Benny from Total Recall
ONE NEVER KNOWS
….
As an actor you rarely get a look behind the veil of how casting decisions are made. As actors we assume that the most talented will get the part…but most of us know that so much more goes into that decision than just talent and ability.
I had a wonderfully funny and serendipitous opportunity to get a peek behind that veil during my experience with TOTAL RECALL.
How I got cast in TOTAL RECALL appears to be straight forward…my agent informed me, I had an audition for a movie called TOTAL RECALL. I was sent the script to read. However the day before I auditioned for T.R., I had an audition for another film (that will remain unnamed) with some of the most horrible Black stereotypes in it and it was a very disheartening experience. So when I began to read the script for T.R. and got to my characters description as Benny a Black “Jivester” I literally threw the script across the room! However, I was going to the audition, so I had to finish reading the script and it turned out to be a great character and I was looking forward to auditioning for it.
I didn’t really know who the director Paul Verhovan was when I went in for the first audition, nor did I know it was an Arnold Schwartzenegger project. The audition went well and the screen test with Verhovan went even better. So I was feeling pretty good about my chances of getting this. ( And I am not one to say that lightly).
However, weeks went by and I didn’t hear anything, one way or another. So I had my agents give them a call and we were told that an offer was “pending”.
So, here’s the point of this whole story…I end up getting the part …this is a huge deal! I’m on the plane to Mexico City, where the film is being shot…as I’m sitting in my isle seat, two teenage girls come down the isle and stop at my seat and say “you’re playing Benny!” Mind you I’m on my way to Mexico to shoot the film. Off of my confused look the girls said” We picked you! We’re Paul Verhovan’s daughters and he showed us all the final screen tests and we picked you!” And with that they continued to stroll down the isle of the plane.
Needless to say I was dumbfounded!
What a light bulb moment that was for me!
One never knows who has a say in your “casting destiny” !
BIOGRAPHY OF MEL JOHNSON JR.
MEL JOHNSON JR. Actor/Director/Producer-Though easily recognizable from his TOTAL RECALL co-starring role opposite ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER, Mel is equally comfortable these days discussing the production of his new one man show “Frederick Douglass In The Shadow Of Slavery” which had it’s extremely successful world premiere in California at the Torrance Cultural Arts Center, as he is discussing his work with such companies as Goldman Sachs, American Express and Credit Suisee as a corporate councilor.
While living in Los Angeles, Mel was the Executive Producer of Shadow Entertainment’s Urban Horror label “Big City Pictures”, he produced four feature films “Ragdoll”, “The Horrible Dr. Bones”, “Killjoy” and “The Vault” – All of which can be found on video. Mel was also the Artistic Director of The Imagination Workshop, a group of actor’s, writers, and directors that work within the psychiatric community and with kids at risk. He’s extremely proud of the fact that during his tenure as Artistic Director, The Imagination workshop won the first Ovation Award given to a company for “Outstanding Community Outreach.”
Mel has countless credits from a resume that reflects his work on stage, screen and television. As a theater director his work is best embodied by the award winning “Give’em Hell Harry” starring JASON ALEXANDER, “Oscar To Oscar”, “The Me Nobody Knows”, “The Ballad of Lizard Gulch” and the critically acclaimed “The Last White Man in the World”. Most recently he directed the World Premiere of Tom Dugan’s one man show “Robert E Lee, Shades of Gray” at Richmond Virginia’s Carpenter Center.
When his acting career is mentioned, Mel finds it difficult to point to his most significant work, but can quickly identify the roles that gave him the most pleasure. In addition to his film work, the list includes Broadway stints in “On The Twentieth Century”, “Eubie!” with Maurice and Gregory Hines, “The Rink” with Liza Minnelli, and Chita Rivera. Bob Fosse’s “Big Deal” Mufasa in “The Lion King”, starring in the new Earth, Wind and Fire musical, “Hot Feet!, and most recently, featured in the musical revival of “Jekyll and Hyde”. Mel would be remiss if he didn’t mention his long standing relationship with The New York Shakespeare Festival/Public Theatre, where among many he starred in the revival of the musical “Two Gentleman Of Verona” for The Festivals, Shakespeare In The Park, and most recently was featured in Stephen Sondheim’s “Road Show”. On television he was a regular on David Lynch’s “On The Air” and guest starred on numerous other T.V. shows from “Jessica Jones” and “The Blacklist”, to “Star Trek Deep Space Nine” and “Fresh Prince of Bel Air”. Mel has always found it extremely rewarding sharing with other what he has learned from education, at the High School of Performing Arts and Hofstra University and his vast life experience. He has taught classes in both New York and Los Angeles, coached individually and spoken with numerous schools, colleges and community organizations around the country. MEL JOHNSON JR. is as excited about his future as he is proud of his past accomplishments.
