Actor Michael John Benzaia grew up in Pine Bush where he went to Pine Bush High School. Now living between Studio City, CA, Chelsea, NYC, and Montgomery, he still has fondness for the place from which he came.

Michael has always loved performing. His first role in theater was in “Oliver” at SUNY Orange and since then he has performed in other musicals and plays.

“I feel more alive when I perform live theatre,” said Benzaia.

But when Michael was 12 his mother, Edythe Benzaia, was diagnosed with breast cancer. As he accompanied his mother to her doctor’s appointments, it was during that time that he became interested in medicine.
“I lost my mom when I was 18. This is the reason I went into the medical field. I wanted to be her advocate. After seeing what she went through, I have a depth of empathy and a big heart for people who are struggling,” said Benzaia.

Michael earned dual degrees in both the arts as well as the medical field. He received an MBA and ARRT certification in Radiological Sciences from Nyack College and Manhattan College.

Benzaia worked as a radiologic and computed tomography (CT) technologist in Hudson Valley ERs, including Montefiore St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital (Newburgh) and Orange Regional Medical Center. With the combined careers of radiologic technologist and medical TV show actor, he also became an on-set medical consultant for TV shows. For the last 3 years he has worked full-time on TV.

“I still work a great deal with the medical world,” he says, “ just not day in and day out at the hospital anymore.”

Michael’s numerous credits include: General Hospital, Law and Order-SVU, Shameless, FBI: Most Wanted, Modern Family, How to Get Away with Murder, Fallout, Starz Power Book II: Ghost, and Life & Beth season 2 on Hulu. He also was a Newscaster for CNN/Tel Mundo. At the end of March, he will be in the national commercial “Medical institute National Board of Surgeons/ Physicians NBPAS”.

Benzaia appeared on the cover of WebMD ARRT magazine in 2018 in which he explained how his understanding of the terminology and emergency room environment aided him in his role as a television actor and writer.

“Both require empathy for people who are struggling, and effective listening skills,” said Benzaia.
Eventually, Michael’s focus became television. “When you do the internal work on yourself, you will start to see the external work materialize. I’m a big believer not to knock on doors too many times so I usually work hard and then see what pops up and what was popping up was more opportunity in the television world. God or the universe was leaning towards that.”

For Michael working in the medical field and then portraying roles in medicine sometimes felt like they overlapped. “When I’m on set acting in a medical role or medically consulting, the lines could start to blur, what is real and what isn’t, but I got to use both parts of my brain, (right and left), which is really exciting,” said Benzaia.

Michael studies every aspect of the characters he portrays including their physicality, the way they walk, where they hold their tension (if it is in their back or shoulders), and what their wardrobe consists of. “I also like to be cognizant of where the character grew up and where they currently live. I try to figure out what social economic position they are in, and their profession. And it is also crucial for an actor to listen. The more knowledge I have about the characters I play,” he says, “the more knowledge I’ll have for myself. I learn things from my characters.”

There is one specific acting role which Michael prefers the most. “I enjoy playing the characters who are flawed, the criminals, the people on the wrong path in life. The bad guy is a lot more fun to play than the good guy!” said Benzaia.

Benzaia will be portraying the role of Commission reporter Sawchuk in Netflix’s “Zero Day”, a six-part television series conspiracy thriller, starring Robert De Niro and Angela Bassett, which will air sometime in the spring. He will also be playing a weather man in “Fallout”, the Amazon Prime TV series based off the video game, which will premiere April 12. It explores how civilization has rebuilt itself after a nuclear war. “I’ve been very blessed and fortunate to do what I love,” said Benzaia.

Michael has had remarkable experiences in the acting profession. He has worked with many actors including Viola Davis and Jane Fonda. “I’ve been able to learn from these great actors. Four years ago, I met Oprah and got to sit and talk with her. It is very rare that I would find someone who would sit in the moment and listen and look right into my soul. I recall saying to her ‘I don’t want to keep you’ and she looked directly into my eyes and said ‘If I want to leave, I will let you know. Own your space!’” This year Benzaia will be attending the 96th annual Academy Awards on Sunday, March 10th. “Any time I’m able to be in a room full of artists I’m beyond grateful! Artists have such depths of empathy and truly understand the human condition,” said Benzaia.

Everything elicits an emotional response from Michael. “I go about my day living through my emotions which is a beautiful place to be, because I truly feel alive. When acting, my emotions are tangible. I feel like I’m experiencing all there is to experience, and know my mom is there on the other side spiritually helping me,” said Benzaia.