LeQuan Bennett: Catching Fire

LeQuan Bennett | Photography by Sam Saengsavang

Currently starring alongside Pedro Pascal, Tom Hanks, Jay Ellis, Ben Mendelsohn and the late Angus Cloud in writer / director duo Anna Boden and Ryan Flec’s FREAKY TALES, The Sunshine State actor and voiceover artist LeQuan Bennett is literally having the time of his life while basking in each and every moment. The comic book loving and D&D enthusiast Bennett, who holds a Visual Arts degree from the University of Florida, has also appeared in FX’s Snowfall, worked as Carlton Banks’ stunt double in Bel-Air, as well as lent his voice to Netflix’s Surviving Black Hawk Down and Love is Blind: Brazil. 

Tell me your whole inception into the arts — When did you first become interested in them? And, how did it actually all begin for LeQuan Bennett?   

I’d say there were elements that popped up here and there growing up. I enjoyed acting in plays whenever the rare opportunity arose, and I liked to draw, though I wasn’t particularly good at it. However, in high school, I took a tech studies course and absolutely loved playing around with CAD software and graphics editors like Photoshop and CorelDRAW for the first time. This pushed me into pursuing a digital art degree at UF, although admittedly I took Acting for Non-Majors twice and attempted to switch over to the school of drama 3 years in. In the end, after a plethora of job titles in various industries I’ve landed here as an actor in Hollywood.   

Now you’re a native of Florida, correct? So growing up in the “Alligator State,” who all did / do you consider to be your strongest influences?   

Correct. Locally, I had a pretty cool English teacher in high school by the name of Eric Sheffield who was a joy to learn from and convinced me to join the weightlifting team which kicked off my life-long fitness journey. I also spent a great deal of time at the local library every week after our afterschool activities and expanded my mind, reading up on virtually anything I had curiosity or interest in, from comics and graphic novels to science, history and adventure.   

At what particular point in time did you even opt to pursue acting on a professional level?   

I was working in Silicon Valley as a Software Quality Assurance Engineer at Apple where I had a great manager, a fun team, and excellent perks and compensation, but I found that I couldn’t resign myself to doing just that for the next 20 years because I felt I had more that I needed to express and do during my time here. I wound up meeting some friends of a friend and started making trips down to L.A. during the weekends to help them on a short film called iNTERFACE. During that time I decided to move to L.A. and transition into the film industry. In doing so, for the first time I had access to all manner of training for actors and the means to partake. And so I did!   

When exactly did you receive your initial "big break" in Hollywood?   

Something really interesting about Hollywood is that there are quite a few “realms” one can break into. In the realm of stunts, it was November of 2020 when I worked a couple episodes of Snowfall: Season 4. In the realm of voice acting, it was a couple years later voicing the role of Captain Trent in Return to Monkey Island. In the realm of movies, it was later that year playing the role of Greg in FREAKY TALES.   

What particular string of events helped in landing you the role of Greg in FREAKY TALES?   

Shortly after the release of Return to Monkey Island in 2022, I got a call from an industry veteran friend of mine, Ron Yuan. He asked me if I was busy for the next couple of months, told me about this really cool film he was looking at directing the action for, and asked me to come on board as a stunt production assistant with the possibility of some on camera stunt work. I came on board and he had me send some of my acting materials his way just in case any opportunity arises. Shortly after arriving in Oakland for pre-production I got my hands on the script, was immediately drawn to the role of Greg, and asked Ron to check if that role had been cast yet. He told me it hadn’t, but they were holding out for a big name to sign on to play the part, but he’d shared my acting material with them and they liked it. A few days later he circled back and told me that they hadn’t secured that name and wanted me to audition for the part. I immediately went and got my hair bleached, dyed blue, and cut, then ran off to Best Buy to purchase a ring light to shoot a self-tape for the role. I submitted it that night, and a couple days later I got a text from Ron saying, “You got the part!” 

