Speaker 1: I am all in, bless you. I am all in
Speaker 1: with Scott Patterson an iHeartRadio podcast. Hey everybody, Scott Patterson
Speaker 1: one eleven productions. iHeart Radio, iHeart Podcasts, iHeartMedia. We're going
Speaker 1: to speak with Rona Benson. Let me read off here.
Speaker 1: She played Joni, a Yale Daily News student for eight episodes.
Speaker 1: She's an actor and producer from New York. She graduated
Speaker 1: UC Berkeley with a degree in cognitive science. She's known
Speaker 1: for playing Yale Daily News student Jony on Gilmore Girls
Speaker 1: eight episodes. She also appeared in Bones, Madmen, Jurassic Park three.
Speaker 1: Roona has more recently appeared in the resident Matt Superese
Speaker 1: Old show I'm Dying up here in a short film
Speaker 1: called Seat twenty three. B Ladies and Gentlemen, I give
Speaker 1: you Rona Benson. Rona, Hey, how you doing. Let's let's
Speaker 1: just let's just let's just start. How'd you get your
Speaker 1: role on Gilmore I got.
Speaker 2: The role well, I did one of those casting director
Speaker 2: like showcases where actors, you know, you got to pay,
Speaker 2: and then you perform a scene and you hope that
Speaker 2: casting directors are there to see you. And one of
Speaker 2: the Gilmore Girls casting directors was there and based on that,
Speaker 2: she called me in and then I booked it.
Speaker 1: So, oh that's great. You must have been thrilled because
Speaker 1: that's kind of of a long shot. I mean it's
Speaker 1: a long shot anyway, Yeah, but especially doing it that way,
Speaker 1: that's fantastic. You must have been thrilled.
Speaker 2: Yeah. I was really thrilled and surprised, and that was
Speaker 2: very cool.
Speaker 1: And it turned into a pretty good stint. I mean,
Speaker 1: you did eight episode, so that's man.
Speaker 2: It did I know? And it wasn't It was originally
Speaker 2: just a co star for one episode and then it
Speaker 2: turned into four. So that was cool.
Speaker 1: You were doing something right. That's a fun story. Did
Speaker 1: you watch the show before you landed the role? You
Speaker 1: were aware of the show.
Speaker 2: I had never seen Gilmore Girls, so you know, I
Speaker 2: get the audition the night before and I'm like, well,
Speaker 2: I don't know anything about the show. What the heck?
Speaker 2: You know? And I had to scramble. And this was
Speaker 2: before and everything was streaming, so I had to somehow
Speaker 2: try to find a snippet of it to watch and
Speaker 2: find out about it. Yeah.
Speaker 1: Probably not so easy to watch it, Yeah, that's for sure.
Speaker 1: So you played a student for the Yale Daily News.
Speaker 1: How was it being in the newsroom in Paris? Was
Speaker 1: going through a breakdown as the editor of the paper?
Speaker 1: What was that like?
Speaker 2: It was really fun. I mean it was kind of chaotic.
Speaker 2: She was kind of crazy. She went nuts, you know,
Speaker 2: it really did. But you know, as an actor, I
Speaker 2: was just so excited to be there and it was
Speaker 2: very energetic, you know, lots of extras and lots of
Speaker 2: people around. It was really and everyone was really nice.
Speaker 2: You know, it was fun.
Speaker 1: Those are fun scenes. I love those those newsroom scenes.
Speaker 1: They're all fraught with so much going on. So Paris
Speaker 1: made everybody in the newsroom where numbered caps?
Speaker 2: He did?
Speaker 1: I remember? And so was it? You think it was
Speaker 1: more funny or more cruel? Well we'll get to that.
Speaker 1: Do you have a So what's your favorite moment on
Speaker 1: the set? As you on that set?
Speaker 2: There was one day where you know, we just had
Speaker 2: some downtime and so that the Yale Daily News crew
Speaker 2: we kind of snuck off and were wandering around, like
Speaker 2: we went to Luke Steiner, he went to all the
Speaker 2: other sets and took pictures. That was fun.
Speaker 1: You were Taurus correct?
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Yeah? Did you? First of all, did you watch the
Speaker 1: episode before he came on, and if you did, what
Speaker 1: was it like watching it back after all these years.
