Producer Ben Stranahan On How He Chooses Projects

The most successful movies ever made all have one thing in common: a compelling opening. “No film that ever went on to find success ever had a bad beginning,” says  producer/actor/musician Ben Stranahan. “Think Indiana Jones trekking cautiously through a South American rainforest. The club scene in Boogie Nights. James Bond running through Madagascar in Skyfall. There are a ton of others, of course, but you know a great beginning when you see it, and that’s one of the qualities I look for in the scripts I choose as producer at Tip-Top Productions.” 

The ability of Ben to spot compelling, well-told plots and to then develop them into successful films at the box office has led to opening doors across Hollywood. “It has taken some time to get where I am,” he reflects. “It’s a process that everyone goes through. I’ll admit that sometimes I wish that it had gone faster, but at the same time, I’ve learned so much from those around me, making me a better producer. It’s all been worth it, I believe.”

As his career has developed, Ben has been able to take on projects of deeper complexity and to work with A-list actors. “Monstrous was amazing to produce because Christina Ricci and other very talented people came on board,” he says. “Without them, it wouldn’t have turned out as well as it did. I can’t wait for it to be released in 2022 because it’s going to give audiences a one-of-a-kind experience that will stay with them after the lights go up.”

Ben is equally proud of Better Than Yourself, for which he played the lead and also produced. “It’s a mystery, which I just loved doing. We had an awesome cast and crew, all of whom were committed to keeping the audience guessing every step of the way.”

Ben is exploring another genre, animation, and is currently voicing characters in The Inventor, a Daisy Ridley film about Leonardo da Vinci, and Exodite from Games Workshop. “These two movies are completely different,” he marvels, “yet I’m having a great time with both. I love exploring the world of da Vinci in such a light-hearted way, but I also enjoy delving into a world at war and bringing out the passion and drama of that setting. I’m really happy about the types of roles and movies I am part of these days.”

Ben, who attended the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Los Angeles, is highly respected today, but he didn’t see his career break wide open until six years ago, when his production of The Midnight Anthology with Clancy Brown won awards for Artistic Achievement and Best Director at the New York Television Festival. “This was big for me and for those I was blessed to work with,” Ben recalls. “The work I was doing was being noticed by people in the industry, and that led to bigger opportunities that I jumped on.”

The tap was turned on full force after the BAFTAs in 2018. “That was when Calibre got four nominations, and Jack Lowden was awarded Best Actor,” Ben recalls. “I was excited about this because all of us had put our hearts and souls into the production, and to have that recognized was a special moment. When we got home and got back to work, I noticed that it became easier to get funding and to develop even better projects, so the BAFTAs were a turning point, as well.”

From that point, Ben has continued working, forming relationships in Hollywood with other producers and actors and showing the industry that his movies deliver at the box office. The result has been more projects, which he is more than happy to take on.

As busy as he is, Ben finds time to kick back at his beloved piano with his cat, Moose. “I am still a musician at heart, and I just love jazz,” he reveals. “I could sit for hours, improvising on some chord while Moose hangs out and listens. Thankfully, he’s a kind critic.”

While movie critics are just as impressed, Ben understands that he is only as good as the movie he just released. “Nothing is certain in this industry,” he says. “You can be riding high one moment and crash the next. That’s why I take praise with a grain of salt. The key to building a lasting career in Hollywood, I have found, is to play the long game: I must look past the good reviews and even the occasional bad ones and focus on where I want to go. I aim to be one of the best producers and actors in the business, and if I keep working hard, I believe that I will make it.”