What is the film's premise?  

So FREAKY TALES is a love letter to the 1987 East Bay Area in the form of four different, but slightly interconnected stories centered around actual events and people of the time. It’s an ‘80’s style underdog anthology vibe piece, and it’s HELLA RAD!! Mine is the first of the four tales, Gilman Strikes Back, and it’s about a legendary brawl between punks and boneheads that took place at 924 Gilman, a punk club in Berkeley.   

LeQuan Bennett | Photography by Sam Saengsavang

How then did you prepare yourself to play this part?   

To prep for our story, Ryan and Anna had us all watch Turn It Around: The Story of East Bay Punk, a documentary detailing the history of Gilman. Then they arranged a meeting for us at 924 Gilman to talk with the documentary’s director and Gilman alum, Corbett Redford, along with several Gilman punks who were involved in the brawl that fateful night. My character, Greg, was based on George Stephens, a former Marine who performed in a band called The Hated, volunteered as head of security for Gilman, and eventually became the club’s administrator. They gave me great insight on what he was like. On my own, I studied the history of both punk and the bonehead subculture of skinheads.   

What are the biggest similarities and / or differences between yourself,  LeQuan, and the character that you portray, Greg?   

We’re both former military, both advocates for taking the initiative and means to defend ourselves and our loved ones into our own hands, and both against losing our humanity to the cold and ruthless, profit worshipping machine of capitalism. We also both wear glasses.   

Being a part of such an all-star ensemble cast, what was it really like being on set?  

It was an absolute pleasure! They’re all wonderful, fun, creative people and I tried to observe and learn as much as I could from each of them. Tom is a master of the craft. Pedro’s super creative and has a brilliant sense of humor. Ben is an incredible shapeshifter. Jay’s determination and set leadership is quite admirable. Angus was a prodigy. I think it’s also important to shout out some of the great younger talent portraying Gilman punks, Jack Champion, Ji-young Yoo, Keir Gilchrist. We all got to spend a great deal of time together to bond, by design. Many silly things were said and done. Many good laughs were had! For me though, all of that disappears when I’m on my mark and they yell, “action!” and I’m no longer LeQuan, I’m Greg.    

Switching gears here... 

In terms of longevity, what do you feel it is that will continue to sustain you in this grueling industry?   

I’d say it’s a fine blend of the knowledge that I can truly uplift people up with this medium…and pure spite towards that which makes the industry so grueling.   

To date, what has been your biggest career moment, at least thus far anyway?    

Premiering FREAKY TALES at Sundance in 2024. It was a very surreal experience watching our film with Pedro Pascal sitting a seat behind me to the left and the whole thing sort of joyously ushered me into this new phase of my career.   

What is your favorite part about this line of work? Your least favorite? And, why?    

My favorite part is actually getting to act. That’s what I work and train for and it’s where all of the creativity and play that drew me to this industry is. But there’s so much that you have to push through to get to that part. Numerous aspects of digital marketing and navigating the biases of the business that require a significant amount of resources and skill outside of actual acting can take their toll on you, especially if you don’t have a full team at your disposal.   

What advice would you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?     

Make sure you’ve studied the current state of the industry and how it’s changing. Make sure you’ve got a solid source of income outside of acting that can meet all of your financial needs. Continually create content and share. You just might catch fire.   

Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you see yourself?   

We’re in a unique and historic point in the industry and it’s impossible to answer that with any certainty with factors such as the impact of AI and the rise of mobile-centric attention and content. The landscape is rapidly transforming and were diving head-first into a new, uncharted era of creation and distribution. That being said, I’ll still be looking to tell stories that help people grow and access their own power to make the world a better place for all.    

As for the immediate, what’s next for LeQuan Bennett?   

I have a couple fun voiceover projects on the horizon that I can’t name just yet. Also, I’ve accumulated an enormous backlog of video games over the years, and I’ll be skillfully working through it on Twitch if anyone cares to join the fun!

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