After nailing his powerful performance on Grey’s Anatomy as the transgender brother of Dr. Ben Warren and scoring a coveted spot alongside Oprah Winfrey on OWN’s popular new drama “Greenleaf”, it’s difficult to imagine a time when “actor” wasn’t a part of Ben Patterson’s identity. Musician and former DJ Patterson grew up in Oakland and he laughed while describing his accidental break into the entertainment industry.
“I was approached by a modeling agency and they were like ‘Hey have you ever thought about modeling?’….. blah blah blah.”
While booking his early video and commercial gigs he noticed that other models branched out into small character roles on soaps and sitcoms and he was bitten by the acting bug. He was able to book small jobs, but as the years progressed he realized there were things he had to learn and to actually do, such as improving one’s delivery and joke timing.
From that point forward, Patterson seriously set out to acquire those skills. He feels it was that early commitment that prepared him for his most recent role as Noah Kendal on OWN’S hit drama series “Greenleaf”. After a brief reading for the part (he did two scenes in only one take) Patterson had to wait a grueling nine weeks before hearing back on whether he was being considered for the role.
“You got to keep moving, you can’t really dwell on all that.” When that call finally came, everything unfolded rather quickly. “They called back and they were like ‘you need to be in Atlanta tomorrow for shooting.”
In the role of Noah, Patterson plays the head of security for the Greenleafs, the first family of a Memphis mega-church. He bears the responsibility of protecting the Greenleaf reputation.
“I’m privy to a lot of things that happen. I need to keep things running smoothly and have things handled without the image of the Greenleaf family being tarnished in any way shape or form.”
When the family’s prodigal, estranged daughter Grace returns home the family faces secrets and scandals threatening to dismantle their saintly exterior and things get messy for the newly engaged Noah because, as he was growing up, Grace was his first love.
“In the heat of it all, and unbeknownst to my fiancé we seal the deal and Grace stays at my house one night.”
The plot poses the question of where Noah’s loyalty will fall. Will he stick by his fiancé or he will choose to return to his childhood love? Patterson points out that struggling with that choice makes a really, really rocky road for Noah.
There’s no question regarding the success of “Greenleaf”, because it’s received quite the positive reception and Patterson can’t help but gush a bit about the cast and crew.
“It sounds like a fairytale, it sounds like a cliché, but everybody really does get along. There’s an understanding of respect, there’s an understanding of love. Everyone has a great spirit to work with. All the camera people, we’re all Instagram friends and still chat. We really have great working relationships.”
Oprah Winfrey, both network head and the actress behind Greenleaf’s Aunt Mavis has been a driving force in the show’s success and Patterson raves about her too.
“Working with Oprah is fantastic. She’s just a wonderful human being. She makes you want to better yourself in what you’re doing. If you’re the camera operator, if you’re the scriptwriter, if you’re doing anything as a part of this project you want to do your best because she is doing her best. As an actor that’s what you want, that’s the gold medal right there, so I feel like we are the Olympics of TV shows.”
Although he was cautious to not spoil any upcoming storylines, Patterson was eager to share where all of the drama is headed.
“There’s this really fun twist and there are a lot of dark places the show will go; all for the same reason. It’s telling a very, very compelling story about a family that’s as complicated as any other family. It’s a wonderful ride. I’m excited we’re on iTunes. I’m excited we’re trending well and people are forming their teams. There’s Team Isabel, and there’s Team Pray for Jacob”
Patterson is eager for the rest of the season to unfold. And as for another popular Ben Patterson character, he isn’t ruling out the return of Rosalind Warren to Grey’s Anatomy.
Creative Credits
- Written by
- Megan Schaltegger
- Photography
- Oleg Bogdan
