Benjamin Jacob Smith
Overview
- Ethnicity
- White / European Descent
- Age Range
- 19 - 27
- Height
- 5' 9" (1m 75cm)
- Weight
- 8st. 13lb. (57kg)
- Hair Colour
- Brown
- Eye Colour
- Green
- Build
- Medium
Credits
Year | Job Title Project Type |
Project Name Director / Company |
Location |
---|---|---|---|
2018 |
Michael Patrick Reilly
Television |
The hunt for the Birmingham Bombers Tom Stone / ITV |
111 Highgate Studios, 53-79 Highgate Road, London NW5 1TL |
2018 |
Obi Wan
Commercials & Industrials |
HP office of the future Tim James Brown / Flare Productions |
90 Southwark Street, London, SE1 0SW |
2017 |
Danny
Film |
Bombshell Alec Mcdonnel / Exposure Bucks |
University of east anglia |
2017 |
Edgar
Film |
Edgar I AM Tim Purdue / Establishing Digital |
Ballyboley Forest |
2017 |
Floogle
Theatre |
Footsteps in the Forest Noel McDonough / Lumiere Events |
ormeau road Belfast |
2016 |
Ross/ Understudy Banquo
Theatre |
Macbeth Trevor Gill / RCS/open stage, Bright Umbrella Drama Co. |
Moira Calling Festival |
2016 |
Aleks
Television |
A Sign of Things Aidan Largey / RTE |
Belfast |
2016 |
Brother
Commercials & Industrials |
DOE SINK Dez McCarthy / Lyllee Baillee international |
Doagh |
2016 |
Roger
Film |
Blood on the Rose Tim Purdue / Establishing Digital |
|
2015 |
Jack
Film |
Chance Encounter Leah Hanlon / BFI and Cinemagic |
|
2015 |
Frankie
Film |
Days of Adolescence Thomas Pollock / Takeover films |
Belfast |
2015 |
Finn Neill
Film |
Spaceman Wilson Lynn / Head and Heart Films |
|
2014 |
Marc Bombells
Theatre |
The gates of the year Gareth Russel |
The Brian Friel Theatre |
Education
Year | Qualification | Where |
---|---|---|
2015 | 1 Year Foundation | Lyric Drama Studio |
About me
My Story:I have been working in the industry for several years now. I enjoy exploring new areas of performance and collaborating with new and exciting artists.
Additional skills:
Special Skills:
Swimming, Lifesaving ,yellow belt Karate, Guitar, Singing, Cricket, Athletics, Gymnastics, Boxing, ballet, jazz, Latin, Spanish, Snowboarding, Jet Skiing, High Ropes experience, Well-Travelled, Animal Confident, Animal Owner, English/Northern Irish accent, dance experience , short notice , work at weekends, own transport
Industry awards:
OXIFF - Best Short film (Edgar I Am)
Additional information:
My introduction to acting took place in four-week intensives run by BSPA, Guildford Youth Theatre and other musical societies. I learnt a lot in creating shows with these companies and I grew in passion. I learnt the foundations of voice, singing, dancing and acting.
I studied drama, music and film in school and appeared in school plays regularly. I struggled with high school because there was an intense focus on stem subjects and traditional career paths. When I expressed interest in being an actor or creative, I was dissuaded by my adult influencers, including my parents and teachers. I was often encouraged to teach drama or become a lawyer, rather than perform, as it was a safer option.
Despite this, I worked on a commercial, some amateur and paid stage roles and site-specific performances choosing to grow further. Those credits include DOE Sink Commercial, Understudy Banquo/Ensemble RCS open stages.
A highlight of this period was creating my own work. I have a deep appreciation of film and this led me to create my own shorts. I fell in love with all aspects of the process; writing, directing, filming and editing. My first short, HERO, about a teenager who wanted to be an evil villain and one day, woke up with powers to achieve that goal and Spaceman which was a response to David Bowie’s Major Tom. I was an editor for other filmmakers. I am still an editor and enjoy making videos and creating special effects for other peoples shorts.
I then attended the New York Film Academy’s Screen Acting course, in Paris for two months. I was introduced to Meisner, Stanislavsky and Adler. We worked on actioning, the actor's questions, script analysis and camera techniques while also having industry learning sessions on how to do taxes, finding your casting and unions. I continued to work on short films in my spare time such as Spaceman, Blood on the Rose, A Chance Encounter and Days of Adolescence, some which were funded by BFI and Cinemagic. I put to work the things I was learning, using my time on set to try, and fail, in my choices. If I am honest, I spent some of this time believing I had learned a lot of what I needed to be an actor.
