For a little over a decade starting in 2008, brothersJoshandBenny Safdiewere regular fixtures of the American indie movie scene. Making microbudget projects likeDaddy LonglegsandHeaven Knows What, the Safdies were content doing their oddball New York features (mixed in with interesting deviations like the sports documentaryLarry Cooke). But thenUncut Gemshit in 2019 and suddenly, this duo blew up. They had gone from being under the radar to being the makers of a major crossover box office hit. A new day had dawned.The Safdie Brothers had gone mainstream.
In the wake of this, Benny Safdie began doing some acting outside of things he directed. Previously, Safdie had shown up in short and feature films he and his brother directed (particularly in a prominent role inGood Time). Prior to 2020, the only non-Safdie feature-length movie Benny Safdie had shown up in wasPerson to Person. However, in just a few years, Benny Safdie has popped up in a variety of major projects ranging fromAre You There God? It’s Me, MargarettoObi-Wan Kenobi.It’s a remarkable accomplishment made all the more intriguing by how long the Safdies were indie darlings.
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What Kind of Roles Has Benny Safdie Taken Recently?
While Benny Safdie has become infinitely more noticeable as an on-screen actor in movies sinceUncut Gemspremiered, he’s also not taking on lead roles in movies. Safdie’s default parts in projects likeStars at NoonorLicorice Pizzahave been supporting roles. Such characters can be memorable or have funny lines, but they’re not meant to be the protagonists. It’s a move hearkening back to Benny Safdie’s days as an indie film actor in stuff likeGood Time, where he was playing a man meant to motivate a crime spreecommitted byRobert Pattinson’sprotagonist. The more things change, the more Safdie’s choice of roles stays the same.
Meanwhile, the actor’s lengthy career in grounded indie movies means that Benny Safdie is gifted at showing up in a movie or TV show in a small capacity without distracting viewers.Through his and Josh Safdie’s work as filmmakers, Benny Safdie had to show up on-screen and appear natural. He couldn’t disrupt the lived-in grime that permeates works likeUncut GemsorDaddy Longlegs. This talent now allows Safdie to just show up in the third act of something likeStars at Noonwithout it coming off as a distraction or gimmicky. The talents as a performer that served him well in his underground indie days are still proving very helpful to this actor/director.
It also doesn’t hurt that Benny Safdie is wisely staying in the lane of realistic dramas rather than engaging in big-budget action or VFX-driven movies that might prove an odd fit for this particular artist.Safdie knows how to craft and portray realism in cinematic storytelling.It’swhat makes his and Josh Safdie’s directorial works likeGood TimeandUncut Gemsso tangible and propulsive. Adhering to that kind of storytelling in acting gigs he didn’t also direct has proven a boon for him. Of course, the one exception to this phenomenon is his role as runaway Jedi Nari inObi-Wan Kenobi, a role that still saw Safdie inhabiting a stripped-down environment (it wasn’t like he was asked to rub shoulders with Babu Frik and Dexter Jettster) and only showing up for one episode. Safdie was happy to appear in theStar Warsfranchise, but he got out of that galaxy far, far away before it proved too disruptive to his default preferences as an actor.
Benny Safdie’s Impressive Work in ‘The Curse’
Thus far, Benny Safdie’s most prolific acting role to date (in terms of screen time and prominence in the project) has been playing Dougie inThe Curse. A man with gangly hair, lots of rings on his finger, and extensive show business experience, Dougie is just the guy to guide the HGTV stardom dreams of Whitney (Emma Stone) and Asher Siegel (Nathan Fielder). Dougie takes on various roles throughout the season-long narrative of The Curse. Sometimes, he’s a straight man to the subtly unhinged behavior of Whitney and Asher. Other times, he’s a classic Shakespearean schemer, a guy who’s trying to form a wedge between Whitney and Asher so that he can sleep with Whitney (and maybe Asher, if the homoerotic tension of episode eight is to be believed). Through it all, though,Dougie is a tormented man, a guy haunted by a past that includes killing his wife in a drunken driving accident.