Speaker 2: I watched my scenes last night because I thought I
Speaker 2: better refresh my memory, and it was it was so weird.
Speaker 2: Do you know It's because it's like, has it been
Speaker 2: like fifteen years? Been a long time. And I was like,
Speaker 2: oh my god, you know I was skinnier than I thought,
Speaker 2: you know, you know all that stuff. I was like,
Speaker 2: I didn't look as bad as you know thought I did.
Speaker 2: And yeah, I think as a young actor, I was
Speaker 2: always really hard on myself. So watching it back, I
Speaker 2: was like, you did a good job, you did a
Speaker 2: solid job.
Speaker 1: It was okay, right, right? Right? Do you get recognized rarely?
Speaker 2: I could maybe count on my hands, maybe even one hand,
Speaker 2: but a couple of times I have, but people don't
Speaker 2: really know. They're like really familiar, and I you know,
Speaker 2: and then then they might ask go or you an
Speaker 2: actress and then it comes out. But sometimes I know
Speaker 2: that's where they know me from, but I just pretend.
Speaker 2: I'm like, oh, I don't know, maybe it's right, I
Speaker 2: don't know, and I just pretend because I don't want to.
Speaker 1: Know when they when they do recognize you, what's the reaction?
Speaker 1: And when you inform them that, yeah, I was on
Speaker 1: gil More Girls for an episodes, they do they what's
Speaker 1: the reaction with oh yeah?
Speaker 2: Then they say oh yeah, yeah, of course now I remember,
Speaker 2: you know, they couldn't place it before, but then they
Speaker 2: once I say it, then they remember and then they
Speaker 2: get excited, you know, because they're like, oh my god,
Speaker 2: it's my favorite job, and they get all excited.
Speaker 1: Right, So let's talk about how you got started in acting.
Speaker 1: You have a degree from UC Berkeley and cognitive science.
Speaker 1: How'd you go from science cognitive science to acting.
Speaker 2: Well? I always wanted to act all like, since I
Speaker 2: was a little kid, but my family was very academic
Speaker 2: and not really you know, entertainment. They didn't know about
Speaker 2: that world at all, and so they kind of discouraged me.
Speaker 2: And then I went to school and did my school thing,
Speaker 2: and I thought, wait a second, now I'm done with college.
Speaker 2: I don't want to go to grad school. I don't
Speaker 2: want to go to med school. I don't want to
Speaker 2: go to law school. You know, screw it. I'm going
Speaker 2: to do what I want to do. And then I
Speaker 2: moved down to LA and took acting classes and.
Speaker 1: Really, yeah, really, And how did the family react.
Speaker 2: To that rebelled against my family? They I don't think
Speaker 2: they liked it, but I I kind of didn't care.
Speaker 2: I kind of said, this is what I'm doing and
Speaker 2: just I didn't like ask their permission or anything, because
Speaker 2: that's what I'm doing. And then once I started to
Speaker 2: book things, you know, like big plays or something, then
Speaker 2: they'd want to come see it and tell everyone. And
Speaker 2: I'm like, wait a second, you weren't so into it
Speaker 2: before and now you want to know. But they're nice,
Speaker 2: they're nice, but right, yeah, but they before that, they
Speaker 2: were probably very apprehensive and scared, you know, they wanted
Speaker 2: me to do something academic, professional, you know, not.
Speaker 1: What did your what did your parents do?
Speaker 2: What were they My mother was a mathematician and my
Speaker 2: father was an engineer. And then when he was forty
Speaker 2: he went to medical school. So I was like in
Speaker 2: elementary school when he went to medical school, which was
Speaker 2: weird back then. I mean maybe now people go back
Speaker 2: to school later, but I mean I didn't think. I
Speaker 2: didn't know that it was weird when I was a kid.
Speaker 2: It just that's just how it was, you know.
Speaker 1: Right, right, right, So who'd you study with when you
Speaker 1: got to LA who are your teachers?
Speaker 2: I went to the American Academy of Dramatic Arts a
Speaker 2: bunch of teachers there. There was one teacher his name
Speaker 2: was He doesn't have his own studio or anything, so
Speaker 2: his name was Howard chang Raw. You know. He was
Speaker 2: a really good teacher. And then I more recently, I
Speaker 2: studied with someone named Richard Side s E y D. Fantastic,
Speaker 2: we plugged people. I highly recommend if anyone wants to
Speaker 2: take classes. He's great.
