411mania Interviews Paul Ben-Victor (In Plain Sight, The Wire)
Posted by Al Norton on 05.29.2009
411's Al Norton sits down for an exclusive interview with Paul Ben-Victor, one of TV's busiest and best character actors.
Paul Ben-Victor is one of televisions busiest character actors, with recurring roles on The Wire, John From Cincinnati, Entourage, and Everybody Hates Chris over the last several seasons alone. He is in his second season as a regular on USA's hit series In Plain Sight.
Al Norton: Does Stan (Ben-Victor's character on In Plain Sight) have the highest stress-per-screen-minute ratio on TV right now?
Paul Ben-Victor: (Laughing) I like that. I think he might.
Al Norton: What drew you to the part, and to the show?
Paul Ben-Victor: Actually I read for the part a long time ago – it was an audition – and you go in on some of these things and sometimes you just get called and offered them. I like the Christopher Walken philosophy about parts; you take what comes next. IF it feels right, you do it. I had just finished The Wire, and then this pilot came in, and I did a season on John From Cincinnati, and then In Plain Sight got picked up. It ends up being a big collage that fits together.
Al Norton: It's not just you wanting the job and then getting the job because the network has to decide if there actually is a job to get.
Paul Ben-Victor: It's a funny thing you go through as an actor when you get a role, whether it's offered to you or it's something you read for. The journey has been interesting for me. My favorite part these days is, when a job ends, I think, "what part is being written out there right now that's going to float to me? Who will I be next?"
I used to go and fight for every job, audition for every job, and now I wonder about how the next part will get to me. Maybe I will read for, maybe some writer will come up with something with me in mind…I may sound a little spiritual here but it's become a spiritual process. The roles come to the actor in a lot of ways. I remember talking to Michael Chiklas, who is a good friend of mine, and he was literally writing a script about a corrupt cop when he got offered The Shield. Somehow you put something out there sometimes and the part comes to you. It's an interesting thing how a role arrives in your lap. It's always different. Sometimes it's an old producer or director who thinks you'd be great for the part, sometimes it's a new relationship, sometimes you walk in the room and just connect with the material.
Getting back to your original question (laughing), that's what happened with Stan; I just went in and it rang true to me.
Al Norton: With a new show the pressure is building an audience and a quality level high enough to stay on the air. What kind of challenges do you face with a second season?
Paul Ben-Victor: Keeping it up. Keeping it up. When you come out of the gate as strong as we did the first season it's a huge pressure on the writers to maintain the quality level.
Al Norton: How much of the show's authentic feel comes from filming on location in Albuquerque, New Mexico?
Paul Ben-Victor: A lot of where people get moved to in Witness Protection is very secretive but I think Albuquerque is a place where people are really relocated. It definitely feels real, there's definitely a vibe there where you feel like you could become anonymous and get lost in a crowd. It's a very interesting place to work and I think it has a lot to do with the success of the show. The whole landscape is new to TV. People are interested in this world. And we use Albuquerque; it's not like we're there filming pretending it's New York or LA.
Al Norton: Have you been embraced by the city?
Paul Ben-Victor: The Mayor was at our wrap party and I think they declared it In Plain sight day in the city, which was an honor.
Al Norton: Is it strange to have a large group of co-workers but really only have scenes with two or three of them?
Paul Ben-Victor: It's always a fun situation on a series because you become really good friends with new people. Nicole Hiltz and my fiancé and I go out all the time and have a great time but I am almost never on camera with her. She's the best laugher in the world.
Al Norton: How do you feel about the label "character actor"?
Paul Ben-Victor: Well, I've learned to live with it (laughing). Everybody says, "you're a character actor" and I say, "yes, I am." It's something people can grasp, it's a hook, something people who aren't neccissarily in the business can get. There's the Brad Pitts of the world, and then I become, "oh, you're one of those character actor guys I see all the time." It works to have a phrase that people can classify you with, I suppose.
