Benz Antoine has been staying true to his passion for nearly a quarter of a century. Rounding out his first quarter in the entertainment game, the Canadian can be seen in real-life based movie Mafia, Inc. and heard in worldwide video game “Overwatch.”
Your first acting gig was for The Sirens in 1995, giving you a nearly twenty-five year career. What is the biggest thing you’ve learned in that time span that you feel is worth sharing?
The thing that I wish I knew then that I know now and that I can impart onto other people contemplating this business is that it’s going going to be awhile before you achieve the things that you want to achieve. When you’re in your 20’s you think this is going to get done right quick, but it takes time and patience. Those are not exciting things to hear, but it’s the truth. It really takes a long time to solidify yourself in this crazy, fast entertainment game, so bring a coffee.
It been a hard journey for Black actors, especially Black foreign actors — African and Islanders particularly. With you being Haitian, what has been the most challenging feat?
In that regard, it’s kind of hard for everybody in a different way. If you’re really short, you have to fight back. If you’re overweight, you have to fight back. If you’re very skinny, you have to fight back. Everyone’s got to fight something in this game, because it’s a visual medium. So the actual race that you are, sometimes plays in your favor and something it does not. I think the difference is you get a lot less of opportunities. I think that hard to swallow. Let’s say I’ve gone to school and I have white friends who are actors. I look at their past as very different than my past. They may get more opportunities, but they also have more competition. So, even then when you look at it, you really can’t compare yourself to anyone else. That’s why into my tenth year I said, “It’s going to be a while to find your nitch.” Your race is apart of what you bring to the table, but it’s not the whole story.
How do you find your niche?
Let’s say you have a face that’s “girl next door.” You may not see yourself that way, but that’s how people see you. So you have to fight that. There might be a girl that’s so pretty and she wants to play a real actress, but she never gets those roles.
What was a breakthrough in your career that you said, “Okay, I’m going to keep going?”
That’s a good question. I like that question! Usually at the beginning of your career, you’re having to ask your friends and family, “Hey, I’m in this project. Why don’t you check it out?” You’re always promoting yourself. Then they’re like “Where can I catch it? I didn’t see you.” Then I finally ended up being in the project that everybody wanted to see without me having to tell them. Once that happened, I was like “Okay, this is going to work out for me.” That project was Get Rich or Die Tryin’ with 50 Cent. That was turning point, as far as, bucket list things — not having to tell people. That was huge.
When that project happened, how did that later equip you for projects like “V-Wars” (2019) and Mafia, Inc.coming in 2020?
It made me realize you’re only one phone call away from the things that you want. Yes, I got that great part and it propelled me, but what if I didn’t? I would still find a way. That’s why I said it takes patience. I’ve been in over 100 projects, but I can name you 500 that I wanted to be in. What’s yours is yours and you have to believe and trust that. You have to embrace that. The best example of that is The Fugitive with Harrison Ford, but the first choice for that movie was Alex Baldwin. Alex Baldwin said, “I didn’t think it was a good role for me.” I know Harrison Ford did it well. Now, they’re both movie stars. So, there are move you make. Just keep chugging until the end and eventually the tree will fall. My career has been built that way — steady, slow progression, but always trending upwards.
Can you tell me a little bit about Mafia, Inc. and your role as Lt. Brassens?
It’s a mobster story based on real people that operated in Montreal. They’re Italian mobsters, so I play a detective that helps bring down the whole organization. Since it’s all based on real people, this Brassens guy was someone who allegedly wore a lot of nice suits. He was a great detective, but his trade mark was that he wore nice suits. The director of the film is someone who I worked with prior and when he saw that character he said, “Oh, that’s got to be Benz.” If you see a lot of my pictures online, I like wearing suits. I don’t know if he hired me for my ability to wear a suit well or the acting ability, but either way I’ll take it.
You said that people have an image of who you are and they place you into certain boxes, but how do you view yourself?
See, that’s interesting. That’s another good question. A lot of actors want to view themselves as everything, but I don’t view myself that way. You cannot escape your physicality in film and TV. In theatre you can, but in film and TV you cannot. In other words, I’m 6’4”. If I’m 6’4” that means people are going to look up to me majority of the time, unless I’m watching an NBA game. So if that’s the situation, I have a certain demeanor that comes with that. I’ve been born with that, I’ve always had people counting on me for protection. That leads into the roles: police officers or authorities. That type of lane is connected to my height and stature, so I’ve learned to see myself the way people see me.
Interestingly enough, you do voiceovers for a video game. Can you get into that?
Yes, Overwatch is a game that 40-50 million people play everyday. It’s an international game. There are 30 heroes and I am one of them. This is something that happened to me just 6-8 months ago. I play a character named Baptiste, who is a Haitian guy. It’s important, because as an actor you’re always looking for your next big break, but with the video game side of it is just another huge market! People can now enjoy your voice and not necessarily enjoy your physicality. It’s opened me up to a whole other world. Crossover fans who like your work in one project, can now appreciate you in video games. It makes you open to younger people, because a lot of younger people play video games too. It’s been a rollercoaster ride, where now I get to go to Comicon. I’m going to one in Cleveland in a couple of months. It’s another dimension to the artistic game. That’s why I say you never know where things will go. I never would have thought that I would be in a video game.
Here at Urban, we go by the motto that not only do we write about urban culture, but we also live it. How do you live urban culture?
I like to be aware of things that are out there, so it could be music, film, sports or entertainment. I’m always wanting to be aware of what are the trends. Urban is someone who cutting edge, hip, and to a latter degree “woke.” I like to add all of those things to my repertoire, because in the end if you’re a well-rounded human being, you will become a better artist. If you add a little urban to your game, I think it goes a long way to creating the type of artistic endeavors that you desire.
Sciler Williams