Speaker 1: Okay, great, So let's get back to the set of Gilmore.
Speaker 1: What was it like working with with with Matt Zugreg
Speaker 1: Do you remember, Yeah, you know, we were He's a
Speaker 1: big favorite of ours open here, so.
Speaker 2: Yeah, you know, I didn't inter It was those were
Speaker 2: big group scenes and I didn't really have like just private,
Speaker 2: one on one scene time with him, So you know,
Speaker 2: I remember he was nice and we were all just
Speaker 2: hanging around and joking around, but uh, I don't really know.
Speaker 2: It was it was more of a group thing than
Speaker 2: just him one on one.
Speaker 1: Did you did you have any dialogue with with Matt
Speaker 1: or Alexis or or or Eliza?
Speaker 2: Uh? Yeah, more with Liza and Alexis gotcha.
Speaker 1: Yeah, tell us about your experience working with Alexis.
Speaker 2: She was really sweet. I think she's a shy person,
Speaker 2: so but she was very nice to work with, very professional,
Speaker 2: you know, would chit chat with us, but actually sometimes
Speaker 2: she would, you know, I think she was shy, so
Speaker 2: she stayed to the to the side, you know, but
Speaker 2: she was really nice. I remember one time I there
Speaker 2: was a cast photo, like I got invited to be
Speaker 2: part of the yearly cast photo. And this was after
Speaker 2: it was in between the two seasons. I was season
Speaker 2: six and seven, and I remember, you know, we took
Speaker 2: the photo and then I was leaving and she was leaving.
Speaker 2: She goes, bye, I have a nice hiatus, and I'm
Speaker 2: like thinking, my whole life is a hiatus, Like you know,
Speaker 2: you love hiatus. I'm like, everything's a hiatus. This is
Speaker 2: the exciting time for me, Like I'd rather come here
Speaker 2: every day, you know, right. But yeah, I was just
Speaker 2: really sweet. I remember thinking, oh, it's sweet that she's
Speaker 2: thinks my work life is similar to what hers is,
Speaker 2: you know.
Speaker 1: Right, yeah, right, Yeah, they had busy schedules. They were
Speaker 1: there all the time, yes, all of us, you know,
Speaker 1: were I mean but not like those two. They were
Speaker 1: there every day all day. Yeah, it was daunting.
Speaker 2: And Liza was really she was sweet. She was really
Speaker 2: nice and fun. We would chit chat on the sidelines,
Speaker 2: you like she was. I liked working with her good too.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Any other stories you want to share from your
Speaker 1: memories of the set? What did you do you remember
Speaker 1: going through wardrobe? Do you remember the wardrobe experience Brenda
Speaker 1: Maven and her team?
Speaker 2: I think we had We had to bring some of
Speaker 2: our own clothes too.
Speaker 1: Oh really, Yeah, it's just an interesting.
Speaker 2: Because I don't know. Yeah, So it's funny because when
Speaker 2: I watched the scenes yesterday, some of them, I'm like, oh, yeah,
Speaker 2: that was those were my jeans or that was fine?
Speaker 1: Right?
Speaker 2: Yeah? Yeah.
Speaker 1: And when you told do you remember the day you
Speaker 1: told your friend? Was your family aware of Gilmore Girls?
Speaker 1: And when you told them, what did they How did
Speaker 1: they react? I did they feel like, hey, maybe she's
Speaker 1: made it, and like we were wrong and she made
Speaker 1: the right choice and she's on Gilmore Girl. She has
Speaker 1: eight episodes. It's a lot of episodes for Gilmore Girls.
Speaker 1: I mean that's that's a pretty good, pretty good number.
Speaker 2: Yeah, it was kind of cool. Thank you. I. I
Speaker 2: don't know, they probably were not aware of the show
Speaker 2: because I don't think you know, they were older. I
Speaker 2: don't think they're into that kind of.
Speaker 1: Stuff TV watchers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, or if so not not Gilmore girl, you know,
Speaker 2: not that you know, I don't know what they were watching,
Speaker 2: but probably not that. I'm sure once I was on it,
Speaker 2: you know, they watched the episodes I was on, you know,
Speaker 2: and they were excited and all that stuff. But yeah,
Speaker 2: I don't know that they ever were excited like finally
Speaker 2: like oh, you know, they they were proud, you know,
Speaker 2: they said, oh, we're proud of you and all that stuff.
