No, that’s not Benny Drama. That’s Brock Stockton — just look at the chin.
If you’re on Instagram, have a cursory knowledge of gay culture, and are under the age of 35, you’ve seen a Benny Drama video.
Benny Drama is actually Benito Skinner, the mastermind behind viral sketch videos and surreal costumes. Whether you call him Benny or Benito, the 29-year-old comedian and actor's star is very much on the rise and extending far beyond Instagram.
After memorable appearances on Ziwe, in Bros, and on The Kardashians (as himself but also as Kourtney Kardashian in a scene with Kourt), Benny is leveling up this year with a supporting role in Chelsea Peretti’s critically acclaimed directorial debut, First Time Female Director. He's also working with Charli XCX on an upcoming A24 comedy series, but more on that later.
There is one more thing Benny is up to these days. He hosted a one-off game show video on YouTube and TikTok for Visible by Verizon for Pride.
In No Straight Answers, Benny plays Brock Stockton, a '70s-esque game show host with a prominent chin and an even more notable spray tan. The series finds internet stars The Old Gays (Bill Lyons, Robert Reeves, Jessay Martin, and Mick Peterson) facing off against millennial and Gen Z creators The Young Slays (Kendahl Landreth, Jared Goldstein, Lila Jackson, and Athena Layna) in a low-stakes but high-energy game of LGBTQ+ trivia. Think questions about pronouns, the Pride flag, and generational slang. It's equal parts an homage to Pride of past and a celebration of LGBTQ+ identity today.
Below, Benny talked to BuzzFeed about hosting No Straight Answers, celebrating Pride, and working with Charli XCX on his new show.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
I just watched the first episode of No Straight Answers, and it's just so funny. So tell me how it all came about.
I worked with Visible for their anti–Valentine's Day campaign as Cupid, a spokes-deity. That was so fun, and it alerted me to them supporting queer voices throughout the year, not just during Pride. So, immediately, I had a huge amount of respect for them, and I had seen them do that in previous years as well. They came to me with this idea of an intergenerational game show, and I immediately was like, "Can I wear a chin prosthetic?" They said "yes."
I saw your Instagram about the chin prosthetic.
Oh my god. So Ally McGillicuddy did that. She has turned me into a lizard before. She turns me into a botched Los Angeles actor. She's been my go-to girl for a really long time. She's a genius. I was like, if I'm gonna do this, I really want it to be a fully formed character. So it's so funny to be those '70s, slightly sleazy game show hosts. I love that he would be a little bit orange. This huge jaw, for some reason, just made so much sense to me with coiffed hair. We sprayed my hairline too, so it's a little bit even more sleazy.
Were there any specific game show hosts you drew inspiration from?
Not really. Maybe, slightly, Price Is Right, like old-school Price Is Right? Because I used to love that as a kid, which you know [is] interesting. I feel like that and maybe slightly Jay Leno, I guess, with the chin.
It felt really '70s. The name too: Brock Stockton. Did you come up with that?
I knew that I didn't want it to be me because this isn't me. God forbid anyone think that that is me acting like that or being absolutely deranged for the entire skit. It's definitely not Benny but Brock Stockton. We had a few others. I probably can't say them now because legal didn't approve, unfortunately. Brock Stockton, that to me felt he's real. He's living and breathing.
He lives in Palm Springs somewhere.
Oh, he's frying in Palm Springs, absolutely.
Anything else to add about the partnership with Visible and the No Straight Answers series?
They gave $50,000 to SAGE, which I really respect in a huge way. Not just doing a Pride cash grab but instead really trying to make something meaningful. I feel like there's so much that we can learn from older generations, and I think unfortunately we're seeing that history is repeating itself in a lot of ways. That's true now more than ever, but that choice to me makes this such a special campaign. [It's] very community-driven, which excites me.
How are you feeling this Pride? It's an intense time, to put it lightly.
There is no doubt that it is a scary time to be out and queer. So I think the more public figures, companies, [and] brands that are championing queer people and supporting us, it is definitely the time to speak the fuck up. If you aren't, I think you're a part of the problem. I feel a little bit fired up, clearly.
There's a part of me that I feel so grateful to have this community, and I feel so honored to be a part of it. This whole experience helped me feel that. It's so scary, the comments that I see every day. And this is coming from a white cis man. I do know what some of the other comments are towards the trans community. It's hard not to let all of it weigh very heavy on your heart at a certain point and start to feel disappointed in humanity. There are really incredible people that I think are championing us, and this community is not going anywhere.
To transition, are you able to share anything about Overcompensating, your series with A24?
You know, we're writing right now but not actually writing because of the WGA strike. So waiting right now is the proper answer there, and it's true. We're still in development, but I do hope that people get to see it very soon. I'm so excited about it, but there's definitely been a pause because of the WGA strike. Please just pay writers what they're owed. It's not that tricky.
I really am so excited for people to see what I've been working on because it really is so special to me and to the people involved. The Charli music...the dolls are getting fed for sure, I promise. She played me some stuff, and I went crazy.
Charli XCX is involved with music and producing?
She's a producer on it, and she's doing the music. Some original scores, some music, and maybe some old classics. It is set in 2014. I don't know if I've said that anywhere, but it's set in 2014. We've got like, "I Love It," "Fancy," "Boom Clap," and some Sucker era. Some True Romance era. So I'm really, really excited. It's all coming together.
How are you planning to celebrate Pride this month?
So I almost do no planning during Pride. If a friend texts me, I go. It's kind of my rule. I don't know if I have anything officially in the calendar yet, but I feel like that's always what it is. Then I end up at something, Ty Sunderland is DJing, and this is fabulous.
This year, it does feel different. Not that it was less important in other years past, but it definitely feels poignant. Dylan Mulvaney posted [a few weeks ago] she [had] kind of been taking some time away and was scared. That obviously breaks my heart, and that makes me so sad because she's incredible. I was really happy to see she felt like now she can be back and have this month and really be in her power. That really excites me. I feel like that is definitely the energy. Not letting these psychopaths win, I think, is the vibe.
What — if anything — do you think your character Deliverance Richards is doing for Pride?
Oh my god, well she's obviously an ally. She loves her gays. I did just film her as a wedding planner, and she did a gay wedding. I thought about also having her on bus stops in WeHo for Pride, but some brands beat me to the punch. She loves going to gay bars, of course. She loves her gays, her crazy gays. She'll be at [the West Hollywood bar] Beaches, probably. She'll be on a float. I feel like she should be on a float for her queers. She loves queers. Deliverance says “gay.” We all know that.
No Straight Answers is available to watch on Visible's YouTube and TikTok pages. Check out the video below:
View this video on YouTube
Looking for more ways to get involved? Check out all of BuzzFeed's posts celebrating Pride 2023.
