Ben DeJesus: From Trenton to Hollywood, Broadway, and...
Growing up in Trenton and Ewing, Ben DeJesus formed a love of theater. “Right here is where my love and passion for entertainment and the arts was fueled and sparked,” he said. “I did plays at Ewing
High School, at the Washington Crossing open air theatre.”
That’s how it started for DeJesus. As an actor. It took him to Rutgers, where he was a theater major, but he left after a few years. Why? He got work as an actor, first in D.C., later with touring companies on cruise ships. He ended up back at Rutgers, ended up with an internship at MTV, and that changed his life.
“I fell in love with the process of being on the other side of the table,” DeJesus said. “I ended up staying four years, went from intern to one of the first producers of ‘MTV Cribs.’”
From there, a production company of his own. From there, directing and producing. From there … well, what are you doing Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m.? That’s where DeJesus’s latest film, “Raúl Juliá: The World’s a Stage” will make it’s New York debut at the AMC Empire 25 as part of the NY Latino Film Festival.
Of course, if you can’t make it to New York, you can watch it on Sept. 13 on PBS as part of the network’s “American Masters” series.
DeJesus’s decision to film a movie about Julia - one of his heros - came about because of a relationship DeJesus has with John Leguizamo. And how did that relationship blossom? Some good old-fashioned Hollywood chutzpah, but the good kind.
“At one point I met Leguizamo,” DeJesus said. “He was another hero of mine. I used to take NJ Transit into New York to see him on Broadway. But yes, we linked up years later, and he invited me to one of his rehearsals. I showed up, and I asked if I could shoot some B roll. He said yes, and I went through it and knew I had a documentary here. So I wrote a treatment, went back the next day, and I went to him and Fisher Stevens, who was directing, and I said, ‘there’s a documentary here if you let me tell this story,’ and they were like, ‘sure, whatever.’”
That ‘sure, whatever’ turned into the award-winning PBS Great Performances doc “John Leguizamo’s Road to Broadway.” (Which led to DeJesus’s partnering with Leguizamo on the Tony award-winning “Latin History for Morons,” which led to the two of them co-founding NGL Studios, two huge items that are both, incredibly, just asides in this column. Anyway ...) Anyway, while accepting an award for the film in Los Angeles, he found out Raul Julia’s widow was in the audience and … more chutzpah.
“I made a beeline to her table, introduced myself, told her how much her husband’s career and path influenced me as a fellow Puerto Rican, how much I wanted to emulate him,” DeJesus said. “This led to discussions about doing a film, something others tried to do with her consent, but it never worked out. I laid out my vision for the film, met with his sons, and they trusted me.”
The doc, which explores Julia’s life and career, is only DeJesus’s latest adventure, for when he’s not shooting awardwinning films with PBS, he’s directing “Bunk’d” on the Disney Channel. I mean, the guy is busy.
And he’s just getting started. DeJesus said his dream is to direct a musical biopic, which to him would bring his career full circle. From Hollywood all the way back to Trenton.
And don’t think DeJesus has forgotten his roots - a ton of his family and friends still live right here in the capital city, and DeJesus is often back in town. Not just to see family, he says; also to eat “real pizza.”
“I really loved growing up here,” DeJesus said. “Trenton has always been part of my soul. It’s such a huge multicultural melting pot, so much flavor represented. It’s embedded in my DNA. And really, today, with this whole idea of multiculturalism taking root in the country, well, come on: We’ve been living it forever right here in Trenton.”