benji aflalo Words by OLIVIA SINGH Photos by CATHERINE POWELL Grooming by SIMONE
Benji Aflalo calls himself lazy, sometimes lacking in self-worth, and filled with self-doubt. He’s incredibly self-deprecating, but he’s also persistent and passionate about comedy. And despite all his perceived shortcomings, he is currently the star, co-creator, and writer on Freeform’s latest comedy, Alone Together. Benji was born in Los Angeles, California and says he was raised by his four older siblings, housekeeper, and parents, who he describes as “grinders” – hardworking people who came from humble backgrounds. Benji always wanted to do comedy, and he participated in several plays in high school. After getting an agent during his senior year of high school, he booked a guest starring role and then a second audition, but decided that he didn’t want to continue. Instead, he wanted to go to college. At the time, he didn’t realize that hopeful actors often struggle, constantly getting denied until they can even land their first role. “I was 17, I didn’t really understand that it was a big deal, and everyone was going to college and I was like, ‘Oh I’ll go to college now, too,’” Benji explains. “It felt like a summer camp choice.” Neither of Benji’s parents went to college and all his siblings dropped
out, so by the time he made the decision to continue his education, his parents were “disillusioned.” Benji just wanted to get out of L.A. because “the idea of being around all the high school people again ate me up inside,” so he went to the University of Arizona. His experience there was one marked by isolation and it was clearly an environment that he didn’t fit into, but at the same time, he didn’t want to go back to L.A. After applying elsewhere with the help of his sister, Yael, Benji got accepted to New York City’s Marymount Manhattan College. “I obviously probably belonged in a liberal arts school in New York, but because I didn’t have any guidance, I ended up at the University of Arizona,” Benji says. As he was nearing the end of college, he started participating in open mics. He initially wanted to be a musician, but felt that he didn’t have the chops for it. Plus, the crowds at open mics responded more to him as a comedian than a guitarist. “I don’t think it’s an easy road for anybody,” Benji says. “But I was insecure, and I think standup actually gave me that immediate satisfaction.” Impressed by seeing comedians like Jim Norton and Jeff Ross at The Comedy Cellar in N.Y., Benji went to L.A. and attended a comedy show
at The Improv – but was unaware that the people doing standup that night were amateurs. Thinking that the comedians in L.A. didn’t measure up to the high standard set by those in N.Y., Benji moved back to L.A. in the hopes of easily making it big as a comedian. He did bringer shows in L.A. for several years, where he was able to perform standup if he brought people to the venue. Then, he got a job working at The Comedy Store, which he describes as being “empty all the time,” “lawless,” and “fun” – but it was also the place where Benji met Esther Povitsky, who would become one of his good friends and co-creator of Alone Together. After working at The Comedy Store, Benji continued doing more writing gigs, but he and Esther realized that if they wanted to progress in the industry, they had to develop original projects and pitch them. The problem was that neither of them was confident in their ability to pitch material, especially in a city filled with other talented comedians. “You’re either competing with celebrity comedians in L.A., people with experience we don’t have, or at the very least, you look at the Workaholics guys,” Benji explains. “They had a whole web series and all this content. A lot of our other friends who had gotten some success, they had that too, so we were like, ‘We
