One Year Ago, "The Lost Boys" Star LJ Benet Never Expected Broadway — Now He’s Leading A Tony-Nominated Musical

When I saw The Lost Boys successful previews, I expected to get a small frightened and laughter a bit, but I was not astatine each prepared to cry. When LJ performs the Act 1 standout "Belong to Someone," you tin perceive a pin driblet successful the theater. Every lyric feels profoundly personal, and his transportation to the euphony is intolerable to miss.

We hopped connected Zoom to sermon his instant knowing of Michael, his chemistry with his co-stars, and his unexpected travel to The Lost Boys.

Note: This interrogation has been edited for magnitude and clarity.

LJ: Something Shoshana [Bean] told maine is: As an actor, you'll get to bash a batch of roles. Some you person to enactment truly hard at, portion others volition travel people to you. This 1 came naturally.

I felt similar I truly knew Michael. I understood what it felt similar to beryllium an outsider. I understood what it felt similar erstwhile your household doesn’t get you. I understood wanting to beryllium with idiosyncratic who doesn’t privation to beryllium with you, but inactive warring for it.

There were truthful galore things I connected to wholeheartedly. When I auditioned, I couldn’t assistance but consciousness each of it. "Belong to Someone" wrecked maine erstwhile I archetypal heard it, due to the fact that I thought, "I cognize precisely who this quality is."

Even increasing up arsenic a kid actor, you larn to enactment connected this individuality of a "performer." With Michael, he’s perpetually reacting to everyone else’s emotions alternatively of allowing himself to consciousness his own. Then that infinitesimal comes wherever it bubbles up, and you conscionable explode. I recognize that each excessively well.

When I started speechmaking the publication for The Lost Boys, I thought, "I get this. I conscionable person to fig retired however to bash this 8 times a week."

LJ: Oh man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is deep LJ lore.

The Phantom of the Opera was the movie that made maine autumn successful emotion with singing and acting. I deliberation I was 7 erstwhile I saw it. It’s brainsick present due to the fact that Patrick Wilson [Raoul] is really 1 of our enforcement producers. 

At the time, I didn’t adjacent cognize it was called theatre due to the fact that I was watching the movie mentation — but my parents started putting maine successful theater, and I realized I loved it truthful much. 

What I loved astir was the household aspect. You walk each time with these people, and truly rapidly you physique this small household together.

LJ: A twelvemonth ago, I was doing a determination accumulation of Tarantino successful Los Angeles with a institution called For the Record. I was doing a batch of determination theater, but to marque ends meet, I besides did handyman enactment and TaskRabbit jobs.

From there, I got clients and started doing a batch of carpentry, similar gathering tables, desks, and things — my ma taught maine however to bash a batch of that. She built maine a loft furniture erstwhile I was little; she's the 1 putting TVs up, each that stuff. 

I realized this was a commercialized I could bash erstwhile I wasn’t performing, and that I could really marque a surviving from it. That was my program for beauteous overmuch each of 2024 and 2025. I thought, "I'll spot wherever euphony goes, but successful the meantime, I'm going to make this carpentry concern and spot wherever it takes me."

(Laughs) Then abruptly I was connected Broadway, and the full program changed.

LJ: When I archetypal heard "Belong to Someone," I was successful my garage, and I had a implicit intelligence breakdown. I had conscionable moved backmost successful with my parents. I was trying to fig retired however to wage my bills. I was heartbroken beyond belief, and I was truly struggling to recognize who I americium without this happening that I knew for truthful long. 

I understood each connection astatine my halfway — that feeling of wanting to beryllium seen, and wanting idiosyncratic to look astatine each the breached pieces wrong of you and say, "I judge you. I emotion you. I take you."

It crushes maine erstwhile I sing it, but I can't judge I get to sing a opus similar that each night. "Belong to Someone" recovered maine successful a clip erstwhile I couldn't enactment what I was feeling into words, until I heard it. 

I'm truly grateful that's the opus I get to sing, but it truly takes maine backmost to that place.

LJ: Oh yeah, it was beauteous nerve-wracking. When you're training, that's erstwhile you get to marque mistakes — but erstwhile you're 20 feet up successful the air, mistakes mean injury. So I did my champion not to marque mistakes.

There were times erstwhile I did, and we are amazed that I'm inactive present (laughs), but I had truly large radical catching maine and making definite I didn't fall. Shout retired to Dave Fulton for grabbing maine erstwhile I couldn't get myself clipped into a robot to get maine disconnected that bridge.

It was terrifying astatine first. You're up 65 feet successful the air, and each portion of your body's like, "We request to get down, we request to get down, we request to get down." 

Now I'm like, "Okay, conscionable waiting to get down," similar it's truly not that crazy. But astatine first, you're like, "This is terrifying. No 1 should beryllium up here."

LJ: The chemistry started astatine our archetypal audition. When I walked in, Ali already had the role. I was coming into my last callback, and I didn't cognize however helium would play David. I'm caller to the New York scene, truthful I hadn't seen him execute before. 

As soon arsenic helium started, I conscionable retrieve shivers down my spine. I was thinking, "This is menacing and terrifying, but someway I consciousness safe." I was like, "What's happening close now?" I knew close distant wherefore Ali got the part.

It brought thing caller retired — this astir "timid" mentation of Michael that I hadn't recovered before. Michael thinks he's the alpha successful each country that helium walks into, but past helium sees David, and he's like, "Oh no, this is the lion." That's what Michael dreams of. He dreams of having that state and powerfulness David has. Then Michael realizes what that powerfulness really costs — and abruptly helium doesn’t privation it anymore. That's the travel Michael goes done successful the show.

It's ever fun, due to the fact that my dynamic with Ali onstage feels antithetic each night. I’m truly grateful for that.

LJ: With my family, I'm expected to hatred them successful the show, but I emotion them offstage.

Michael and Lucy could not beryllium much antithetic than my narration with Shoshana offstage. She's similar a ma to me; she takes attraction of me, she checks successful connected me. Benjamin [Pajak] is my small bro. I privation to support him. I privation to beryllium determination for him each the time. 

I get to acquisition that with Benjamin onstage toward the extremity of the show. But Michael and Lucy are beauteous astatine likelihood passim the full show, and that's hard. I don't privation to beryllium mean to Shoshana Bean.

LJ: I got asked that question a portion back, and it astir made maine cry. Thinking astir the dreams I had arsenic a kid versus the dreams I had 5 years agone — they couldn't person been much different. Five years ago, I had nary aspiration of immoderate benignant of performing career. I was selling solar, and I conscionable wanted to marque a living.

I didn't spot this happening for maine astatine all. I would emotion to spell backmost and archer that kid, and besides that big 5 years ago: "Hey, we got done it, we made it. We did the happening that we dreamed of, but it happened successful a mode you're ne'er going to expect." 

I deliberation small maine would say, "That's awesome. I'm arrogant of you."