Whitney and Asher remain steadfast in erasing their past mistakes or dark familial heritage. By contrast, Dougie is often consumed by his past, as seen in an early scene where audiences see the character softly crying in his bed after Asher tells him he can’t hang out that day.Loneliness pervades Dougie and his actions, a quality Safdie nicely radiates in the role to varying degrees. Even when he’s putting Asher on the spot with deeply vulnerable and cutting questions for an on-camera interview, Safdie makes sure that viewers are conscious of how Dougie’s past is informing his present actions. Loneliness mixed with a desire for control (reflected most prominently in the breathalyzer in his glove compartment, which he believes ensures he’ll never get in another accident) informs this character and those qualities are beautifully reflected in Safdie’s work as an actor.
Safdie especially does incredibly well at mixing humorous moments involving Dougie with genuinely heartbreaking bursts of behavior.Some of Safdie’s comedic line deliveries are downright hysterical, especially when he’s trying to pull back Whitney and Asher into something resembling normal reality. However, there’s also a haunted quality to Safdie’s work echoing the quietly devastated facial expressions he delivered in the unforgettable final scene of Good Time. His final scene inThe Curse, where he wails in despair over accidentally causing the demise of Asher, brings those remorseful qualities to the surface in a pronounced manner that Safdie just crushes.
His performance throughoutThe Curseis especially impressive given that Safdie is taking on so much more material here compared to his typical film roles. He’s not just showing up for a few scenes in a large ensemble cast in a movie, he’s a lead character alongside veteran performers Emma Stone and Nathan Fielder. He holds his own, though, acting against the pair and especially proves a great counterbalance to Fielder’s very specific energy as a performer. Thanks to his experience playing in uber-grounded indie films, Benny Safdie emanates a palpable authenticity that contrasts beautifully with the heightened artificiality of the show’s two leads. While Fielder masterfully portrays Asher as someone struggling to be human, Safdie injects Dougie with all the sorrowful recognition of the innate pain of being alive.The Curseis an exceptional show for many reasons, but it especially thrives as a showcase for how much talent Benny Safdie has as a performer.
But Why Is Benny Safdie Doing All These Acting Gigs?
Benny Safdie doesn’t do a lot of major interviews for just his acting gigs (he did no press for his one guest spot onObi-Wan Kenobi), so it’s difficult to get an exact quote from the man on why he’s opted to embrace so many acting roles in the years that followedUncut Gems. Primarily, though, it appears to be a case of living by surfer logic: grabbing a promising wave when it comes.With the massive success ofUncut Gems, Benny Safdie got a renewed level of exposure that put him so prominently on Hollywood’s radar that he got an offer to be on aStar WarsTV show.
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With that newfound exposure came the opportunity to work with acclaimed auteurs likeChristopher Nolan,Paul Thomas Anderson, andClaire Denis, among many others. These aren’t just ordinary filmmakers—somebody like Denis is considered by filmmakers likeBarry Jenkinsas the greatest director of all time.The chance to work with these kinds of artists is undoubtedly an exciting one for Safdie, why wouldn’t he take it? Even a fresher filmmaker likeAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaret.directorKelly Fremon Craig(who only directed one movie before theJudy Blumeadaptation) offers Safdie a chance to partner up with an extremely exciting new directorial voice. If you had the opportunity to work under the direction of these kinds of filmmakers, wouldn’t you also answer the call?
With these kinds of artistic opportunities, it’s clear why Safdie is making these career choices as an actor.So far, his exploits as a performer have proven quite enjoyable to watch, so it’s not like it’s torture to see this director continue to work outside of his own filmmaking efforts. For instance, Benny Safdie’s work as amiable dad Herb Simon inAre You There God? It’s Me, Margaretcan’t hold a candle to the outstanding work ofRachel McAdamsamong that movie’s grown-up actors. However, Safdie still provides a charming presence and his gift for naturalism fits right insideMargaret’snuanced world. Meanwhile, his portrayal of Los Angeles City Council memberJoel WachsinLicorice Pizzais also quite solid. Safdie resisted the urge to go broad and caricatured in portraying a very complicated politician who is also a queer man in the 1970s, instead opting for something more idiosyncratic.
Perhaps that’s the greatest feat in all of Benny Safdie’s mainstream acting. Something likeLicorice Pizzasees him engaging in the same kind of artistic boldness that made his directorial efforts likeGood TimeandUncut Gemsso beloved.With Josh and Benny Safdie officially split for now, look out for more major acting roles from Benny Safide in the near future.His rampant presence in motion pictures sinceUncut Gemssuggests that Benny Safdie isn’t keen on losing his spot in the mainstream pop culture scene anytime soon.
