Get to know Actor/Producer/Director Benmio McCrea

The Official Black Magazine team had the amazing opportunity to interview Benmio McCrea who is a multi-talented person in the entertainment industry you need to know. He is someone who does it all and has done it all in Hollywood.

1. Based on your IMBD page, you’re an actor, producer and director of one film you  made in 2015 called “Aquarium”. What is “Aquarium about, and what compelled  you to tell this story?

Actually I didn’t act in the film. But, Aquarium is a genre bending fish out of water story  about a couple at a crossroads… to stay together or go their separate ways. Ultimately  it’s about following your heart and finding your way in the world. It’s interesting how  the film came to fruition. It was a family project that came about as a result of a call for  entries in the Fearless Filmmaking short film competition that was sponsored by the  Slamdance Film Festival and Digital Bolex. I think I saw an ad for it in filmmaker  magazine. The festival was looking to fill a slate of 10 shorts all shot on with a Digital  Bolex Camera. And of all the entries, if your film was selected, it would premiere at  Slamdance that year. The crazy part was that it required a huge leap of faith to get it  done. I saw the call for entries at the end of November and the festival was in January.  So we literally had about 6 weeks to write, shoot and edit the film. As I mentioned it  was a family project… Our kid Jordan Phillips wrote and was in it, My wife Natasha  produced and I directed it. It was a great creative project for us to rally around…  Particularly since we were a new family. Natasha and I married the year before. And  Jordan had just graduated from Carnegie Mellon. The whole experience of working  together was really magical. It was a joy to premiere the film at Slamdance and even  take it to Cannes. It sort of turned into a second honeymoon traveling around Europe.  After Cannes the film showed at the Festival du Film Merveilleux in Paris… and other  festivals here at home.

2. Did your background working as an actor inform some of the story-telling  decisions you made on Aquarium? 

Yes… I think so. I really enjoy working with other actors. It was also an opportunity to  direct again. I had made one other short film years before entitled “Retribution” that  premiered on Showtime and also had some success on the festival circuit. That film  starred Wendell Pierce (The Wire, Jack Ryan) when he was just starting his career.

3. What in your upbringing made you want to be an actor or work in entertainment?  

I caught the acting bug early and went to Philadelphia High School for Creative and  Performing Arts in Center City. Actually, I was in the very first graduating class. I learned so much there. I had great Drama and Dance training. I also had a ballet scholarship at  Philadelphia Civic Ballet. All of that training was my foundation.

4. How did you get your entry point or start working in the entertainment industry?  What was your first time on set like? 

I became a professional actor while attending Syracuse University. I was in a very  innovative production of Sam Shepard’s play “The Tooth of Crime” at Syracuse Stage.  And it was like I won the lottery when they took the show to New York for an Off Broadway run at LaMama Theatre. It earned me my Actor’s Equity Card. I actually had  to take off a semester from school to do it.  

But, my first speaking role in a TV show was on Designing Women. The great actor  Meshach Taylor helped me land that part. I met Meshach when I was his stand-in and  stunt double on the two “Mannequin” movies they shot in Philly. We became friends  and later he showed me the ropes when I went out to Los Angeles. I even stayed with  his family. Warner Bros was the very first studio lot I got to experience as an insider. I  was totally in awe of it all.

5. What are some of your favorite/most fun roles you’ve taken on?  

It’s always great to work on shows you really love or find compelling. Working on Bosch  with Paul Calderón was a joy. And being baby jack’s doctor on “This Is Us” was fun  too.

6. Who are some artists, or entertainers that have inspired you as an actor or  director?

There’s too many to name… Denzel Washington’s artistry, Will Smith’s drive and  commitment, Spike Lee’s mastery, Barry Jenkin’s poetry, Ava Duvernay’s empathic  care. They are all consistently producing inspiring work. I’d love to work with any and  all of them.

7. Are there any stories or projects that you’re working on now or coming in the future?

I have roles in three upcoming projects for Amazon, Apple and Sony Pictures  respectively. But I’m not able to speak about them until their release in 2022. And my wife Natasha McCrea and I have our production company, Crea8 Productions, which is in post-production on a feature documentary entitled, “Potliker” that she is directing. It revolves around Natasha’s family, the lineage of food and family recipes. 

8. What is some advice that you have to offer for actors or entertainers that want  to work within the entertainment industry? 

First and foremost, do the work. Train, prepare and hone your craft. Then get after  whatever it is you want. Find the joy in whatever it is that you want to do. If you’re just  starting out, seize every opportunity to gain experience. If acting is your thing, then do  plays, readings, student films, shorts, web series and get comfortable in front of a  camera. Cut your teeth on these smaller opportunities to prepare yourself so you’re  ready for bigger film and television roles. Get clear on how you’d most likely be cast – not necessarily how you want to be cast. Play to your essence… Play to your  strengths. Take an on-camera scene study class and an on-camera audition class.  Finally, for actors who have been at it for a while and for newcomers alike I’d say  “create a clear vision of what you want and take concrete action each day towards that  goal.”