The truth is we're actors, we're all actors. Danny Devito is clearly a character kind of guy but he's been a leading man depending on the role. My favorite example is someone like Marlon Brando, who is probably the greatest character actor of all time. He played a Japanese man, he was a complete chameleon.
Al Norton: How did you find out your Entourage character was going to die?
Paul Ben-Victor: When I read the damn script (laughing). My manager sends me the script and says, "it's great. They came up with something great for you." So I read it and they were all excited and I was like, "yes, it's a fabulous opportunity and I'm thrilled you brought me back but you realize I can't jump up and down when I see that I end up in a coffin." That's how I found out, I read it.
Al Norton: That was a pretty authentic looking heart attack you had there.
Paul Ben-Victor: You know, I got phone calls for weeks. My Doctor called me the next day and said, "Paul, I know it was television but I haven't seen you in a year and I was concerned. I had to check in and make sure you were ok."
Al Norton: Is that the ultimate compliment?
Paul Ben-Victor: I have to say it was up there. I got a bunch of those calls for a few weeks. People were really shook up. Yes, it was a big compliment. I'm actually putting together a death reel because I've died so many times on screen (laughing).
Al Norton: Did you have as much fun with your Everybody Hates Chris character as it seemed from watching?
Paul Ben-Victor: Oh god, more fun that I may have ever had. I'd go in there and just go crazy. The character would just spew these things out of his mouth that were ridiculous. I like watching them, too, and usually I don't like watching myself a lot. This was so over the top, so wild, that I get a chuckle and a smile out of it.
Al Norton: As an actor, when do you get to enjoy being a part of a high quality project? As an example, The Wire was hailed by many as one of the best shows of the decade, if not of all time, and assuming you don't sit around on set talking about how great the show you're on is between takes, when do you get to appreciate it?
Paul Ben-Victor: Because I don't watch a lot of television and I am only now catching up on The Wire, the answer to that for me is when I talk to the fans. I went out this weekend to watch one of the games at a bar and there were a ton of Wire fans there. Their excitement and their appreciation for the show, that's when I get to bask in some of that glow, to look back and feel good about it. When you see a fan who says, "man, that show was great. And your character did this and did that," and you know there are people out there watching and re-watching, that's the greatest feeling. That's where I get my greatest joy.
Al Norton: How did you and your Mom become writing partners (Ben-Victor and his Mom have written several plays and screen plays together)?
Paul Ben-Victor: My Mom's been writing plays for 25, 30 years. She's had several off-Broadway shows and many, many off, off-Broadway shows. When I first came out to LA she had a one act play called Club Soda and we did that, and then I wanted more pages so I told her to fatten my character up a bit. I'd tell her what I needed and she'd send me new dialogue and then we'd work with it and tweak it. We had a fun chemistry and then we wrote a screenplay and then a play, which we're going to do in New York at some point in the near future. She's a real writer, I'm not, but we collaborate really well together.
Al Norton: What's the status of Should Have Been Romeo (a screenplay Ben-Victor and his Mom wrote together)?
Paul Ben-Victor: I just heard from the producer and he says he got the money and it's going in the bank. I've been hearing that for a few years but we are hoping to go into production this year. I play Joey and it's a wild, fun romp in the vein of My Big Fat Greek Wedding and Little Miss Sunshine. Some young African-American kids are tracking my character down claiming I am their Dad.
Al Norton: This Sunday's episode is a little more about Stan than usual. It must be fun to get the script and see your character is the focus.
Paul Ben-Victor: I hope every year I continue to get my token episode with my name in the title. Last year was Stan By Me and this season it's One Night Stan. Hopefully next year I'll get another fun one.
Al Norton: Stan And Deliver.
Paul Ben-Victor: Listen to you (laughing). Stan And Deliver. I'm sending that in. Typically actors get the script and it's the old joke, "bullshit, bullshit, bullshit, my part, my part, bullshit, bullshit." I do a little bit of that but the scripts for the show are fantastic, some of the best I've ever read. I'm thrilled to get the chance to be a part of the show.
Don't miss In Plain Sight this Sunday at 10 pm on USA.
