Benjamin Bratt is a superstar, who's in STAR. STAR is a new TV show created by the amazing Lee Daniels and Tom Donaghy. It revolves around three talented young singers (played by Jude Demorest, Ryan Destiny and Brittany O’Grady) who navigate the music business on their road to success. The series, which is set in Atlanta, will consist of original music, along with musical fantasy sequences, as dreams of the future.
The show premiered on FOX this Dec 14th, and comes back January 2017. Thirteen episodes have been ordered, which will premiere during the 2016–2017 television season. Queen Latifah, Benjamin Bratt and Nicholas Gonzalez co-star. Emmy Award nominee Benjamin Bratt (“24: Live Another Day,” “Law & Order”) plays JAHIL, a down-on-his-luck talent agent looking to revitalize his career.
Art Shrian had an opportunity to talk to the wonderfully talented actor Benjamin Bratt recently. Here are the excerpts:
Art: Hello, Benjamin, how are you?
Benjamin: Good, Art. How are you doing?
Art: I’m great. Thank you for taking this time. It’s such a pleasure talking to you. You’re not just a wonderful actor, you’re a wonderful activist. You’ve done so much good for us brown folks and indigenous folks. I really thank you for that, all the wonderful work and support that you’ve always shown.
Benjamin: Thank you.
Art: You are on a wonderful show, surrounded by a very talented bunch, who are people of color. Stars like Queen Latifah, to newcomers as well. And now we are seeing more of that mainstream shows on FOX and other networks, from Empire to several other shows where people of color and their stories are being told in mainstream, with them as the main characters. And it’s not just targeted to particular audience, it’s for everyone. You’ve been in the industry for so long, you’ve seen so much. How do you feel about that? What do you think is causing that? Does more need to happen? What’s your thoughts on that from your experience of working on this show?
Benjamin: It’s an exciting time because I think that the industry is finally catching up with the reality of the real diversity that exists within our country. I have always cited early pioneers of blind casting, folks like Dick Wolf who gave me one of my first jobs, to Shonda Rhimes, and now of course, Lee Daniels who populate the worlds of their programming as they see the world itself and as a reflection for what it really is.
I was born and raised in San Francisco, California, a child of the ’60s, ’70s, and my fond remembrance of that city was that it was cosmopolitan, and it was eclectic, and it was ethnically and culturally mixed. But, when I got into the business, I found none of that.
The good news, to your question is that yes, not just in the independent sphere but also on the major networks, more and more programming is reflecting the reality that in fact, America, the United States of America, is now and always has been strong and incredible and full of potential because of what it is, which is a culturally diverse and remarkable tapestry of different cultural influences from around the world.
Art: Thank you for that. Being in the industry, your experience, what would your message be or suggestion be to young actors and young storytellers to take people of color and ethnicity to take advantage of this time? What would your suggestion be?
Benjamin: I would say that everyone has a story, and the key to telling a story on a national or international level is to find the universality in the connective tissue really that really makes all of us human beings the same. That’s one thing that Lee has really been successful at.
In Star, he reflects a world he knows well, a world that is a reflection of our communities where some of the social ills not only influence the way we grow up but some of the choices we make for our future, and that holds true for the world of Star. We have some characters that come from the world of poverty and child abuse, or from the dilapidated foster care system, or there’s gun violence, gender politics at work, substance abuse, you name it.
While it does seem like that would be at times merely used as a way to dramatize different scenarios, it’s also a reflection of what Lee knows, the world that Lee knows well. On some level he seeks to make it authentic and dramatize it at the same time. That’s what I think people are going to respond to.
This show is not necessarily for everyone. Some of these things are hard to look at and yet, the way he depicts it, the starkness that really exists in real life and then juxtaposes it with the hopefulness and the inspirational aspects of music. I think he’s created something totally unique and really compelling to watch.
A STAR IS BORN ON THE SPECIAL PREMIERE OF “STAR”
(WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 14 ON FOX)
STAR (newcomer Jude Demorest), a tough-as-nails young woman who came up in the foster care system, tracks down her sister, SIMONE (newcomer Brittany O’Grady), and her Instagram bestie, ALEXANDRA (newcomer Ryan Destiny), and together, the trio journeys to Atlanta with the hope of becoming music superstars. Academy Award nominee and Emmy Award, Grammy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Queen Latifah (“Bessie,” “Bringing Down The House”) stars as CARLOTTA, a surrogate mother to the young crew, that also includes COTTON (newcomer Amiyah Scott). Emmy Award nominee Benjamin Bratt (“24: Live Another Day,” “Law & Order”) plays JAHIL, a down-on-his-luck talent agent looking to revitalize his career in an encore of the “Pilot” special premiere episode of STAR airing Wednesday, Dec. 14 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (LDS-101) (TV-14 D, L, S, V)
Cast: Queen Latifah as Carlotta, Benjamin Bratt as Jahil, Jude Demorest as Star, Brittany O’Grady as Simone, Ryan Destiny as Alexandra and Amiyah Scott as Cotton
BENJAMIN BRATT (Jahil Rivera on STAR)
A San Francisco native and proud alumnus of American Conservatory Theater’s ATP – receiving an honorary M.F.A. in 2008 – Benjamin Bratt has enjoyed a diverse career that has successfully spanned film and television for more than 20 years.
In 2010, Bratt won Cinequest’s Maverick Spirit Award for his work as producer and star of the San Francisco independent hit “La Mission.” Written and directed by his brother, Peter Bratt, the locally produced film earned an NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Independent Motion Picture, a GLAAD Award nomination and multiple Imagen Awards, including Best Actor.
Bratt’s distinguished film career includes the critically acclaimed films “Piñero,” in which he starred as the poet-playwright-actor Miguel Piñero; Steven Soderbergh’s “Traffic,” which received five Academy Award nominations and a Screen Actors Guild Award for Ensemble Cast; and “The Woodsman,” a festival and critical favorite starring Kevin Bacon. A veteran of more than 25 films,Bratt’s other work of note includes Curtis Hansen’s “The River Wild” opposite Meryl Streep; “Blood In, Blood Out,” for director Taylor Hackford; “Clear and Present Danger” opposite Harrison Ford; the beloved comedy “Miss Congeniality,” with Sandra Bullock; and the theatrical adaptation of the acclaimed novel “Love in the Time of Cholera,” co-starring Javier Bardem.
He voiced the character of “Manny” in the film “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs” and reprised his role in last year’s sequel, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2.” Bratt also voiced “Eduardo” in “Despicable Me 2.” Additionally, he starred in “The Lesser Blessed” which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last fall. Prior to that, Bratt starred in “Snitch,” alongside Dwayne Johnson.
Bratt is perhaps best known for his Emmy Award-nominated role as “Detective Rey Curtis” on “Law & Order.” From 2008-2009, he starred in the drama series “The Cleaner,” for which he also served as producer. His portrayal of “extreme interventionist” “William Banks” garnered him an Alma Award for Best Actor in a Drama Series. He also starred in the medical drama “Private Practice” and appeared in a recurring role on the hit comedy series “Modern Family.” In 2014, he co-starred on FOX’s “24: Live Another Day.”
Most recently, Bratt was seen in the feature comedy “Ride Along 2,” opposite Ice Cube and Kevin Hart; “Special Correspondents,” for director Ricky Gervais; “The Infiltrator,” opposite Bryan Cranston; and “Shot Caller,” another collaboration with director Ric Roman Waugh.