Along with his onscreen starring debut, Benito Skinner wished to immerse viewers the homosexual millennial expertise.
Within the comic and actor’s new Prime Video collection Overcompensating, premiering Might 15 on the streamer, he tells Deadline that popular culture nostalgia was “the secret” to seize his popping out story, with assist from Charli XCX, Megan Fox, Kyle MacLachlan and Connie Britton.
Created by Skinner, the TikTok star performs Benny, a school freshman making an attempt to slot in with a really heteronormative group of mates whereas making an attempt to return to phrases along with his sexuality. However there are indicators, together with the character’s love of Jennifer’s Physique, introduced full-circle with a cameo by Megan Fox as herself.
“I wished to put in writing her a letter too, simply in order that she wouldn’t learn this [script] and be like, ‘What the f— is that this?’” mentioned Skinner. “And I attempted to only be like, ‘You imply a lot to so many individuals and to a variety of queer individuals. Jennifer’s Physique means a lot to queer individuals.’ It’s sort of additionally this factor that Benny and Miles (Rish Shah) share, is a love of this film. So, it simply felt prefer it needed to be her.”
Additionally showing as herself is XCX, who joined the collection early on as an government producer, along with producing music for the present.
“I really feel like I’ve a Charli tune for each period in my life,” Skinner famous. “And I simply thought, ‘Properly then, that must be her.’ She, to me, is that this time [in the show], and he or she is now as nicely. So, I believe there’s gonna be a nostalgic feeling, and fashionable.”
In the meantime, his onscreen dad MacLachlan was simply as massive a fan of the 3x Grammy winner. “He was all the time a brat,” mentioned Skinner, including: “There’s nothing I needed to do to make him brat. He was brat earlier than. He had made all these movies earlier than.”
Learn on about Benito Skinner’s Prime Video collection Overcompensating.
DEADLINE: Inform me about what it was like going again into the closet for this ardour venture.
BENITO SKINNER: Oh my God, it was scary at first, however then as soon as I began, it was so enjoyable to lastly giggle at it. It felt very cathartic. I was so embarrassed of these issues. It was like, once I was in school, I used to be embarrassed of movies of me as a child being clearly very homosexual. After which, now I used to be like, “Oh, any video I hear of me throughout that point with this insane voice that I used to be doing and this simply stiff physique—” I really feel actually fortunate that I received to do it with so many individuals I really like, and I really feel like they sort of helped create an area the place we had been all like, “Oh, that is so embarrassing, however we’re gonna do it.” Like, I made Mary Beth Barone costume as Alice from Twilight. I used to be clearly making everybody else do actually embarrassing s— too, so it was communal catharsis in a variety of methods.
Benito Skinner and Rish Shah in ‘Overcompensating’ (Amazon/MGM Studios/Courtesy Everett Assortment)
DEADLINE: I additionally beloved the nostalgic component, like Jennifer’s Physique is considered one of my favourite motion pictures, and Brendan Fraser in George of the Jungle was positively a sexual awakening. Inform me about mining all of these issues that make up the homosexual millennial expertise.
SKINNER: It was identical to, “What number of can I embody? Let’s simply fill it as a result of I believe it’s specificity that may assist individuals lock in.” And that was the identical dialog we had with music, with costume, with Jennifer’s Physique, all of these issues. And actually wanting queer individuals to be like, “Oh my God, lastly it’s on display. That was what occurred.” Like handshakes to me, I’ve been panicked as a result of for the final like 5 years, I’m like, “Somebody’s gonna do it. It’s gonna be onscreen, this joke is gonna be taken.” However that may be a panic that I nonetheless must at the present time once I watch somebody attain. I’m like, “Don’t.” And even straight actors on set going like this, I’m like, “Get the f— away. I can’t do it. Simply hug me. I would like a hug.” Which sucks too. But it surely was as many issues as we might embody and as many pop songs as we might afford. That was the secret.
DEADLINE: It was additionally actually enjoyable watching you get absolutely bare within the woods with a bunch of different guys on this little hazing second. What was it like filming that?
SKINNER: Thanks. It was a type of days the place I’m like, “I can’t imagine I wrote this. I’m full ass-out within the woods.” And I’m like, “What the f—?” It felt humorous and actual, and I believe for me it was simply considering, “What’s the nightmare for Benny?” And for me, it was “Oh my God, I’m gonna be bare round this man that I’m interested in. I can’t have a look at him. This can be a nightmare. I’m bare.” So, I’m additionally sort of making an attempt to serve for him, it’s so hellish. However the solid, I’m so fortunate that we received this solid. Everybody was so unbelievable, and we shot in Toronto, and even the day gamers who had been in that scene with me. and we’re all simply bare, we had been simply taking pictures the s—. They had been telling me about their girlfriends. I’m like, I don’t know what fever dream I’m dwelling in, it’s actually f—ing bizarre. But it surely was so enjoyable. I’ll get my ass out for the sake of comedy.
DEADLINE: I additionally beloved Lukas Gage’s character Sam and the way it’s sort of teased all through the season, after which it turns into one thing very wanted on your character, simply lastly embracing that a part of himself. Inform me about constructing that dynamic with him.
