QUICK FACTS
Activity Actor
Real name Benny Emmanuel Mendoza Yirene
Nationality Mexico
Birth December 17, 1996 (Veracruz – Mexico)
BIOGRAPHY
Benny Emmanuel Mendoza Yirene, known as Benny Emmanuel , was born on December 17, 1996, in Veracruz, by decision of his parents, although they brought him to live in Mexico City when he was almost a year old. Although neither of his parents is professionally dedicated to acting, they have always been fans of the art: his mother sings and his father acted in some school plays. Benny, on the other hand, decided to make a career out of this art.
The talented young man began acting at the age of 7, more out of genuine curiosity than any calling of passion. “I watched TV and saw kids my age and I wondered how they did it, then I discovered that they were preparing to appear on screen. It’s funny because when they ask this, the actors always say that they knew it from the beginning, they talk about passion, but for me it was genuine curiosity,” Benny shares for Sensacine México.
Benny began to prepare with acting and singing classes taught by friends of Benny’s family. It was thanks to them that he found out about the existence of the CEA, Televisa’s acting academy, and who persuaded him to appear at the castings, because they believed that the young man had a chance. He began his studies at the CEA, the first three years with subjects such as scriptwriting, acting workshop, among others. However, the teachers and tutors saw a future in little Benny, so they invited him to be part of a special group that extended the preparation for two more years. Now Benny is no longer part of the CEA, but he has never stopped enrolling in workshops that broaden his vision of his career.
THE FIRST ROLES AND THE FIRST OBSTACLES
He debuted successfully in the series Vecinos (2007), which was followed by his work in the films Días degracia (2011), Amar no es qué (2011) and Mexican gangster (2014). Everything was looking good for the young actor (to this day that is still the scenario), however, he admits that from the beginning he understood the context in which he was going to operate and all the obstacles that it entailed. “Unfortunately, how people perceive you matters a lot, when it comes to archetypes. I had a really good time at the CEA but it also taught me how the division of social classes is experienced, even as children,” says Benny. As he grew up he realized that they wanted to pigeonhole him into certain roles or he believed that he couldn’t audition for others. Today he is grateful to be at a stage in which “people can be whoever they want. Unless the script requires a 2 meter tall Nordic person, then I can’t be him. From there on out, I have much more freedom now.”
Although Benny is still in his twenties, he understands perfectly well that many times the environment of stardom is not the most welcoming. “There are people who believe that because they work in this they have more or less power. Even though cinema is a hierarchical game […] you have to understand that it is a job,” he reflects. Although Benny is beginning his twenties, he is clear that not everyone in the world of acting has “empathy for others”, but he is happy to have found himself at such a young age with people who have encouraged him and given him incredible opportunities. One of those people was Carlos Carrera, director of Of Childhood , Ana and Bruno and The Crime of Father Amaro . “I went to audition for him but I didn’t stay. Someone told me that the call back was at the CCC and I showed up even though they hadn’t called me,” laughs Benny. The director remembered him and let him do the casting for the role of Francisco in From childhood , which earned him an Ariel award for Best Acting Revelation.
The story is curious: From Childhood was planned for release in 2010, but was released almost 10 years later. She was one of the favorites at the 2019 Ariel Awards, taking home the statuette for Best Acting Revelation and Best Adapted Screenplay. “I was very excited about the film, everyone said that it was going to receive a lot of attention but it didn’t get released and I thought that maybe this wasn’t my thing. I had made a film with Damián Alcazar and it hadn’t been released!”, he recalls. the actor laughs. For Benny, From childhood is the perfect example of how difficult it can be to find a space for dissemination in Mexican cinema.
In addition to the big screen, Benny can be seen in theater and television. On the small screen he participated in La CQ , where he played Beto, a character who has appeared in all four seasons of it. The series broke viewership records and was the favorite of youth audiences in 2013, winning multiple awards at the Kids Choice Awards in Mexico. The actor worked with prominent Mexican filmmakers, one of them Roberto Fiesco in Trémulo (2016), and also with international directors such as Cary Fukunaga in Sin nombre .
ABOUT HIS INSPIRATION, CHICUAROTES AND FUTURE PROJECTS
Benny is one of those people who turns an interview into a casual conversation, always committed to the answers he gives. When I ask who his biggest influence is, he answers without hesitation. “The boss, my mom. My dad is also my hero, but my mother has taught me resilience, discipline and tenacity. She represents all these things in my life, since I was little I learned from her,” he remembers.
His training, education and way of seeing life have set the tone in the career of the protagonist of Chicuarotes and in the projects he chooses. Benny is inclined to work with characters who are real, who have real problems, who are complex and multifaceted human beings. However, he is not at odds with cinema positioned on the other side of the spectrum from projects like From Childhood . “We have an important microphone and everyone chooses how to use it. I think that in Mexico everything [genre] has to be made. It is precisely these commercial films that permeate and then generate money to make other types of cinema,” he explains.
One of Benny’s wishes is to participate in a film that will endure in the history of Mexican cinema no matter how many generations and new proposals pass over it. Something similar could be achieved with his 2019 lead role in Chicuarotes , directed by Mexican Gael García Bernal; International fame and recognition came after his performance as Cagalera, a character with whom he says he identified on several levels. The film premiered out of competition at the Cannes Film Festival, one of the most important in the world, and Benny took a moment to analyze the situation: “we saw people’s reaction to Chicuarotes and I realized that the problems are universal . This [ Chicuarotes ] happens in Chimalhuacán but resonated in France,” he said in amazement.
Benny Emmanuel’s career is just beginning and he is already establishing himself as an outstanding actor of his generation. An admirer of football and graphic novels, he is governed by one law of life: doing what he likes. “In such a complicated society, such a conflicted world, sometimes it is difficult to follow your instincts but that is what you should do, without ever affecting others.”
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