his last name within completely,”
the family. Benard recalls. Circa 1987, Benard
found himself on the
For the first few “They put me in a verge of a dream
years of his career mental institution come true. His
he had to deal with and sometimes agent secured him
the usual auditions, they’d strap you an audition for All
callbacks, and down to your wrists,” My Children. The
heartache that go he says, thinking show flew Benard
along with being an back. Benard from San Francisco
actor. “Rejection is spent his 22nd to New York to
never easy, but it’s birthday looking at audition for two
part of the game bars on the separate roles. At
and you just have to institution windows. that point, Benard
know how to play “It was horrible,” had never been out
the game,” Benard Benard reflects. of the state of
says. California!
Yet, in true
As if starting out an inspirational fashion, “I was scared out of
acting career is not he took that my mind!” he recalls
difficult enough, opportunity to make with a laugh. “I felt
Benard had to deal it worth a positive like a little ant in
with what has been change in his life. New York City.” Yet,
his hardest life Benard was
struggle. At 22, he As Benard says, absolutely
was diagnosed with “…For me, it’s given determined to
bi-polar disorder me the strength to make this trip a
when he had his first deal with what you success. After
of three nervous go through in this auditioning for both
breakdowns. business. If I had roles, he was told he
not gone through did not get either
“I had just got into that, it would have job. Benard was at
acting,” Benard been very difficult a turning point,
says. “I was so for me to be an mentally speaking.
obsessed that I just actor.” He said to himself:
kind of took it too “I can’t go home
far.” He found It is because of that without this.”
himself sick with a traumatic time, he
temperature up to knows exactly what Just when he
104 degrees. “I to draw from as an thought all was lost,
didn’t know what actor in dramatic Benard’s agent
was going on with daytime television, gives him the news
me, but I just lost it which brought him that would change
to his first big break. his life forever.
Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8