This transcript was automatically generated and might contain errors.

[0:00] Eila Mell: Hello and welcome to Behind the Awards. I'm Eila. I am here with Bruce. How are you, Bruce?

[0:06] Bruce Gotlieb: I'm hanging in there. How are you?

[0:08] Eila Mell: Oh my gosh, it's so hot.

[0:10] Bruce Gotlieb: I know.

[0:10] Eila Mell: We're right in the middle of a New York summer.

[0:13] Bruce Gotlieb: That's right. That's right. I mean, I just came back from Canada, which was cool and humid-free.

[0:20] Eila Mell: Oh, nice. You were on a cruise. That's always fun.

[0:23] Bruce Gotlieb: I was. They did Saturday Night Fever on the cruise.

[0:26] Eila Mell: Oh, how fun.

[0:28] Bruce Gotlieb: Which was fun. It was a fun show.

[0:29] Eila Mell: Was Orfeh in it?

[0:30] Bruce Gotlieb: She was not, unfortunately.

[0:32] Eila Mell: Oh, well, no original cast members, I guess.

[0:34] Bruce Gotlieb: No original cast members. This was the Royal Caribbean, although I will tell you, choreography by Spencer Liff.

[0:40] Eila Mell: Oh, amazing.

[0:41] Bruce Gotlieb: Yeah.

[0:42] Eila Mell: Well, that's great. I mean, he's fantastic. Drag musical, plus many other shows.

[0:46] Bruce Gotlieb: Plus many others. But while you were away, you were able to get the opportunity to go represent Behind the Awards at the Ginger Twinsies.

[0:56] Eila Mell: Well, listen, Bruce, I'm glad you had a good cruise, but you would have loved this show. Ginger Twinsies is at the Orpheum Theatre, which I already love the Orpheum because, you know, Little Shop of Horrors originated there. So, you know.

[1:09] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, my God, this show. I mean, you never stop laughing from the second it starts. It's a parody, campy, campy parody of The Parent Trap.

[1:18] Eila Mell: That's right.

[1:19] Bruce Gotlieb: The Lindsay Lohan Parent Trap, which is why it's called Ginger Twinsies.

[1:23] Eila Mell: Yes.

[1:24] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, my gosh. This show by Kevin Zak.

[1:28] Eila Mell: Yes.

[1:28] Bruce Gotlieb: Hilarious. Starring Russell Daniels and Denisa Folds as the Lindsay Lohan twins.

[1:35] Eila Mell: Perfect.

[1:35] Bruce Gotlieb: In very orange-red wigs.

[1:38] Eila Mell: Yeah, like.

[1:38] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, my God.

[1:39] Eila Mell: Like, not like you're, you know, true. They look, at least in the pictures, you correct me if I'm wrong, they look like a little more lowbrow wig than you would see in, like.

[1:50] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, yeah, yeah.

[1:50] Eila Mell: You know, they're.

[1:51] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, yeah. You're not dealing with, like, good wigs, and they sell wigs in the lobby.

[1:55] Eila Mell: It looks like they just took two of those, and that's the point. It's supposed to be over the top. It's not based in any form of reality, which is exactly how you want it.

[2:05] Bruce Gotlieb: Set by our pal, Beowulf, for it.

[2:09] Eila Mell: Perfect. And so, they have the wall. So, it takes place at a summer camp. If you know the movie, you know that. And so, the walls of the theater, up to a point, are decorated with, like, it looks like kid's art that kids drew. And then, there's a sign pointing to the back of the theater, and it says something like, our set budget ends here.

[2:29] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, how funny.

[2:30] Eila Mell: Like, there's a sense of humor in every aspect of this show. Oh, my gosh. It's so much fun. Lakeisha May is in it. She is so good. She plays the mom.

[2:44] Bruce Gotlieb: First of all, you can't imagine how gorgeous this woman looks on stage.

[2:48] Eila Mell: Okay.

