Mayim Bialik is now a movie director with the recent release of her latest film, As They Made Us, and we had a chat with the film’s executive producer Jonathan Benefiel about the project. Ahead of his work on the movie, Benefiel had started his career as an actor before delving into producing work. It has led up to this new film which partnered him up with Bialik and Dustin Hoffman, among others.
As They Made Us was released in theaters, on digital, and On Demand this month. The film follows a divorced mother of two struggling to find sanity in her dysfunctional family upon learning that her father (Hoffman) has a degenerative condition that he and his wife (Candice Bergen) refuse to accept. Read on to learn about Benefiel’s involvement in the new feature.
MovieWeb: We’re talking about As They Made Us, but first let’s set the stage a little bit. You got started in the industry as an actor before turning to producing. What was it about producing that made you want to do more work behind the camera?
Jonathan Benefiel: I began my acting journey back in 1986 at the age of 23—which is a little late to first get started in this business, but that’s a whole other story. Through the years, I enjoyed some successes, but I never got that key role that launches careers. I spent many years trying to figure out the secret sauce of becoming successful in the industry. I got the great headshots. I got the agent. I got the manager. I got all of the things that people tell you you need to be a successful actor, yet success still eluded me. So I decided to take a break from the business. I got married and focused on family life, but the acting bug never left me. So I decided to jump back into the business with a new attitude. Instead of waiting for the phone to ring from my agent and manager—I decided to take control of my career by creating my own opportunities.
In 2017, I got together with my long-time friend of 33 years, Eric Seltzer, and asked him if he’d like to be in a short film with me. Eric had always wanted to play the role of Lenny in Of Mice and Men, and I thought it would be cool to reimagine that film and modernize it for today’s audiences. So we did a similar storyline, set it to a mafia backdrop, and Protecting Tony was born. Setting up the elements in order to get that film made gave me the producing bug. The film went on to win 32 awards and five nominations in the festival circuit, so that was the universe’s way of affirming that I was on the right track. After the success of that film, I started to fully and partially finance other short films with talented actors I had met in my travels. Then came the John Leguizamo BTS Documentary, John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway.
John and I had been in the same acting class together back in the mid-late 80s until he got his first major role in Casualties of War in 1989. After that, we lost touch. But I always admired his artistry and massive talent through the years. When the opportunity to be an EP on that documentary came along, it was a no-brainer. The fact that the massive contributions of the Latin people to our country and our culture has been completely ignored in our collective American History really tugged at my core. So, I felt compelled to jump in and contribute in some way. That documentary went on to win an Imagen Award, so once again, the universe was confirming that this was the right path forward for me.
Not long after that, a Facebook acquaintance of mine, a producer by the name of Cary Anderson, told me that the producers of The Trial of the Chicago 7 were looking for some equity financing and wanted to know if I’d be interested in investing in the project. When I found out that Aaron Sorkin was the writer/director, I immediately got excited. I mean, the guy just doesn’t know how to write a bad screenplay. Then, when I discovered who was in the cast, I got even more excited. Sacha Baron Cohen is a comedic genius. He’s like Andy Kaufman on steroids—always pushing the envelope, and sometimes at great risk to his own personal safety. So when he decides to be part of a project, you just know he’s going to be brilliant.
Then you add the rest of the stellar cast and, again, it was a no-brainer for me. The icing on the cake was the subject matter. The bitter divisiveness that has taken over our country’s politics has been utterly heartbreaking to witness. When I read the script, I saw the parallels between what was taking place then, with what is taking place now. As George Santayana once wrote, “Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” So that was it for me. Of course, we all know how well that film did.
Mayim Bialik and the Excellent Cast Drew Jonathan Benefiel to As They Made Us
MW: Can you explain how As They Made Us came your way?
JB: Again, it was Cary Anderson, who told me that the producers were looking for some equity financing.
MW: What it was about the film that drew you to the project?
JB: Dustin Hoffman, Dustin Hoffman, and Dustin Hoffman. All kidding aside—Dustin Hoffman has been an idol of mine since forever. There’s a very short list of actors who we all collectively recognize as acting royalty, and Mr. Hoffman is among that list, in spades. Candice Bergen is another. Add the amazing talents of Diana Agron, Simon Helberg, along with the creative mastery of Mayim Bialik as both writer/director and that adds up to a hit, in my estimation.
And the subject matter of Mayim’s film is a universal one. I would imagine many, if not all of us, have suffered some form of abuse, be it physical or emotional, at one time or another, at the hands of the people who are supposed to love us—myself included. And I don’t know anyone who can say their upbringing was absolutely perfect. And if you happen to be one of those people, consider yourself fortunate. Many of those who have suffered from parental abuse, in one form or another, carry those scars with them throughout their entire adult life, and it can have a devastating impact on one’s ability to function in a healthy way—particularly when it comes to relationships. That said, being a parent doesn’t exactly come with a set of instructions. And so it’s important to find forgiveness too, if possible. After all, we are all imperfect, and we’re just doing the best we can to navigate through this crazy thing we call life.
MW: Mayim Bialik seems to be someone who excels greatly at everything she tries. What are your thoughts on Bialik putting on her director’s hat for the first time with As They Made Us?
JB: Mayim is a powerhouse. She just exudes capability. Why that is, is undefinable. It’s a quality you either have or you don’t. And she has it. I really am truly thrilled for her and her success. After all, the reason we tell stories is not just to merely entertain—it’s to tell stories that we can both relate to, as well as those stories we can’t, in order to raise our collective consciousness and develop a sense of empathy for people who may not look like us, think like us, or have the same experiences we have. So, in that vein, I say the more unique creative voices we can include, the better off we’ll all be for it.
The Mob Kid Might Be Jonathan Benefiel’s Next Feature
MW: So, what’s next for Jonathan Benefiel? Can you tell me about any other projects you currently have in the works?
JB: On the morning of Good Friday, 1973, I awoke to the screams of my mother, who was desperately trying to resuscitate my stepfather, Frank Vestri, who had suffered a heart attack. Unfortunately, her attempts were unsuccessful. He passed away at the young age of 42. Frank was a crooner in the style of Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, with a touch of Mario Lanza. He had recorded a never-released album titled, “Meet Frank Vestri” several years before his passing. And that album was all I had left of him.
Fast-forward to 1989. I was on the set of Goodfellas doing extra work at the Copacabana in NYC—a club that my stepfather had performed at many times. Scorsese was shooting Jerry Vale lip-syncing his song “Pretend You Don’t See Her” when I suddenly had this overwhelming urge to talk to him about perhaps putting some of Frank’s songs on the Goodfellas soundtrack. Of course, I didn’t, for fear I would be kicked off set. But the idea of having Frank’s music on the soundtrack of a film never left me. In my estimation, that was the perfect vehicle to get his music out there to a wider audience, or any audience, for that matter.
One day, I was daydreaming while driving home from work, trying to think of a cool idea for a mafia comedy that hadn’t been done before, when the concept of a soul-switch movie between a rough and tumble gangster who switches souls with his sensitive, over-protected, bullied son hit me like a bolt of lightning. And The Mob Kid was born. If the movie gods allow, I hope to begin shooting in the fall.
As They Made Us is now available in theaters, on digital, and On Demand.
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