8 Times Actors Embarrassingly Campaigned For A Huge Movie Role
7. Ephraim Benton – Straight Outta Compton
Social media has changed the game when it comes to artists getting their work out there, and in the case of actors, it lets them put up performance reels and submit audition footage direct to the producers. When an opening casting call was put out for Straight Outta Compton, an enterprising young actor named Ephraim Benton went all out to land his dream role of Eazy-E.
He set up a Tumblr page and filled it with photos and video of himself in character, and the footage showed off his best Eazy-E impression. Benton said of his attention seeking campaign that “In this day and age, branding yourself on social media is vital to your success...I wanted to make a risky but bold statement by publicly campaigning to the world for this role.”
A bold and risky move it was, and while it gathered him lots of attention he still didn’t nab the role. That went to Jason Mitchell, who received acclaim for it. Unfortunately for Benton, the audition has done little to boost his career.