[2:48] Bruce Gotlieb: Wow. But second, she's just so funny. The whole cast is hilarious, I have to say. I'm just singling her out because I've seen her in other things. But Russell Daniels, I just saw him in The Imaginary Invalid. He's great. He was hilarious in that, even funnier in this. I can't say enough good stuff about this.

[3:09] Eila Mell: Okay. I mean, it's 80 minutes, so you're in and out.

[3:12] Bruce Gotlieb: 80 minutes. And then, it's a who's who in the audience. Michael Cyril Crichton was there. He's from Only Murders in the Building. Tony winner Ali Stroker was there. I mean, it's fun throughout the theater. And just everyone's there to have a good time.

[3:28] Eila Mell: So, it's the closest thing to being back in summer camp. It's a lot of fun. And I would definitely recommend that you go see it, Bruce. I think it's right up your alley. And it's not just The Parent Trap that they send up. There's a whole Devil Wears Prada scene.

[3:43] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, fun.

[3:44] Eila Mell: It's all 90s movies. Of course, mostly The Parent Trap. But you don't even have to have seen The Parent Trap to have fun with it. I don't know if I ever saw it, but I definitely tried to watch it again recently, and I couldn't even find it.

[4:00] Bruce Gotlieb: Oh, okay.

[4:02] Eila Mell: So, I went not remembering, and it's still so hilarious. And of course, there are things you get anyway. And it's just, just go see it. Do yourself a favor. If you want to have fun.

[4:14] Bruce Gotlieb: Well, who doesn't want to have fun?

[4:15] Eila Mell: This is the show, really.

[4:18] Bruce Gotlieb: So, it's in previews now. Opening night is July 24th. Running through, as of now, October 26th.

[4:25] Eila Mell: So, you have tons of time, but don't wait too long.

[4:27] Bruce Gotlieb: Don't wait too long. I have a feeling they're going to get extended, just based on their reaction. But who knows? Maybe the theater's already booked. So, I don't know. So, go.

[4:36] Eila Mell: So, get some while you can.

[4:38] Bruce Gotlieb: Absolutely. So much fun.

[4:40] Eila Mell: All right.

[4:41] Bruce Gotlieb: But we have a fantastic guest. I'm so excited to talk to Benjamin Pajak.

[4:47] Eila Mell: This kid is on fire. I mean, I don't know how old Benjamin is. He's very young. I don't want to ask him, just because, you know, you shouldn't ask people their age, right? Even at that young age. But I'm guessing he's a young teenager.

[5:02] Bruce Gotlieb: Sure.

[5:03] Eila Mell: Um, his career, my gosh. He starred in Oliver at City Center. He starred in The Music Man with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. He has major movies that he's involved with. And he doesn't have small parts. He's main characters, he's working with Mark Hamill. He's working with Alan Richson.

[5:22] Bruce Gotlieb: And Tom Hiddleston.

[5:24] Eila Mell: Really? I mean, and he's as sweet as can be. So, should we bring him out, Bruce? What do you say?

[5:30] Bruce Gotlieb: Let's not waste another moment.

[5:32] Eila Mell: All right. Here's Benjamin Pajak.

[5:43] Bruce Gotlieb: Benjamin Pajak, welcome to our show. Hello there.

[5:49] Benjamin Pajak: Hi, guys. How you doing?

[5:51] Eila Mell: We're great. Thank you so much for joining us.

[5:53] Benjamin Pajak: Thank you for having me.

[5:55] Eila Mell: Well, I mean, listen, you are very young. And I can't believe how successful you are at this young age. I can't even imagine, you know, what's next for you. But let me backtrack and tell our audience what you've been up to the past few years.

[6:11] Benjamin Pajak: So a few years ago, you made your Broadway debut. Was it in The Music Man?

[6:15] Benjamin Pajak: It was, yes.

[6:17] Eila Mell: And not, you know, not a little part, you know, a nice big part. It wasn't at the Ron Howard part in the movie?

[6:23] Benjamin Pajak: It was. I've been in love with Ron Howard ever since.

