Brett Benson

Brett Benson was born in the small town of Rhinebeck, New York on May 27th, 1987. Brett was raised in New York, having lived in Kingston, Yonkers, and Rochester. Outside of New York, however, he lived in Florida for some of his teenage years, and in North Carolina while serving in the United States Marine Corps. After being honorably discharged from the military, Brett decided to move back to New York. As of 2010, he lives with his wife in Rochester. Brett's parents are Rik Benson and Donna Keane, both of whom have divorced and remarried. Brett has a younger half-sister named Marisa, who was born of his stepmother, Marlene, when he was 8 years old. Brett got involved with the arts somewhat early in his life, starting his acting career at the age of 12. He was invited to the world premiere of X-Men (2000), having been a childhood friend of Langston Fishburne, son of Laurence Fishburne. It was at the premiere when Brett realized just how much effort and people went into making films. He was fortunate enough to meet some cast members, which inspired him further. Brett then began taking classes and appearing in small theatre projects. It wasn't until high school, however, that Brett started taking acting serious as a career. Fond of sports, Brett played ice hockey and baseball in high school. He was a goalie in ice hockey, and played infield for his baseball team. Although at the time, Brett wanted to pursue a career in sports, but his drama teacher urged him to pursue the arts. Taking heed to his teacher's advice, Brett became addicted after acting and stage directing in several different performances. After high school theatre, Brett decided to move on and start working on films. He hasn't looked back since. Brett has worked in many different aspects of film, as both talent and crew on many projects. The two films that introduced him to features include Cherry Crush (2007), and Drivers Wanted (2005). He claims Cherry Crush was the film that made him interested in what goes on behind the camera, not just in front of it. Anxious and eager to work on set and learn all he can, Brett has worked in various roles, including Producer, Grip, Assistant Camera, Assistant Director, Boom Operator, and Production Assistant. He has worked on short films, feature films, music videos, and commercials. Wanting to completely submerge himself in filmmaking, Brett dreams of producing, writing, directing, and acting; eventually all together in his own project. Brett plans to eventually pursue a Bachelor's Degree in Fine Arts, with film as his major. He has attended several different schools, studying in subjects such as Cinema Studies and Theatre arts. He has also attended various workshops and acting classes, hoping to expand his knowledge about film as much as he can.