Interview by Burt Wolf with Actress / Model Michelle Joyce "MJ" DiBenedetti. Interview done April 14th, 2008.
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WHAT INFLUENCED YOU OR HELPED LEAD YOU DOWN THE
PATH OF WANTING TO BE AN ACTRESS?
I prefer the term actor...even though my email address is actress. LOL! My
parents started me into acting school when I was in 8th grade. My life long
dream from my first words were that I was to become a prima ballerina.
Unfortunately, after 10 years from dancing my right foot broke, but it was to
never heal correctly. My parents hated seeing me depressed as a teenager
from my loss of dance so they pushed me into acting & modeling. My
mother believed in psychics & her mother went to one before I was born,
stating that she would have a future granddaughter that would become a
famous Model/Actress. So my destiny was in the stars. I did not go into
acting full time on my own until after finishing NYU.
YOU'VE HAD A LOT OF SCHOOLING & TRAINING IN THIS FIELD
AMONGST OTHERS. CAN YOU TELL US A ABOUT SOME OF THIS?
I had a private acting coach most of my life, the same one that Kirsten Dunst,
Matt Le Blonc & many other well known actors.
YOU'VE ALSO HAD SOME TRAINING IN MUSICAL THEATRE & SINGING AS WELL AS PLAY
ELECTRIC GUITAR.
I have taken singing lessons so one day I could be Evita on stage in London, where my family is from. No strings
on my Fender guitar right now, but it was a gift to myself in middle school when I was a babysitter.
HAVE YOU EVER THOUGHT OF BECOMING A MUSICIAN?
Well I drink Rockstar, the energy drink everyday...so why not?
WHO ARE SOME OF THE BANDS YOU ARE INTO & WHO ARE
SOME OF THE BANDS YOU HAVE BEEN LISTENING TO LATELY?
I am a Jersey Girl, so I love Rock bands like MOTLEY CRUE, POISON &
SKID ROW, but lately I prefer top 40 & Alternative.
YOU WERE IN THE MOVIE DAY ZERO, WHICH CAME OUT LAST
YEAR ABOUT THE REINSTATEMENT OF THE DRAFT. CAN YOU
GIVE US A LITTLE MORE INFORMATION ON THE MOVIE & WHAT
YOUR ROLE WAS IN IT?
Elijah Wood plays Aaron Feller in the film, a man that has to find himself
before he dies in war. One of the ways to do that is to make a top 10 of
everything he ever wanted to accomplish in his life. The list is crazy from
sky diving to hiring a prostitute. I play Dallas, the crack whore. His life goes
down hill after meeting me.
I MET YOU AT THE MONSTER MANIA X CON IN NEW JERSEY EARLIER THIS YEAR. WHAT DID
YOU THINK OF THE CON? ANY FUN MEMORIES?
I have never been to a Horror film convention before, so the costumes were a hoot.
WHO DID YOU ENJOY MEETING THERE?
Everyone was entertaining, my highlight was seeing Corey Feildman, since I am in one of his upcoming projects
called CLUSTER.
YOU HAVE 2 MOVIES COMING OUT THIS YEAR, ONE BEING CLUSTER
& THE OTHER BRUTAL MASSACRE, WHICH YOU DISCUSSED AT THE
MONSTER MANIA CON. WHEN WILL THESE BE RELEASED EXACTLY?
I would love to know when too...?
WE GOT TO SEE THE TRAILER FOR CLUSTER WHICH STARS COREY
FELDMAN, BRIAN O'HALLORAN & BRONSON PICHOTT.
UNFORTUNATELY WE DIDN'T GET TO SEE YOU IN IT! CAN YOU TELL
US A LITTLE ABOUT THE FILM & YOUR ROLE AS THE PIZZA GIRL?
I mock internet porn as a girl ordering pizza topless.
YOU SAID YOU HAVE A NUDE SCENE IN THE FILM. HAVE YOU DONE
NUDITY BEFORE & ARE YOU COMFORTABLE DOING NUDE SCENES?
BRUTAL MASSACRE & CLUSTER are my only nudity roles.
WE ALSO GOT TO SEE THE BRUTAL MASSACRE TRAILER & YOU GUYS HAD A Q&A SESSION.
I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THE FILM. GUNNAR "LEATHERFACE" HANSEN'S CHARACTER WAS SO
FUNNY IN THE TRAILER. WAS HE LIKE THIS A LOT ON THE SET?
It was cold and work...so only fun at dinner.
BRIAN O'HALLORAN KEPT SAYING DURING THE Q&A THAT GUNNER'S LINE "I WAS IN THE
'NAM PUSSYFART" WILL BE ONE OF THE TAG LINES EVERYONE KEEPS SAYING. DO YOU
THINK THIS LINE KIND OF SETS THE MOOD FOR HOW THE FILM WILL BE? I FEEL IT'S GONNA
BE ONE OF THOSE CULT CLASSIC FILMS THAT WILL JUST KEEP GROWING IN FAN BASE
OVER THE YEARS.
