chicago, he trained at The Second City, The Annoyance Theatre, and iO, and has written and performed in a range of sketch and comedy shows. He has also amassed an online following for his comedic work, and recently wrote and starred in The Paranormal Communicator, a short film screened at festivals including OUTFEST and NewFest.

LFEO: Do you believe in ghosts? And if yes, have you ever had a ghost experience?

Michael: I mean, sure. I believe in tangibility, but just because I haven’t seen a ghost doesn’t mean they’re not out there? I don’t have all the answers. But I’ll be honest, I don’t really believe people who say they’ve interacted with ghosts. It’s a gripping TV concept, but half the time I think people are just auditioning for attention. I can’t help but feel like “You saw a ghost? Wow, spooky…do it right now. Find one.” Like those TV mediums are Meryl Streep level actors. Remember in school there was always that one kid who swore he got abducted by aliens? It’s that energy.

LFEO: Speaking of ghosts, what could social media platforms learn from Vine?

Michael: Brevity! Get in, get out, get the laugh. Why are you still on stage! Now TikTok is only doing monetization for videos over a minute, so we’re all forced to sit through content that should’ve ended at 36 seconds. Like why does this story have 3 parts? Your boyfriend cheated on you, move on. This story isn’t that interesting. But I’m not innocent, I’m guilty of it too. Dragging a joke out for the algorithm like it owes me rent money. But that’s the hustle. Vine walked so TikTok could ramble.

LFEO: Having trained at the famed Second City - what did you take away or learn there that continues to hold?

Michael: Everything. It was formative, chaotic, stressful, and perfect. But if I had to pick one takeaway: get to it. Don’t meander. Find the game, hit it hard, and ride the momentum.

Also, take a Lactaid, because this next sentence is cheesier than a Hallmark movie set in Vermont. Second City taught me following your dreams is fun. It’s hard to not feel inspired and hopeful in the same halls Tina Fey and Steve Carell walked.

LFEO: Now that everyone has an opportunity to productize their own identity on social media, and now that it’s kind of the only way to survive or even make an impact in any field, I’m curious—did you have any sort of inner conversation about those dynamics before you started making videos? Or were you just like, “I’m just going to have fun”? Or maybe when you started, it was before any of the implications we see now even existed?

Michael: I was just vibing. When I started on Vine, nobody thought anyone could make a career of this type of online content, not that I have by any means. It was chaos and six-second nonsense. Now everyone’s building a personal brand and coming out with interview podcasts. On that for just a moment, bring back journalists.

I’m not a prolific poster. Occasionally I have something go viral, but I’ve never been “successful” on any app. However, any momentum I’ve had in my career has been from what I’ve posted online.

It’s less common now, as TikTok is very much a household name, but Vine, TikTok, YouTube, have removed some of the gatekeeping the entertainment industry used to have. If you wanted to be an actor or singer, there were very specific routes to travel and people to get in front of. Now, anyone can self-produce and get online famous. Want to be an actor? Film something. Want to be a singer? Post it. Want to be famous for eating peanut butter dramatically? Sure, do it. The internet is now a casting agent. Has this led to a lot of successful and respected careers? The jury is out. But there are a lot more seats at the table now.

LFEO: Has your relationship to your own image changed since you started sharing work online?

Michael: Ass is fatter, hair got better.

I don’t know, I don’t know if I’ve thought about this. I just like making people laugh.

LFEO: What does Laura Dern mean to you?

Michael: One of the best nepo babies. Maybe THE nepo baby. She even celebrates being a nepo baby. I saw her at a premiere of A Marriage Story, and she was talking about how lucky she was to grow up in Santa Monica with actor parents, and it’s like, damn, you’re right! Sounds like heaven. She also makes great choices. She’s a real actor. She has big budget success, and indie darling respect; absolutely career goals.

LFEO: There’s something really specific about queer comedy…what do you think defines that specificity? Or what feels different about the way queer comedians/creators approach humor?

Michael: Hard to say, but I know I feel safe around it. Queer comedians bring the whole range; dumb, smart, chaotic, soulful, mean, hot etc etc. Maybe the difference is urgency. There are still so many people who don’t want queer voices to be visible, so when queer people create and become visible, it’s not just funny, it’s defiant.

LFEO: What do you think the future of art and creation looks like?

Michael: Me. About me. With me. For me. By me. Starring me. Written by me. Costume design? Also me. You open ChatGPT and type “write a movie for Michael Benjamin” and then hire a few cameramen, preferably robots. Hot robots. And that’s the future.

