As “The Lost Boys” celebrates 12 Tony nominations, we sat down with star LJ Benet to learn about his connection to Michael, training for the show’s high-flying stunts, and his unexpected journey to the Broadway stage.

I’m a pop-culture writer covering everything from TV and movies, to music, Broadway, books, and games.

When I saw The Lost Boys in previews, I expected to get a little scared and laugh a bit, but I was not at all prepared to cry. When LJ performs the Act 1 standout "Belong to Someone," you can hear a pin drop in the theater. Every lyric feels deeply personal, and his connection to the music is impossible to miss.

We hopped on Zoom to discuss his instant understanding of Michael, his chemistry with his co-stars, and his unexpected journey to The Lost Boys.

Note: This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

LJ: Something Shoshana [Bean] told me is: "As an actor, you'll get to do a lot of roles. Some you have to work really hard at, while others will come naturally to you." 

I felt like I really knew Michael. I understood what it felt like to be an outsider. I understood what it felt like when your family doesn’t get you. I understood wanting to be with somebody who doesn’t want to be with you, but still fighting for it.

There were so many things I connected to wholeheartedly. When I auditioned, I couldn’t help but feel all of it. "Belong to Someone" wrecked me when I first heard it, because I thought, "I know exactly who this character is."

Even growing up as a child actor, you learn to put on this identity of a "performer." With Michael, he’s constantly reacting to everyone else’s emotions instead of allowing himself to feel his own. Then that moment comes where it bubbles up, and you just explode. I understand that all too well.

When I started reading the script for The Lost Boys, I thought, "I get this. I just have to figure out how to do this eight times a week."

LJ: Oh man, Diary of a Wimpy Kid is deep LJ lore.

The Phantom of the Opera was the movie that made me fall in love with singing and acting. I think I was seven when I saw it. It’s crazy now because Patrick Wilson [Raoul] is actually one of our executive producers. 

At the time, I didn’t even know it was called theater because I was watching the movie version — but my parents started putting me in theater, and I realized I loved it so much. 

What I loved most was the family aspect. You spend every day with these people, and really quickly you build this little family together.

LJ: A year ago, I was doing a regional production of Tarantino in Los Angeles with a company called For the Record. I was doing a lot of regional theater, but to make ends meet, I also did handyman work and TaskRabbit jobs.

From there, I got clients and started doing a lot of carpentry, like building tables, desks, and things — my mom taught me how to do a lot of that. She built me a loft bed when I was little; she's the one putting TVs up, all that stuff. 

I realized this was a trade I could do when I wasn’t performing, and that I could actually make a living from it. That was my plan for pretty much all of 2024 and 2025. I thought, "I'll see where music goes, but in the meantime, I'm going to develop this carpentry business and see where it takes me."

(Laughs) Then suddenly I was on Broadway, and the whole plan changed.

LJ: When I first heard "Belong to Someone," I was in my garage, and I had a complete mental breakdown. I had just moved back in with my parents. I was trying to figure out how to pay my bills. I was heartbroken beyond belief, and I was really struggling to understand who I am without this thing that I knew for so long. 

I understood every word at my core — that feeling of wanting to be seen, and wanting someone to look at all the broken pieces inside of you and say, "I accept you. I love you. I choose you."

It crushes me when I sing it, but I can't believe I get to sing a song like that every night. "Belong to Someone" found me in a time when I couldn't put what I was feeling into words, until I heard it. 

I'm really grateful that's the song I get to sing, but it really takes me back to that place.

LJ: Oh yeah, it was pretty nerve-wracking. When you're training, that's when you get to make mistakes — but when you're 20 feet up in the air, mistakes mean injury. So I did my best not to make mistakes.

There were times when I did, and we are surprised that I'm still here (laughs), but I had really great people catching me and making sure I didn't fall. Shout out to Dave Fulton for grabbing me when I couldn't get myself clipped into a robot to get me off that bridge.

It was terrifying at first. You're up 65 feet in the air, and every part of your body's like, "We need to get down, we need to get down, we need to get down." 

Now I'm like, "Okay, just waiting to get down," like it's really not that crazy. But at first, you're like, "This is terrifying. No one should be up here."

LJ: The chemistry started at our first audition. When I walked in, Ali already had the role. I was coming into my final callback, and I didn't know how he would play David. I'm new to the New York scene, so I hadn't seen him perform before. 

As soon as he started, I just remember shivers down my spine. I was thinking, "This is menacing and terrifying, but somehow I feel safe." I was like, "What's happening right now?" I knew right away why Ali got the part.

It brought something new out — this almost "timid" version of Michael that I hadn't found before. Michael thinks he's the alpha in every room that he walks into, but then he sees David, and he's like, "Oh no, this is the lion." That's what Michael dreams of. He dreams of having that freedom and power David has. Then Michael realizes what that power actually costs — and suddenly he doesn’t want it anymore. That's the journey Michael goes through in the show.

It's always fun, because my dynamic with Ali onstage feels different every night. I’m really grateful for that.

LJ: With my family, I'm supposed to hate them in the show, but I love them offstage.

Michael and Lucy could not be more different than my relationship with Shoshana offstage. She's like a mom to me; she takes care of me, she checks in on me. Benjamin [Pajak] is my little bro. I want to protect him. I want to be there for him all the time. 

I get to experience that with Benjamin onstage toward the end of the show. But Michael and Lucy are pretty at odds throughout the whole show, and that's hard. I don't want to be mean to Shoshana Bean.

LJ: I got asked that question a while back, and it nearly made me cry. Thinking about the dreams I had as a kid versus the dreams I had five years ago — they couldn't have been more different. Five years ago, I had no aspiration of any type of performing career. I was selling solar, and I just wanted to make a living.

I didn't see this happening for me at all. I would love to go back and tell that kid, and also that adult five years ago: "Hey, we got through it, we made it. We did the thing that we dreamed of, but it happened in a way you're never going to expect." 

I think little me would say, "That's awesome. I'm proud of you."

Keep up with LJ on Instagram and TikTok, @ljbenet.