Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Bennett Taylor About Motherland: Fort Salem

Audiences have fallen in love with actor-rapper Bennett Taylor and his character Byron on Freeform’s Motherland: Fort Salem. Set in an alternate America where witches ended their persecution three hundred years ago by cutting an agreement to fight for their government, Motherland: Fort Salem follows three recruits who go from basic training in combat magic to early deployment.

Bennett’s character Byron is the lovable goofball who can bring levity (and a laugh) to any scene he’s in. It’s a breakout performance for Bennett, who says he brought a lot of himself to the role. Pop Culturalist caught up with Bennett to learn more about the man behind the character.

Career

PC: In Motherland: Fort Salem, Tally, Raelle, Abigail, and the rest of the recruits find their strength through their voice. Tell us about your journey as an artist and discovering your own voice.
Bennett: I’ve always been someone who loved expressing themselves through different artistic mediums like painting, which I’ve been doing a lot of recently. For the last six or seven years, I’ve been focused on my poetry and rap. As far as discovering my own voice, I’ve been figuring it out as I go.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your career?
Bennett: I have to say my girlfriend. We met four years ago while we were doing student films. Before we started dating, she was like, “Why don’t you have an agent? You should get one. You should jump on that.” I wanted to show her that I could, so I tried. I sent out some packages, and I actually got an agent. So I’d say I owe a lot of it to her. I mean, I did some parts. [laughs] But she pushed me to get to the next level.

PC: In addition to acting, you’re also a rapper. What came first? How has music made you a stronger actor and vice versa?
Bennett: I don’t think they’ve crossed paths yet, but it has opened up different parts of my voice. I use my voice more as an instrument now because when you’re making music, you have to really experiment. Acting came first. I’ve always wanted to be a voice actor. That was my first dream. I went to radio school to learn how to speak on the radio. I learned how to do a bunch of different voices in the booth. One of the producers produced rap music, and that’s how I fell into it. I started to really enjoy writing and spitting in the booth. Then I started making my own stuff on my laptop.

PC: You recently shared an Instagram post of your first audition. When you look back, what’s been the biggest lesson you’ve learned about yourself?
Bennett: So many things come to mind. I was really naïve about what acting was. When I look at that person, he was so closed off. He wasn’t willing to give emotions to other people. It makes me feel pretty good about myself now though. When I watch that video, I know how I would do it differently. When I look at that person in the video, you can see how much he wants to please people.

PC: Great answer. Is there a moment that stands out in the last seven years?
Bennett: It has to be landing my first role. Auditioning is hard. It took me a while to get used to auditioning and being comfortable in the room. For an actor, auditioning is the biggest barrier to actually sharing your craft. If you put me in a role, I can do it. But it’s all the mind games that pop into your head when you’re in an audition room. I managed to book the first audition that I went out for. That moment was pretty amazing. I was like, “Wow! This is what it could be.” I felt special, but then I didn’t book anything for two years. [laughs]

Motherland: Fort Salem

PC: How did you get involved with Motherland: Fort Salem?
Bennett: I actually auditioned for Gerit, Kai Bradbury’s role. I did a self-tape. The casting director also had me audition for another character, which was Byron. When I got that audition, it clicked. I was like, “I need to put my full effort into this.” I rehearsed really hard. The day after the audition, I learned that I got the role. It’s been an incredible experience getting to shoot with everybody.

PC: How much of yourself did you put into your character?
Bennett: I put a lot of myself into this character. Byron’s a little bit more theatrical than I am, but you can see that we’re pretty similar.

PC: There’s this beautiful friendship that forms between Byron and Raelle. How did you and Taylor Hickson approach that dynamic?
Bennett: Taylor [Hickson] is incredible to work with. She’s a lot of fun. She’s super receptive to my humor, it seemed. I could make her laugh easily, which was really nice. I found that we had a great chemistry that was needed for Byron and Raelle. Byron’s goofy, and it’s what Raelle needs. That’s what it was like in real life. We got along really well. She’s great to work with, a kind person, and really smart.

PC: Audiences have really connected with this series. What do you think is resonating the most with them?
Bennett: There’s nothing else like it on TV. You rarely see a gay lead character whose sexuality isn’t the focal point. I really love that. Also, the matriarchy flip is awesome.

PC: This is a breakout TV role for you. What’s been the biggest takeaway from this experience?
Bennett: It’s the response from the fans. I get to see how they react to the show and my character. They’ve written all these nice messages and that’s so strange. It makes you feel very visible.

PC: What can you tease about Byron’s arc for the rest of Season 1?
Bennett: I can tell you that the focus is not on Byron. [laughs] The girls are going through a lot right now. Byron is there as emotional support, which is cool. It’s cool to play the best friend character that doesn’t have to go through all the trauma that these characters are going through. When I watch the show, I’m like, “Damn. They’re going through a lot.” But as far as Byron, he’ll be there as emotional support.

PC: WWith the series picked up for a second season, where do you want to see Byron’s storyline head?
Bennett: I’m not sure! It’d be nice to be part of Season 2. I hope I am. That would be really cool. People have expressed to me that they like my character, so that might be promising!

PC: Besides Motherland: Fort Salem, do you have any other upcoming projects that you can chat about?
Bennett: I’m going to drop a web series at the end of the year. It’s called The Bentayman Xperience. It’s a five-part series about how I’m the best rapper in the world. I made it to make myself feel better. [laughs] It’s hard to explain, but it’s a vanity project that I made. I’m still editing it. I also hope to launch a rap album by the end of the year, and maybe I’ll assemble another Beanie Baby coat.

PC: What is the story behind the beanie baby coat?
Bennett: I’m glad you asked! I did a Kickstarter at one point to build a Beanie Baby fur coat because I read this book about them. It was such a craze back then. I found it so fascinating how they were such a coveted item and then became obsolete. But for a while, prices were skyrocketing on the secondary market. They were like, “This is super rare.” The Princess Diana Beanie Baby was super coveted. I thought it would be interesting to make a piece out of them and desecrate them into a coat, so I bought three hundred Beanie Babies from this woman who was downsizing.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: Guilty pleasure TV show?
Bennett: I really liked Jersey Shore when it was out. I was into it. It’s just fun to watch.

PC: Guilty pleasure movie?
Bennett: Cats. I watched Cats recently. I liked it. I was like, “This is great. I don’t know what people are talking about. This is fun.”

PC: Favorite book?
Bennett: I really like this book by Casey Gerald called There Will Be No Miracles Here. I found it super fascinating and interesting. It really opened up a lot of ideas for me.

PC: Favorite play or musical?
Bennett: Cats [laugh]

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Bennett: BTS is always on my playlist. BTS army forever. I stan them. My favorite is Jin. I love BTS. I really love K-pop. I’m a huge K-pop guy. I listen to it more than music in English. I love Korean music.

PC: Who would play you in the story of your life?
Bennett: Bill Skarsgård

To keep up with Bennett, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Catch the season finale of Motherland: Fort Salem tonight at 9/8c on Freeform.