[6:26] Eila Mell: Oh my gosh. Well, Ron Howard is amazing. Hopefully you'll get to work with him at some point very soon. So you worked with Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. No slouches.

[6:38] Benjamin Pajak: No.

[6:40] Eila Mell: I mean, they're the best. You couldn't ask for two better people to work with. And every day showing up with the two of them, they love doing the work. And they're the best people to act with on stage. And the thing that that I got to take away from them was just to have the most joy in everything that you do. And you can see that every single night. They just had they found something different. And everyone got to take that away from them. And it's just a joy working with both of them.

[7:04] Eila Mell: You know, it must have been fun working on that because there are a lot of kids in the show. You know, when you're a kid actor, a lot of times you're the only kid in the cast. So what was that like for you?

[7:17] Benjamin Pajak: Yeah, no, I as soon as I found out that there were going to be other kids in it, I couldn't believe it because I had known by known in quotes, that there usually aren't a lot of kids in Broadway casts. And I was just so excited. And I'm friends with them to this day. And we had so much fun together, our dressing room for so close, so we could just go and say hi whenever we wanted. And there was so much fun on stage. It was just and I think the adults had a really fun time being around like the youthful kind of energy too. I just I couldn't have asked for a better cast to be around.

[7:51] Eila Mell: So, you know, from there, you don't stop because then you star as Oliver in was it city center in the encore?

[7:58] Benjamin Pajak: Yes, it was version. So that's amazing. What a huge honor to get to play that Oliver hasn't been on Broadway since the 80s, I think.

[8:08] Benjamin Pajak: Yeah, yeah, no, I, I couldn't believe it. I the audition process was really, it was really exciting because I don't consider myself a huge dancer. And we had a huge dance audition. And that went so well for me. All the kids from basically all the kids from Music Man were in it, which was really fun. And, and the audition process was amazing. I got to work with Lear deBessonet, who's an amazing director and so much fun to work with. And that whole cast and that whole experience, you couldn't ask for a better environment to be around.

[8:44] Eila Mell: Was stage always the trajectory for you when you started out and saying I want to be an actor? Did you did was Broadway always that was the goal?

[8:54] Benjamin Pajak: I think especially as I was growing up, I didn't know a lot of film around when I was five, getting started. And I had my mom had always taken me to see Broadway shows every weekend. And that's kind of how I mean, I fell in love with Phantom of the Opera, Cats, all that stuff growing up, and I started doing regional stuff around me. And I found cheap, my mom actually found the open call for Music Man. And that's how I got started. I waited for two years. And, and, and that's how I got started. I mean, all the credit goes to my mom for getting me started, because I don't know where I'd be right now.

[9:32] Eila Mell: So does your mom have to be with you for the rehearsals? And for every performance? How does that work?

[9:38] Benjamin Pajak: So usually how it works is for rehearsals, it kind of works the same way. But we have a lunch break in the middle of the day. And what happens is, the parents usually let us rehearse and they leave where they can stay. I think that's how it works. And then if there's lunch, they're more than welcome to take us to go eat. And then at the end, take us home and then for performances, it's kind of the same, drop us off at the stage door. And then the guardians always hand us off to them at the end of the day.

[10:05] Eila Mell: But so it's a job for your, your one of your parents anyway, at least because they have to make sure to get you back and forth. So it's really hard. You know, it's a, it's a big responsibility.

[10:16] Benjamin Pajak: Yeah, either way. I mean, everyone says that. I mean, it's hard for the actors, but it's also hard for the people, especially, you know, for the parents who are watching their kids grow up doing this. There's so much pressure on them. I mean, my mom helps me with my Instagram, with my school. She takes me everywhere. She talks to my agents for me like I, I wouldn't be I wouldn't be able to do it without my mom. And she's at least for me, the perfect fit for me.