SKINNER: I’m lucky that we’re mates, and so we despatched him the scripts, and I believe he knew precisely what we wished to do. These scenes are very uncomfortable after which very lovely, and it’s such an enormous payoff. I believe Sam, within the present, very a lot acts as this factor that’s at the back of Benny’s head. It’s just like the reminder on a regular basis that he’s homosexual, that he is aware of the reply, and that additionally he’s making some errors, or not even errors, however decisions that aren’t gonna make him completely satisfied ever, and that he’s doing all the pieces else to make individuals completely satisfied that don’t even love him, that don’t even care. However I really feel so lucky it was Lukas, trigger he got here in for every week, and that scene within the automobile was so arduous to do, however I believe the truth that we knew one another and had chemistry and simply felt instantly snug, it made it actually highly effective for me and for him as nicely. I really like the bar scenes too, we wished one thing like that within the present too. There are some massive payoffs in that episode. There’s one thing very triumphant about coming residence from school to Thanksgiving, it’s such as you’re displaying off this new model of your self. I wished every of the characters to have, together with the mother and father, like a triumphant second, and in order that episode sort of stands as that.
Corteon Moore and Benito Skinner in ‘Overcompensating’ (Jackie Brown/Amazon/MGM Studios/Courtesy Everett Assortment)
DEADLINE: I additionally beloved the scene of you speaking about homosexual intercourse with Megan Fox. It was simply iconic. Inform me about getting her to return on board.
SKINNER: This was like one thing that I put in a script as soon as, and it’s a type of issues that you just write and also you’re like, “Is everybody gonna suppose I’m fucking insane? I’m simply gonna ship it.” And I’m very lucky to work with Scott King, who’s the showrunner, who learn it and was like, “I’m cackling at this Megan s—.” It’s simply this sense that I had in school the place I might go into these frat home loos, and all my icons are on the wall, and I’m speaking to EmRata and Megan Fox and Tyra Banks, and I’m like, “What are you women doing in right here?” And we would have liked that someone for Benny to speak to whereas he and Carmen are sort of combating and sparring, and he’s made this horrible lie and and will get caught. And the Megan Fox of all of it was, I simply had it in my head, and we despatched it to her and he or she, I believe, instantly knew the joke that we had been telling, and I believe additionally knew the center of it. She actually is the final particular person he talks to earlier than he goes to the Halloween get together for slaughter. However there may be this hope in it, and it’s once more, like a feminine protector in the identical approach that Britney pops on TV the second {that a} younger Benny wants her. I believe that that’s the present. It’s these ladies which have all their very own s— occurring and nonetheless handle to create a secure area for homosexual boys.
DEADLINE: And I used to be simply curious if Megan Fox, that connection happened by means of Kourtney Kardashian. I all the time quote your Kourtney movies, “The Poosh phrase of the day is ‘anarchy!’”
SKINNER: I’ve been dying to speak like Kourtney all day. Thanks for giving me that. It wasn’t. I believe it was by means of reps, and I wished to put in writing her a letter too, simply in order that she wouldn’t learn this [script] and be like, “What the f— is that this?” And I attempted to only be like, “You imply a lot to so many individuals and to a variety of queer individuals. Jennifer’s Physique means a lot to queer individuals.” It’s sort of additionally this factor that Benny and Miles share, is a love of this film. So, it simply felt prefer it needed to be her. So, it wasn’t by means of Kourtney, however someway, someway, we received her on Zoom. She filmed that in her home, and each take you see is like the primary take. She was incred. When she mentioned like, “I can’t wait to look at you guys f— in right here later,” It’s not gonna get higher than that for me. That’s sort of it.
DEADLINE: And I need to learn about how your complete working relationship with Charli XCX happened, and likewise the way you turned Kyle MacLachlan right into a brat.
SKINNER: Oh my God, nicely he was all the time a brat. It simply involves the floor. Charli, we met at a celebration after exchanging mutual DMs, and I simply knew that it it needed to be her, trigger she’s been sonically impactful in music and has been such an icon and is so necessary to so many individuals, whether or not or not it’s ‘Growth Clap’ or ‘#1 Angel’ or ‘Pop 2’, all of those eras, I really feel like I’ve a Charli tune for each period in my life, and I simply thought, “Properly then, that must be her.” She, to me, is that this time [in the show], and he or she is now as nicely. So, I believe there’s gonna be a nostalgic feeling, and fashionable. She loves music and has clearly distinctive style in music. So, I believe she knew what we had been making an attempt to do, and I despatched her the script, and he or she boarded it and assembled probably the most insane staff to compose this. It’s Alex Somers, who did Nickel Boys, George Daniel from 1975, clearly, and Amber Bain from Japanese Home. So, it’s all of the music I listened to at the moment and now, and it truly is just like the soundtrack and rating of my goals—and nightmare—within the present. However Kyle, there’s nothing I needed to do to make him brat. He was brat earlier than. He had made all these movies earlier than. And you may nearly see, I did the ‘Apple’ dance with him and Connie, and he sort of needed to fake to not realize it. He was able to go. However I really like him a lot. He’s so good, so humorous, so type, and a genius on set. Each take was completely different, and he and Connie collectively—I nearly broke and I nearly cried. It was insane. They’re unbelievable.