This changed when I joined the Lyric Drama Studio where I trained under Kieran Lagan, Philip Crawford, David Calvert, Peter Balance and Michael Corbidge as well as other guests. The training provided an introduction into a variety of acting styles, movement, voice, bouffant, clown and Shakespeare. I was able to dive into a structural learning process of rehearsal and discovery, that allowed me to play, experiment and fail. Having worked so heavily with film and naturalistic acting, it was a joy to learn how to perform in an extra daily manner; whether that be in the exaggerated world of Commedia or through psycho-physical exploration. I saw myself and the theatre in a much more vivid spectrum.
I spent that summer working in London as an intern for The Hubbard Casting Agency and Gemma Skye casting. I was able to combine my learning within the Lyric Drama Studio to industry standards. Working at the casting office gave me insight into the other side of the casting table, and what constitutes an effective and ineffective audition. On returning to Northern Ireland I worked as an agent for BSPA, helping the clients to prepare for auditions
While auditioning in 2017 I adapted my monologue from King Lear and produced, edited and performed Edgar in Edgar I Am it was an ambitious project. Shot in one day, I hired a team of two one sound and one camera. Much planning and improvisation was needed, I had to be creative. As an actor, I found a physical journey for Edgar as he runs both literally and metaphorically from his past into madness. After submitting to festivals it received nominations for best actor and best short at the Oxford International Film Festival 2018.
I took some time abroad after I missed out on two final round auditions for LAMDA and RCS. I was told to go and live a bit and gain some life experience so I lived in Peru teaching English and Drama for 6 months. As a team leader, I had to be the first point of call for the schools and the 6 other teachers I had working alongside me.
Upon returning to the UK I booked a lead role in RTE’s A Sign of Things. This led to my agency referral. I joined IAL three years ago and began auditioning, jobbing notably making the final rounds of auditions for Jez Butterworth’s The Ferryman.
Shortly after I permanently moved to London and worked on two Equity shorts Alter Boys and Caravans. These satirical shorts challenged me as the characters were comedic and I found a comic timing and voice in myself.
I then had my first experience of acting in a docu-drama, where I played Michael Patrick Reilly in Who Bombed Birmingham on ITV. This was a difficult role as It was specific, word for word, and honest, exempting my own truth for the truth of the character, a living person, I also had resources that I hadn’t worked with before, such as interviews. Hamlet No Words by Speechless Theatre Company moved me away from the camera and into a foreign world of devising and physical theatre. I was pushed to embrace my impulses and let go of everything I had learned allowing myself to find play and insight in every rehearsal. I spent the next year developing my practice of physical theatre, I trained in creature creation and animal with Sarah Perry, Motion and performance capture with The Imaginarium Studio, Aerial silks and acrobatics at Aircraft and I workshopped with Gecko, Frantic Assembly and Fourth Monkey. Having hungered for more knowledge and experience I was thrilled to work again recently with James Ball (director of Hamlet No Words) and movement director Angela Gasparetto on a project that was in Research and Development. Having been asked back to perform by James and the production team feels like a testament to my determination for learning and furthering my craft.
2020 has been a complex year but I was very fortunate to the start the year by becoming a producer at the National theatre and taking a show to Sundance film festival. This experience has taught me a lot about the organisation of creation and allowed me to make some amazing contacts in theatre. I have worked with Ella Hickson, Gareth Fry, Inua Ellams and had the opportunity to hold creative meetings with Complicite, otroengoed, ETT, Rufus Norris. Being in the room with these creatives has opened my eyes to the role of an actor and how it fluctuates from production to production and also the constants in what a good actor is. A good collaborator who’s excited and energised. Which in a year like 2020 is difficult. I have produced three projects and 2 prototypes in the year which have been reviewed in the Guardian and NYT, they have played in festivals around the world including BFI LFF.
This Role in production has confirmed in me the importance of acting and performance in my life.
License & Passport
Passport: | Yes |
Driver's License: | Yes |
Skills
Languages Spoken | Spanish |
---|---|
Accents/Dialects | English - Cockney, English - London, English - Northern England, English - Received Pronunciation, English - Southwest England, Irish, New York, Northern Irish, Spanish (International Spanish) Acento Neutro |
Vocal Types | Baritone |
Organisations / Memberships | Equity (UK) |