[10:40] Eila Mell: No, of course, because you still need to be a kid. You don't need to, you know, be an adult. You're in an adult environment so much of the time as it is. So you need that so badly. I remember Neil Patrick Harris said that when he was shooting Jukie Houser, that he felt so bad because his mom was like, just relegated to like a folding chair on the set. And nobody paid attention to her. And it really kind of broke his heart.

[11:02] Benjamin Pajak: Yeah, no, I always like to give my mom my chair because I'm not the type of person to like to sit when I'm on set or they don't give you chairs when you're doing stage. But yeah, but I usually have to keep on my feet because it keeps my energy up and everything. But I always give my chair to my mom. And I think she likes that.

[11:23] Eila Mell: Yeah, I'm sure she loves it. That's a that's a good, good quality. But now, okay, so let's let's go into what you're doing lately, because it's incredible. So you are starring in this huge movie called The Life of Chuck with Tom Hiddleston. How did that come about? And how long ago did you book it?

[11:35] Benjamin Pajak: So I auditioned for it right after Oliver, or I had been on I auditioned for during Oliver, I think, on the city center one that I did. And I think it was only an audition and then one callback. And then I found out that I got it because they were I think they were ready to start filming it. After I found after I found out I Mike, the director hopped on a zoom with me. We both totally geeked out about working with Mark Hamill, Luke Skywalker.

[12:12] Eila Mell: Yeah.

[12:12] Benjamin Pajak: And I couldn't believe it every day on set was I mean, working with Mike Flanagan. He's amazing. He's a visionary. Mark Hamill, I every boy's dream and an amazing actor in this role and being on a Mike Flanagan said, and we filmed in Alabama, which is so beautiful. And every single day that I was there was just so much fun. It was something new. It was something exciting. And I just felt so grateful to be there around amazing people like like Mark me all these amazing actors.

[12:44] Eila Mell: I'm sure you know this, but Mark Hamill was on the view talking so beautifully about you. That must have been insane.

[12:48] Benjamin Pajak: I the things that he's said about me are just, I could thank him until the end of time. And I can't say enough about him. This I keep saying it. This is the role that Mark was meant to do. He's so good. And if you haven't had a chance to go see Life of Chuck, it's still in theaters. I you really have to experience it in a theater and and Mark is just a powerhouse and is extraordinary in this role.

[13:12] Eila Mell: Now, of course, he's an icon from Star Wars, but he's also a Broadway guy. You know, he goes back a long time.

[13:18] Benjamin Pajak: Yeah, I think when he was in New York, on the view, he saw a couple shows with his daughter, which is nice. And Chelsea's amazing. By the way, Chelsea's his daughter is kind of like how my mom is to me and Chelsea's amazing. But yeah, no, Mark loves theater and is always talks about it with me.

[13:34] Eila Mell: Did you exchange stories about being on Broadway?

[13:39] Benjamin Pajak: He asked me a couple times because he found me before. Before he even met me, he saw my Oliver video that that was on Instagram for a while. And, and, and a lot of people that I've worked with have seen that. And that's how they know me. And, and Mark had always kind of had that sort of connection with me about theater because he loves it so much. And he did ask me about Hugh and he asked me about Music Man and, and he's so interested about theater. And it's so interesting to see how much he loves both film and theater and kind of mash them together.

[14:15] Benjamin Pajak: Life of Chuck is not your only movie. You have two movies premiering early next year. One is called Playdate, directed by Luke Greenfield, with Alan Richardson and Kevin James. The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[14:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[15:01] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[15:17] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[15:33] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[15:49] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[16:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[16:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[16:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[17:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[17:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[17:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[18:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[18:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[18:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[19:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[19:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[19:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[20:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[20:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[20:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[21:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[21:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[21:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[22:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[22:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[22:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[23:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[23:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[23:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[24:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[24:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[24:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[25:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[25:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[25:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[26:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[26:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[26:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[27:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[27:25] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[27:45] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.

[28:05] Benjamin Pajak: The next one is called Tiny Fugitives, directed by Michael Lewin and Johnny Knoxville.