Behind the Scenes

Actor-lensman Mark Bennington’s book, Living the Dream, captures celebrities on film sets, at home, and doing what they love.

- Shweta Mehta Sen

Where did the theme of the book come from?

The theme actually came from my experiences as an actor. For instance, I would go visit relatives for the holidays and get asked, 'So, you must be going to glitzy Hollywood parties all the time and hanging out with stars?' and I would say, 'Not at all. I’m either learning lines, auditioning, rehearsing a scene, performing a play at night, shooting during the day, working part-time, going to the gym, reading a play, reading a script or reading a book on acting or how to better myself.' So, it came from this idea that no one outside the business has any idea what an actor’s life is really like — and in the case of this book, what it looks like. I wanted to humanise the actor’s life and shed some light on this reality, which I believe gives a richness and complexity to the images.

Did being an actor yourself prove to have any sort of advantage while shooting for this book?