Brad Benedict – The Oval

By starrymag | March 30, 2021

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

 

Q) Please tease what is new this season on “The Oval” and with Kyle.

 

A) Killers will be revealed, and big questions will be answered. Body counts will rise and bad behavior will continue. Everybody has secrets, and as those secrets come out, alliances will shift. Kyle will continue to do other people’s dirty work and have to watch his back constantly as his adversaries close in on him. It’s going to be good! I can promise you that. Once the scripts started coming in, I couldn’t put them down.

 

Q) How was Kyle originally described to you?

 

A) Sadistic sexy ex-Marine, turned secret service agent, with sociopathic tendencies who happens to have a preference for men.

 

Q) Was there anything you added to the role that wasn’t in his initial breakdown?

 

A) Absolutely. I continue to build Kyle’s backstory as the show unfolds and I am given more hints into his past. It is fun to slowly add more and more layers. The words on the page are only the surface level of the character. The ‘why’ behind the words is what I enjoy getting to bring to the character.

 

Q) What continues to challenge you about portraying him?

 

A) The biggest challenge is trying to figure out how to keep Kyle from getting killed off! I want this ride to continue on for a long time. But more seriously, Kyle has a lot of devilish qualities. He is opposite of me, Brad, in most ways. At least in the micro. So, it can be challenging to relate to the character, and to empathize with him. It can even be uncomfortable at times to say certain scripted lines that are so harsh and hateful. That is why I try to relate to Kyle in a more macro sense. Remembering that he is motivated by a desire to be loved and to feel some semblance of control in his life, like most humans. He is a person with a lot of deep pain and hasn’t learned how to come to terms with that pain and manage it in a healthy way.

 

Q) This is your third series with Tyler Perry. What makes working for him so enjoyable?

 

A) I think I have gained Tyler’s trust as an actor. Tyler gives me a lot of creative freedom to fill in the white space on the page with my own ideas and interpretation. I wouldn’t say anything goes, but pretty close. I think Tyler trusts me to bring things to scenes that aren’t necessarily on the page, and that makes acting a whole lot of fun.

 

Q) Going into this season, were you hoping to share more scenes with someone(s) in particular?

 

A) Not specifically. There is a different dynamic with each scene partner and that always keeps me on my toes. In the first season, I loved rehearsing my big fight scene with Agent Max, played by Bill Barrett. We spent a week learning the choreography with our stunt guys and, ultimately, we got to do the entire fight scene ourselves. I was definitely eager to continue building that antagonistic relationship. Both Bill and I were hopeful it would become a tradition, if you will, for our characters to have one all out fight scene each season. I don’t want to give anything away, but I think the fans will majorly enjoy how that relationship unfolds.

 

Q) What are some episodes viewers should be on the lookout for this season?

 

A) Fans won’t want to miss a single episode. Bombs will drop each week. It’s spicy. Kyle’s story line, in particular, really starts to pick up in episode 207 and never slows down from that point on.

 

Q) We’d love for there to be a Season 3 of the show! Who would you love to see make a guest appearance?

 

A) First of all, I can already guarantee there will be a Season 3. It was announced that we were picked back up after a super successful Season 2 debut. That was extremely exciting news to get. I’m hoping we get to meet Kyle’s parents at some point. I have to imagine that relationship was very formative, so it would be a lot of fun to see a little deeper into Kyle’s history.

 

Q) How do you shake off a long day of filming “The Oval?”

 

A) There isn’t usually much time to shake off a long day of filming. We shoot over a hundred pages a day on “The Oval.” We shot all twenty-two episodes of Season 2 in less than two weeks. Most shows would only shoot two episodes in the time frame. Therefore, it is a total sprint. After I wrap a shooting day, I usually head home to get right back into the script to prepare for the next day. It is kind of like bailing water in a sinking ship the entire shoot. When we wrap the season, I usually feel a major let down after such a high – especially last year during the middle of the COVID pandemic. You spend two weeks on the studio lot entirely surrounded by other people and moving parts, and then it was straight back to seclusion after wrap. That part gives me a bit of the blues for a few days. I get such a spark from the energy of working with a big group of people. I love the social interaction.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Do you enjoy the instant fan feedback you receive to episodes?

 

A) It is fun to follow the live tweets during the episodes. People are hilarious with their commentary. Kyle is a handful of a character, to say the least, and the more people love to hate Kyle, the more amusement I get. I do; however, still want to show the fans a layered character. Kyle does some awful things and can have a pretty sour attitude at points, but he isn’t one dimensional. There is a whole human there, and I hope those layers continue to be revealed to the fans as the series progresses.

 

Q) What do you think it is about “The Oval” that has made it such a fan favorite series?

 

A) First of all, Tyler Perry has an extremely loyal fan base. I am grateful to personally be able to benefit from that. But the story and characters are completely unpredictable. I feel like “The Oval” is essentially a genre of its own. A hyperbolic prime time soap that brings serious drama while mixing in outrageous comedic situations. It’s hard not to get sucked in by the characters, and once invested, the unpredictable story lines keep you hooked in. It is only going to get better from here. I promise you that.

 

 

Q) What would you like to say to everyone who are fans and supporters of you and the work you do?

 

A) Man, it is so cool to think that I actually have fans. I have spent thirteen years working towards this point in my career and there were many years where I wasn’t sure I would make it. I am so thankful of the fans that, not only make the show possible, but who fire me up to get better and work harder. I believe I have a lot inside of me to share. I want to take the fans on a wild journey with Kyle in “The Oval,” and also look forward to up-coming characters in a multitude of genres that are nothing like Kyle. So, thank you fans! Thank you for the support and for letting me completely lean into characters, some quite despicable on the surface, without judgment and remembering they are only characters after all. So much to come. So much to look forward to. I’m just a small-town guy from Georgia living out a huge Hollywood dream.