I don’t know if I’ve thought about what the future of art or creation will look like, I’ve not yet felt stable or successful enough in the present to look ahead in that way, but I’m excited for it. I’m surrounded by too many talented people to not be hopeful. Our industry feels lost, depleted, run by a bunch of CEOs who don’t care about creativity, simply profits. It feels like the idea of making a good living as a writer or actor is a fading dream, and yet, it’s still all I want. I want to create. It’s all that excites me. And I’m surrounded by people who feel the same.

LFEO: Being an identical twin - how has that shaped the way you see yourself? Has it made you more conscious of how you’re perceived? I guess you wouldn’t know anything different…but maybe you can sense difference in the non-twinned person?

Michael: It’s made me really good at saying, “Yes, we’re twins. Yes, identical. Yes, we talk. No, we can’t read each other’s minds. That’s gross, don’t ask me that.”

That said, we apparently had our own language as kids. So maybe we were magical once, but now we mostly just send each other TikToks and memes. I think other people are much more interested in me being a twin than I am myself, especially since my brother isn’t in entertainment. We can’t monetize it, so who cares.

LFEO: I need to know when you came out because I love reading your Facebook memories you share from when you were, I’m assuming, in high school, watching Glee or Miley Cyrus’s backyard sessions and posting about it. When did you know, and when did you come out? What was that whole experience like for you back then?

Michael: I never really had to come out in school, it was more of a situation where kids were telling me I was gay (sometimes supportively, sometimes violently) and I just learned to accept they were right. I grew up in a small town that didn’t have a high school, so it was impossible to blend in.

When I finally got to high school, about 30 minutes from my house down in the suburbs, I went from being around a few hundred of the same people to a few thousand strangers. It felt like Time Square. It felt like freedom. I felt alive.

I started reposting my old Facebook statuses as a silly “look how earnest I used to be” bit, but people really enjoyed them and connected with them. What started as nostalgia turned into something else. It became therapeutic. I was caring for a version of myself I had forgotten; the one who was happy, unafraid, not yet jaded by adulthood. His biggest stress was getting home in time to finish his homework before Glee came on.

I miss him. I owe him. He was kind, simple, joyful. He’s the one who dreamed of working in entertainment. He’s why we’re here.

These are a few of my Facebook status from high school that really capture who I was then:

LFEO: Is there something designed out in the world (an object, a system, a cultural norm) that you have a better idea for or could improve upon?

Michael: Anything Apple has done in the last 5 years. Their dedication to over-complicating every single feature on the iPhone is profound. It’s as if their goal is to bloat every update with unnecessary complications aimed at making all of our parents angry. It must be a kink for them at this point.

Also, car blinkers. Specifically, American ones. They should be amber, clearly visible, and separate from the brake lights. I was behind a Mustang the other day that had three little red lights blinking in succession, like it was trying to tap dance its way into the left lane. I don’t need a light show, I just need to know if you’re turning. It pissed me off. Like are you merging or sending morse code? Grow up!

LFEO: Who is someone that everyone should be turning into right now?

Michael: Me. And Somebody Somewhere on HBO. Bridget Everett should already have two Oscars, five Emmys, and a Nobel Peace Prize by now.

LFEO: What does the future of the world, humanity, or life in general look like to you? Are you hopeful, or what keeps you going?

Michael: I’m blindly optimistic in theory, but in practice I’m just tired and increasingly suspicious. I believe things will work out, but I also think we’re running out of time and too many people are pretending they don’t notice. I’d like to help, but I’m burnt out, lazy, and sometimes I just want to scroll until the world ends. But then I go on a walk and get coffee with a friend and remember life is worth living.

As I get older, it’s hard not to notice who’s thriving, and spoiler, it’s often the ones who started out on third base with rich parents. But still, I keep going because I love to create. Writing, acting, performing, it’s my thing. I used to say “I can’t wait to be famous,” but now I’m like… I kinda can wait. Fame isn’t the goal, joy is. Fulfillment is. Also, maybe a yearly vacation or two. I’ve still never been to Europe. Sorry, for those of you with rich parents, that sentence might sound confusing. Let me clarify: not everyone gets to travel. Some of us had to stay home and perfect our personalities.

As for the world? I don’t know, but maybe she’ll surprise us.

Clothing by Pono Skousen.