Every once in a while, Hollywood producer/actor/musician Ben Stranahan makes a point of taking in a movie at a theater. “No matter how many films I make, I’ll always be a student because I can learn from what other producers and directors have done,” he explains. “The theater is where you really get to see the impact of a film on people. I like to slip in and sit where I can surreptitiously watch people’s reactions to the movie. Do they pay attention to the opening credits? Are they really hooked by the film? Why do they laugh? Why does everyone suddenly gasp? By asking those questions, I can learn a lot and continue to make the films I produce at Tip-Top Productions stronger and stronger.”
Ben, as you have noticed, cares deeply about simply making good movies. “In the end, that’s what I’m after,” he confirms. “Movies that really resonate with people, whether they make them laugh, cry, or feel afraid. I want everything I produce or act in to connect with the viewer on a deep level.”
He is succeeding. The word in the industry is that Monstrous, the Christina Ricci thriller due for release in 2022, is excellent. “I hope so,” Ben says. “The team all worked incredibly hard to produce it and create two hours of pure suspense. The keys to being able to do that were a tight plot and rapid pacing. The film never wastes a moment – you’re taken from development to development with barely time to catch your breath.”
The advance buzz for his other film, Better Than Yourself, is just as good. “It’s a mystery, so it’s very different,” Ben reveals. “That said, it’s still got a lot of drama. I had an amazing time acting in it and producing it, and people are going to like trying to figure out the ending. You won’t see it coming!”
Ben is exploring another genre, animation, and is currently voicing characters in The Inventor, a Daisy Ridley film about Leonardo da Vinci, and Exodite from Games Workshop. “These two movies are completely different,” he marvels, “yet I’m having a great time with both. I love exploring the world of da Vinci in such a light-hearted way, but I also enjoy delving into a world at war and bringing out the passion and drama of that setting. I’m really happy about the types of roles and movies I am part of these days.”
Ben, who attended the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, is highly respected today, but he didn’t see his career break wide open until six years ago, when his production of The Midnight Anthology with Clancy Brown won awards for Artistic Achievement and Best Director at the New York Television Festival. “This was big for me and for those I was blessed to work with,” Ben recalls. “The work I was doing was being noticed by people in the industry, and that led to bigger opportunities that I jumped on.”
The tap was turned on full force after the BAFTAs in 2018. “That was when Calibre got four nominations, and Jack Lowden was awarded Best Actor,” Ben recalls. “I was excited about this because all of us had put our hearts and souls into the production, and to have that recognized was a special moment. When we got home and got back to work, I noticed that it became easier to get funding and to develop even better projects, so the BAFTAs were a turning point, as well.”
From that point, Ben has continued working, forming relationships in Hollywood with other producers and actors and showing the industry that his movies deliver at the box office. The result has been more projects, which he is more than happy to take on.
As busy as he is, Ben finds time to kick back at his beloved piano with his cat, Moose. “I am still a musician at heart, and I just love classical and rock,” he reveals. “I could sit for hours, improvising on some chord while Moose hangs out and listens. Thankfully, he’s a kind critic.”
Praise, Ben said, can be in short supply in Hollywood. “It is definitely tough to climb your way up to the top,” he agrees. “I haven’t really listened to the good reviews, to be honest, because I know that so many people who were big one day are out the door the next. Instead, I’ve just worked to consistently make quality films. I am creating a body of work that shows that I am good at my job. That, I hope, will be what builds a lasting career for me in an industry that I love.”