Speaker 2: But really, if I even to this day, if I said,
Speaker 2: you know what, I want to go to medical school,
Speaker 2: they'd be so excited, so exciting.
Speaker 1: Yeah, well, you gotta do what you gotta do. You
Speaker 1: got to you gotta go where your heart leads you. Yeah. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I got a lot of resistance too. My father was
Speaker 1: not happy.
Speaker 2: No, you were because I looked you up a little
Speaker 2: bit too. You were a professional baseball player, right I was. Yeah,
Speaker 2: and uh and I was before the acting obviously.
Speaker 1: Right right, yeah, And then and then I went to
Speaker 1: Europe for a time and try to figure it out
Speaker 1: the rest of my life. Instead just had a brilliant time.
Speaker 1: Thought this should be the rest of my life, but
Speaker 1: I knew I couldn't sustain it.
Speaker 2: Yeah.
Speaker 1: Yeah. I came back and dove into the acting scene
Speaker 1: in New York. Yeah. Uh yeah. My dad was not happy.
Speaker 1: He just said, go back to college. I mean, you know,
Speaker 1: get your degrees and let's go here. And I just
Speaker 1: you know, I just said, nah, I love this and
Speaker 1: I really want to explore this, and I think it's
Speaker 1: something that I can do.
Speaker 2: Good for you.
Speaker 1: Yeah. No, I really held I mean, and he was
Speaker 1: he was a tough character. You know. He was like,
Speaker 1: you're going to do this thing and you're not going
Speaker 1: to do that, and I'm like, nah, I'm going to
Speaker 1: do this. I had to really fight for it, and
Speaker 1: he just was not happy, just man. And then and
Speaker 1: then when I started having success, he you know, he
Speaker 1: really didn't come around. And then Gilmore Girls happened, then
Speaker 1: he was like what could he say?
Speaker 2: Yeah, you're shut him up to the lead of a
Speaker 2: show for years. You know, that's quite successful at that point.
Speaker 1: Yeah. But you know, now that I'm a father, I
Speaker 1: understand where he was coming from. They just you just
Speaker 1: want the best for your kid. You want him to,
Speaker 1: you know, have the best chance at success and going
Speaker 1: in at your mid twenties into something where you should
Speaker 1: already be established in a profession at twenty five. You know,
Speaker 1: if you're going to have a career, you're going to
Speaker 1: be already established and have a pretty good resume. I mean,
Speaker 1: I understand now his concerns. I don't blame him for it.
Speaker 2: I guess when you're young, you think the best thing
Speaker 2: for you is your heart and your passion and all.
Speaker 2: And when someone's older and they're thinking about their kids,
Speaker 2: they're thinking, oh, well, the best thing for my kid
Speaker 2: is security and stability.
Speaker 1: And yeah, all right, we're gonna play a little game
Speaker 1: called rapid fire. Doesn't mean it's going to be quick.
Speaker 1: You can take your time with the answers. Okay, no pressure, Okay.
Speaker 1: How do you like your coffee?
Speaker 2: I don't. I don't like coffee. I wish I did,
Speaker 2: because it's such a social drink. Everyone goes and gets coffee.
Speaker 2: I just never like the taste of it.
Speaker 1: I don't like it.
Speaker 2: I wish I did.
Speaker 1: Wow. Yeah, and you should try my own coffee brand.
Speaker 1: It's called Scottie Pea's Big Mug coffee. You should try it.
Speaker 2: It's amazing.
Speaker 1: You're gonna love coffee after that.
Speaker 2: I guarantee the whole category. Though. If I were gonna
Speaker 2: love a coffee, it wouldn't be your coffee.
Speaker 1: But it's supposed to be supposed to be good for you too.
Speaker 2: Coffee.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 2: Yeah?
Speaker 1: Are your Team Logan, Team Jess or Team Dean?
Speaker 2: I have to confess I am like you are when
Speaker 2: you started this podcast. I have not seen Gilmore Girls
Speaker 2: except the little snippets I was in, so I don't know.
Speaker 1: Wow, I know, mind scrambling, I know. Well, I'll just
Speaker 1: answer for your team Logan.
