An Interview with Benz Antoine : Notable Moments, the Hush Journey and Having a Seat at the Bilingual Table
For someone that has been active in the industry for three decades, Benz Antoine will tell you that nothing comes without hard work and humility. The talented actor and businessman has over 100 appearances in movies as well as on TV, and he isn’t slowing down anytime soon. From Hollywood to Toronto, he doesn’t leave anybody indifferent. You’ve seen the award-nominated talent in Gothika, V Wars, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’ or 19-2, to name only a few, helping visions and ideas of characters come to life in both English and French.
When he’s not on screen, he is lending his voice to an Overwatch character or putting on sumptuous events like Hush in Montreal, where he is originally from. A refreshing conversation with a silent force about respect, gratitude, his career, and of course, which city has the best bagels.

Having lived here in Montreal as well as Toronto and Los Angeles, what do you think makes this city so unique and likeable? A lot of people agree that Montreal has a certain something that makes people always come back to it, or prefer it, over other major cities in North America.
It’s the European influence. For sure. Trust me, if this city had less ice and snow, it would be too crowded. Everyone would be here and I understand why – I love it here. Also, the geography of a city influences a lot the mentality of the people there. Traffic in Toronto versus L.A. is totally different and does affect how locals behave within the space as well as interpersonally. The flair here in Montreal is from the European influence, and as much as our city expands, there’s still room. People are warmer here, friendlier.
For the past 3 decades of your career, you starred in numerous highly acclaimed projects like 19-2 in both languages, Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, V Wars and Romeo Must Die, but what is one role you portrayed you feel is underrated?
I did a movie here, in French, called Sortie 67, and the character I played was such a badass. I have two favorite roles : this one is number one. It’s my favorite because it’s obviously very different from who I am, it showed that even though a film is in French, a lot of people can still be interested depending on the subject matter. And I’m proud of that. I will say though that if that film was re-released now with social media…! It was just starting back then but now I think it would do well.
My other favorite role was actually in Get Rich Or Die Tryin’, but not for any other reason than this was the first time that I was in movie where I didn’t have to beg my friends and family to go see it! (laugh) They were already going to go see it and when they did, it was like “you’re in THAT? I can’t believe it!”. It’s similar to V Wars now on Netflix, I have friends from all over the world who tell me that they were chilling watching the show and then my face showed up.

You also mentioned in several interviews that there are certain types of roles that people tend to automatically associate you with based on your build and your charisma. What would be a role you would want to try that people would not expect from you?
That’s a good question. Technically, Tyler was a role that I describe as lightening in a bottle, especially for minorities. In Quebec, in French, it’s not that easy to be a minority in a role that is this important. I don’t know if they had such big plans for Tyler at first compared to how it actually happened. I learned a lot from that cast, from Claude [Legault], Réal [Bossé], and from Podz [Producer & Director of 19-2], who I worked with also in Mafia Inc. coming out in early 2020. Working on that series [19-2] was like a masterclass in how to create a good show. I was a sponge – taking everything in.
Would you say that this is the role that taught you the most?
Yes I think so, because the actors can’t teach you. You can grow off them and you learn, but they are not teaching you. Podz was the one who taught me a lot. He would give me amazing directions that were so simple, but so precise and on point.
In the entertainment business, you need to be versatile. For me, doing movies is nice, but I look at it as “you’re only as good as the last thing you’ve done” and it’s been like this for my whole career.

We obviously need to talk about the fantastic Hush events you throw every year. It happened later in your career, can you explain what sparked the idea?
About 10 years ago, someone I know told me they wanted me to host their party. Hosting was someone foreign to me, but I did it and it went very well, people showed up. Later on, a friend of mine who is a promoter came to me and said “let’s do something, let’s create an event”. We did, we ended up doing 8 separate events and after that, Hush happened. This is the 11th edition, it’s been a while and it’s still just as fun. It’s challenging, thankfully I have a great event planner [Taïna Jecrois] and a great PR [Karine Delage] as well.
For people that aren’t familiar with the concept, how would you describe the Hush events?
We focus on creating a classy vibe. It’s not just about this being a big party. Being an actor, I like to bring the Hollywood aspect to it so we’re talking red carpet, media wall, photographers, etc. I think for 2020 it’s particularly important to commemorate where you were when we entered the new decade. We put together an event, not just a party. That includes the customer service being up to par, the venue being up to par, not just the music for the evening. We accommodate to people in their 20s, 30s, and 40s. It’s an event that is unique in and of itself in this city.
Tickets are available at RSVP@HushEvents.org

RAPID FIRE QUESTIONS
Since you lived in both cities, Montreal bagels or NYC bagels?
That’s a great question! Montreal bagels of course. I have people from the states asking me to bring them bagels from Montreal.
Do you remember a time where you’ve been starstruck?
Yes, it was when I was on The Expanse. Her name is Shohreh [Aghdashloo], she’s so classy, and she’s such a great actor.
Is there something you miss from the humble beginnings?
Mmh… You know what? The only thing that I would qualify as unfortunate when being a “celebrity” is that even though you remain the same, there are always some people that will change. Every now and then you meet people that are so nervous about you changing, that they themselves change. When that happens, I simply let them be and do their thing – I know who I am. But the majority is always lovely and positive, and I’m very grateful for the continuous support throughout my evolution in this field.

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