£250 UP FOR GRABS IN OUR GLORIOUS GARDENS CONTEST
The Mysterious Benedict Society follows a group of orphans placed undercover at a boarding school. GEORGIA HUMPHREYS hears more from one of the stars, Tony Hale
TONY HALE couldn’t help but find parallels between what was going on in the real world and the story of The Mysterious Benedict Society.
The New York-born actor, 50, had signed up to the new Disney+ series – based on the young adult book by Trenton Lee Stewart – before the Covid-19 pandemic, and it ended up being incredibly timely while being filmed in Vancouver last year.
“The story begins with this global crisis called ‘The Emergency’, that’s causing everybody to be in a state of panic and anxiety, and my character brings these four kids together,” explains the star, known for his role as Buster Bluth in the Fox comedy series Arrested Development.
The kids are gifted orphans Reynie, Sticky, Kate and Constance, who have won a scholarship competition to a boarding school where they are recruited by the peculiar Mr Benedict (Hale) for a dangerous mission. They need to infiltrate the mysterious L.I.V.E. Institute to discover the truth behind ‘The Emergency’ and save the world.
But there’s someone getting in their way; sophisticated Dr Curtain, the school’s head teacher, appears to be behind this worldwide panic – and is also played by Tony.
“What excited me the most was these kids didn’t have otherworldly superpowers; their superpower was their intellect, their
creativity, and their empathy. And after what we’ve all been through, those are the things that stand out,” says Tony.
“So, in addition to the
adventure and the fun, that message is really exciting to put out there for me.”
And he says of playing twins: “Even though I’ve played some far-out characters, I have to find parts of those characters within myself, in order to give an authentic portrayal of them. And even though I was playing twins, I had to find myself in each of them.
“I like to be positive, and I like to try to see the best in everyone, and that’s in Benedict. But even in Curtain, he can be labelled the evil twin, but he probably feels very misunderstood – and I’ve had moments in my life where I felt misunderstood.”
He is full of praise for the young cast dealing with filming during a pandemic.
“These kids, here they are away from their homes for five months and stepping into a pretty high-stakes show, and in the middle of a pandemic.
“At that age, I was wondering what I was going to have for lunch – that’s all I was doing! So it’s very impressive.
“A set can be a lot of pressure, there are 200 people working on a show, and then these kids have a lot of lines to remember and a lot of blocking and understanding their characters and changing every day, and in the middle of that, they’re doing full-time school. So, it’s a lot of plates to spin.”
Tony reveals he has suffered with anxiety for a lot of his life.
“I did this show called Archibald’s Next Big Thing, this cartoon that was based on Arrested Development, because I got Arrested Development, and I was still looking to my next thing,” he says. “In this business, it’s very easy to do that, because you’re always asked, ‘What’s next for you?’ And if I don’t practise that discipline of being present, I’m always going to be looking to what’s next.
“A big lesson is, your value can be calculated as to your achievements – that’s not just in this business, I think it’s everywhere.
“I always tell acting students, the value they have now is the exact same value as if they were to win an Oscar five years from now. That does not change – even though the business tells them it will. That’s something I have to remind myself.”
The Mysterious Benedict Society launches on Disney+ on Wednesday, July 7