Speaker 2: Okay, because he helped us get the paper.
Speaker 1: Outs, right, because all the better people are.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, okay, done done.
Speaker 1: Who is your Well, you haven't seen the show, You
Speaker 1: can't answer any of these questions. Who's your Who's your
Speaker 1: favorite Gilmore Girls couple? Luke and laurele I or Emily
Speaker 1: and Richard.
Speaker 2: Well, I know like a little bit who they are,
Speaker 2: so I'm definitely gonna go Luke and laurele.
Speaker 1: I for sure. Would you rather work with Michelle or Kirk?
Speaker 2: Michelle was in the inn right that?
Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, and Curtsey.
Speaker 2: I don't know them well enough to give you a
Speaker 2: good answer.
Speaker 1: I think either one is fraught with peril. Oh God,
Speaker 1: So it's a tough one.
Speaker 2: So can I be above? You can stay unemployed and
Speaker 2: not work?
Speaker 1: Yes, there you go. What would you order at Luke's Diner?
Speaker 2: Probably French fries and a diet poke. Maybe also a
Speaker 2: cheeseburger if I'm nice?
Speaker 1: Who would you rather hang out with? Paris or Lane? Kim?
Speaker 2: Lane?
Speaker 1: Would rather hang out with Lane?
Speaker 2: Yeah, because Paris was mean and scary.
Speaker 1: Right, you want to hang out with the same person. Yeah, yeah, right,
Speaker 1: he's in a band.
Speaker 2: Yeah, that's so cool.
Speaker 1: That's very cool.
Speaker 2: Yes, And she was on Felicity. I love that show.
Speaker 2: Although that is you with her character, I know, but
Speaker 2: that actress. I think she was on a couple of
Speaker 2: episodes of Felicity.
Speaker 1: And this question has taken on a whole new meaning.
Speaker 1: Give and what's going been going on in the IVY
Speaker 1: League Harvard or Yale? Or drop out and live in
Speaker 1: a poolhouse?
Speaker 2: I would not drop out and live in the pool house. Okay,
Speaker 2: it is kind of what Harvard is kind of there's
Speaker 2: a hot mess there right now, for right now, I'll say, Yale,
Speaker 2: there you go.
Speaker 1: Would you rather attend a DAR event with Emily or
Speaker 1: a town hall meeting with Taylor?
Speaker 2: Town hall meeting? Oh?
Speaker 1: Really?
Speaker 2: Well? DR is Daughters of the Daughters of the American Revolution, right,
Speaker 2: so it's kind of an elitist, kind of stuffy group.
Speaker 1: Right.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I'll go to the town hall meeting for sure.
Speaker 1: But in the town hall meeting it's going to be
Speaker 1: actually very stuffy at one hundred and twenty degrees and you're
Speaker 1: going to be there all day and half the night.
Speaker 2: I don't know if I could handle the DAR meeting
Speaker 2: for a T shirt and shorts and go to that.
Speaker 1: You would rather suffer inside that hot tent? Okay? Hey,
Speaker 1: I would very noble? Yeah, Gilmore's Gilmore Girl's character that
Speaker 1: you would want as a roommate.
Speaker 2: Gilmore Girl's character that I want as a roommate.
Speaker 1: I'll say, Rory, something in your life you are all.
Speaker 2: In on I am all okay, this might sound a
Speaker 2: little wou. I am all in on the truth, Like
Speaker 2: I just want I want to know what the truth
Speaker 2: is and like doing all our filters and conditioning and
Speaker 2: all that stuff for moving all us and seeing reality
Speaker 2: and truth for whatever.
Speaker 1: Living in the wrong times for truth. Nobody wants to
Speaker 1: speak the truth I.
Speaker 2: Know, but I do all the more because of that.
Speaker 1: So yeah, me too, Rona. It was a pleasure. Thank
Speaker 1: you for coming on, appreciate your time all the best
Speaker 1: and we really enjoyed it. And thanks so much, Thank
Speaker 1: you so much.
Speaker 2: Good luck with the podcast.
Speaker 1: Thanks hey everybody, and don't forget Follow us on Instagram
Speaker 1: at I Am all In Podcast and email us at
Speaker 1: Gilmore at iHeartRadio dot com.