Benito Skinner

Benito Skinner (born November 3, 1993) is an American comedian and actor. He is known for his online persona Benny Drama, and performs celebrity impression, skits, and original characters on platforms such as Instagram, YouTube, and TikTok.

Benito Skinner
Born (1993-11-03) November 3, 1993
Boise, Idaho, US
Alma materGeorgetown University
OccupationComedian
Known forBenny Drama

Early life and education

Skinner was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, and attended Bishop Kelly High School. While a senior in high school, Skinner founded the nonprofit OATHS, which stands for Organization Assisting the Homeless Student, and was recognized at the 2011 National Philanthropy Day Idaho.[1] He also played on Bishop Kelly's football team as a wide receiver.[2]

Some of his early comedic inspirations were Robin Williams in his role as Mrs. Doubtfire, and SpongeBob SquarePants. While he would perform renditions of Britney Spears and Destiny's Child songs for his family, he has discussed repressing some of his early proclivities toward performance and comedy due to bullying and homophobic comments.[3]

He went on to attend Georgetown University in Washington, D.C., where he studied acting, English, and film and media studies. In college, Skinner began experimenting with performance in the form of recorded lip syncs and other videos. He had created the @BennyDrama7 Instagram account in high school — with the "7" referencing his football jersey number — but only began to post comedic videos while in college.[4][3]

While at Georgetown, Skinner was also the co-creator and host of BEAT$, a weekly campus radio show known for its pop music stylings.[5]

Career

After graduating, Skinner worked as a video editor while continuing to create online content. In 2016, Skinner made his social media accounts public, and this early work developed into comedy videos on Instagram, TikTok and YouTube.[6][3] He is known for his celebrity impressions such as Shawn Mendes, Lana Del Rey, and Kourtney Kardashian, as well as for original characters such as Jenni the Hairdresser. He has described his work as fully rooted in pop culture.[2]

In 2018, he performed his debut show "Overcompensating" at Carolines on Broadway to a sold-out audience at the New York Comedy Festival.[7] He hosted the pop culture podcast "Obsessed" with Mary Beth Barone on Spotify for one season and 50 episodes.[8][9]

Personal life

Skinner is gay, and came out in his senior year of college. He lives with his boyfriend, director Terrence O'Connor, in Los Angeles, California. They are known for their elaborate and carefully constructed annual couples' Halloween costumes.[10]

Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
2019 Hitbox Scooter
2021 Search Party Nate
2021 Ziwe Kim Kardashian
2022 Queer as Folk Jack Cole Jordan
2022 The Kardashians Himself
2022 Bros
TBA First Time Female Director TBA Post-production

References
  1. Huff, Jeanne (2011-10-26). "Idaho philanthropy heroes lauded at event, in publication | Idaho Business Review". Archived from the original on 2022-06-29. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  2. "BennyDrama Owns the Internet". PAPER. 2019-04-03. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  3. "'I never want to get too mean': Benito Skinner on his savage viral parodies". the Guardian. 2020-12-05. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  4. "BennyDrama Owns the Internet". PAPER. 2019-04-03. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  5. "Instagram Star Benito Skinner Loves To Laugh At Himself, But Says Coming Out Is No Joke". Elite Daily. 27 December 2018. Archived from the original on 2021-06-12. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  6. Valentine, Claire (23 September 2020). "Benny Drama Loves His Characters As Much As You Do". Nylon. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  7. tsq_sasha (2019-03-12). "Benito Skinner: Overcompensating at Carolines". www.timessquarenyc.org. Archived from the original on 2019-09-21. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  8. "How this comedian who impersonates the Kardashians got Kris Jenner to be in one of his videos: 'She's down'". www.yahoo.com. 29 April 2021. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  9. "Obsessed". Spotify. Archived from the original on 2022-05-20. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
  10. "Benny Drama and Terry O'Connor on the Perfect Halloween Costume". Interview Magazine. 2021-10-31. Archived from the original on 2021-11-01. Retrieved 2022-05-20.
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