I like a lot of the lines, my favorite was "I don't want you to get
popcorn with the same hand that you masturbate with".
YOU GUYS ALL SEEMED TO BE HAVING FUN AT THE
Q&A, WAS IT THE SAME WAY ON THE SET?
It was fun, but filming is still work.
BRIAN MENTIONED YOU GUYS FILMED IN
PENNSYLVANIA IN FEBRUARY? WHERE IN PA. WAS
THIS & WAS IT AS COLD AS HE CLAIMS IT WAS?
Oh my gosh, it was so cold...wardrobe had to buy me a coat & we stood next to heaters outside that only
warmed you in close proximately & if you stood too close your coat or hair caught fire. It happened once but not
to me, another actor.
YOU SEEMED A BIT SHY DURING THE Q&A OR WAS IT JUST THAT BRIAN WAS DOMINATING
THE THING? YOU HAD SOME GOOD COMMENTS TO SHUT HIM UP & STEER HIM BACK TO THE
TOPIC OF THE MOVIE THOUGH.
I am not shy at all. Brian just knew more how to interact with the crowd since this was my first convention.
WERE THERE ANY COOL BEHIND THE SCENES OR ON THE SET STORIES YOU COULD SHARE
WITH US?
Yeah, the first night in Bethlehem, Pa. we went scouting for hot girls for one
scene at a strip joint. The strippers were all pregnant & naked...not my type
of joint.
YOU'VE HAD GUEST SPOTS ON TV SHOWS LIKE RESCUE ME,
CSI:NY, TWO AND A HALF MEN & OTHERS. HOW WERE THESE
EXPERIENCES?
I only feel alive behind the camera. It is my addiction to be on film. I am a
corky, nerdy gal that gets to transform on screen.
WHY WERE YOU UNCREDITED FOR YOUR GUEST SPOTS IN
THE FILMS HITCH & GIRL NEXT DOOR?
Edit, edit, edit...hate that word...but I got cut out of my first roles due to
the cutting room floor.
YOU'VE ALSO DONE 15 COMMERCIALS OVER THE YEARS.
ARE THERE ANY WE WOULD KNOW?
Yes, my most recent was Red Lobster, but I used to sign autographs for the
Verizon campaign...so that was the 5 that ran the most.
WERE THERE ANY ROLES YOU TURNED DOWN THAT YOU WISH YOU HADN'T?
I was offered a Bada Bing Girl role, but I was against nudity at that time...weird how things change. I also was
offered my first film role in first grade...but my parents turned it down since I don't know my alphabet yet...they
still made me repeat first grade...but without that film credit. grrr!
YOU ARE ALSO A FASHION EXPERT & A FIT MODEL. WHAT EXACTLY IS A FIT MODEL & WHO
HAVE YOU DONE MODELING FOR?
For seven years designers paid me to try on their clothing. I fit model for SNOOP DOG's clothing line Plugg,
Ezekiel, Earl Jeans & Paris Hilton's Dollhouse.
YOU HAVE A SMALL TATTOO PLACED PURPOSELY ON YOUR BODY
SOMEWHERE. WHAT IS THE TATTOO & WHY DID YOU CHOOSE THE
SPOT YOU DID?
I have a tat 12 inches up from the center of my body on my lower back. As a
model, all jeans were said to fall 8 inches in the front & 12 in the back on a female.
So they would sharpie my body everyday at 12 inches...I wanted that to stop so I
got a faerie there, to remind myself that I can use my own pixie dust to make my
dreams come true!
WHAT IS THE SPECIFIC EATING HABIT YOU HAVE TO KEEP YOUR
PERFECT FIGURE?
I eat one huge meal a day & don't eat after 4pm...lately I eat junk later...but I try
not too.
WHAT IS ONE THING YOU'D THINK PEOPLE WOULD BE SURPRISED
TO FIND OUT ABOUT YOU?
That I do an acrylic painting once a month?
WHAT DO YOU DO WHEN YOUR NOT DOING ANY FILMING OR
FASHION PROJECTS?
I paint or read self help books, like the "Celestine Prophecy".
DO YOU HAVE MORE APPEARANCES COMING UP?
I hope to get on a new TV series, but I will be back at the conventions this summer.
WHAT WERE YOU DOING BEFORE ANSWERING THIS INTERVIEW? WHAT WILL YOU DO NOW
THAT IT'S DONE?
I am drinking a Rockstar & will probably shower after.
THANX A LOT FOR TAKING THE TIME TO DO THIS INTERVIEW.
I HOPE WE GET TO SEE MORE OF YOU SOON!