Jill Bennett’s acting career started with roles in Beverley Hills 90210 and she went on to star in beefcake supernatural soap opera Dante’s Cove. She’s since embraced internet TV with a vengeance producing We Have to Stop Now with her partner Cathy DeBuono and videoblog The Violet Underground for shewired.com, where she tackles a multitude of gay issues.

The sexy actress stars in lesbian romantic comedy And Then Came Lola and she told Rachael Scott about working on the film, what it’s like to be one of the few out actresses working in Hollywood and her thoughts on gay cinema today.

So how did you come to work on the film?
Ellen Seidler contacted me through MySpace actually! She sent me the script and explained that it was a low budget project, by and for the lesbian community. She expressed that they wanted to hire within the community, which was a big draw for me. The rest, as they say, is history.
 
What appealed to you about the script?
It was a lot of fun - no coming out story, no dying of cancer at the end. Just a fun, sexy story for women. We need more of those types of movies!
 
What was it like working with Ellen and Megan?
They were fantastic – they did their best to take care of us during the whole shoot.
 
There aren’t many openly out actresses in Hollywood. What’s it like?
It’s really nice to be considered part of the Openly Gay Hollywood crowd - and it’s definitely divided out here like that. Everyone knows who the closeted ones are and there’s an unspoken rule to keep it quiet.

While I respect everyone’s privacy, I really think the choice to stay closeted is ultimately damaging – to the person, their partner and the rest of us struggling to gain equality. But that’s their choice.
 
Were you ever pressured to stay closeted by people in the industry?
My first manager asked me to say I was bisexual - I refused. My integrity is more important than worrying about what consequences honesty will have on my career.
 
What do you think about the many gay Hollywood actors who remain in the closet?
I think that they are doing a disservice to themselves and the rest of us who live our lives openly.  However, fame and money are quite seductive, and I certainly don’t have the frame of reference to understand how the fear of losing it would affect my choices.

"It was a lot of fun - no coming out story, no dying of cancer at the end. Just a fun, sexy story for women. We need more of those types of movies!"

Do you find lipstick lesbians like Angelina Jolie or Lindsay Lohan, who say they swing both ways, irritating?
First of all, it’s a mistake to label them lesbian in any way. They are not lesbians. They are, at best, bi-curious. I wouldn’t even say bisexual. To me, bisexual implies that you can/would have long-term monogamous relationships with women. To my knowledge, Angelina had one relationship with a woman, a very long time ago, and is now married to a man.

There seems to be a rash of female celebrities coming out as bisexual all the time. They conveniently all have boyfriends or are married. I say show up in a magazine with your girlfriend, or actually have a girlfriend and then you can exploit our community to further your fan base. I do find it irritating that we roll out the LGBT red carpet for any woman who expresses a passive interest in the beauty of other women – all the while safely ensconced in her hetero relationship.

What do you think of the state of gay cinema at the moment?
I think we’ve come a long way in the last few years, there are so many gay film festivals now to showcase work. On the other hand, as someone who is in the business of producing gay content, I can say that it is difficult to find funding for gay themed projects. We could and should do more within our community to get our stories out there.
 
There aren’t that many films out there portraying positive lesbian relationships. Can you think of any that have done a good job?
It’s getting better every year, I can say that. But it was for that very reason that Cathy and I produced We Have to Stop Now. Even though it starts with Dyna and Kit (the couple we play) getting a divorce, the story is about how these women work through it to try to come back together in the end.
 
Can you tell me of any life changing feedback from fans after they’ve watched one of your films/TV shows?
I get the most fan mail about how my being openly gay helped them to come out. These letters mean so much to me, more than any praise for an acting performance ever could. I am very politically active and all of it starts with being out, proud and unapologetic about who you are. These girls are hearing the message and taking it to heart – it humbles me to feel like I am a small part of this very important step in their lives.

"I really think the choice to stay closeted is ultimately damaging – to the person, their partner and the rest of us struggling to gain equality...My integrity is more important than worrying about what consequences honesty will have on my career."

What’s the worst thing that’s happened to you at an audition?
I was asked to take my shirt off! No joke, it happened! I walked out and then called the production company and warned them that they would probably get hit with a sexual harassment suit sometime soon. Sure enough, the director was inappropriate with an actress on set and she sued them.
 
What’s it like living and working with your partner?
We don’t live together yet, but working together is a joy. We are really in synch with each other creatively, and I think our chemistry on screen together makes for an interesting story. We worked on every level of Season 2 of We Have to Stop Now together – from hatching the storylines, to producing, to acting and all the way through editing and post – just the two of us. I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish on this series.
 
Where would you like your career to be in five years? Would you like to direct or run your own production company?
I do own my own production company with Cathy and creator of We Have to Stop Now Ann Noble – Dynakit Productions, and we did in fact co-direct the entire second season which will be released by Peccadillo Pictures. You can see a preview at www.wehavetostopnow.tv. So I’m kind of already living my dream – creating quality content for our community.

The first season of Jill Bennett's series We Have to Stop Now will be available on DVD from Peccadillo Pictures later in 2010. Find out more at www.jillbennett.com, find her on Twitter at Dailyjill and visit her fan page on Facebook.

Read Our Review Of And Then Came Lola »
Click for the full summary including verdict, plot, trailer and queer ratings.

Read Our Interview With Ashleigh Sumner »
The lesbian newcomer talks about playing the titular character in And Then Came Lola.

Read Our Interview With Ellen Seidler & Megan Siler »
The writer-director duo talk about redressing the balance of gay women's involvement in the film industry with And Then Came Lola.

And Then Came Lola [2009]
Studio: Peccadillo Pictures
Released: 24 May 2010
ASIN: B0038KGM70

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