‘You People’ Star Travis Bennett Pretended He Didn’t Know His Mom When She Crashed the Set
The next big Netflix movie ‘You People’ is packed with recognizable stars, but the breakout performer is Travis Bennett. The one-time Odd Future DJ and hype man keeps turning in progressively stronger performances. And he’s capable of trading punches with some of the funniest movie stars in the business.
Bennett has a lot of fans these days. Few are quite as dedicated to watching his rise as one person in particular, though: his mom.
The hilarious way Travis Bennett reacted to his mom crashing the set of ‘You People’
Nobody’s more excited to see Bennett’s emergence as a go-to comedic actor than his mother. She’s always around for his premieres, and she made a point of visiting the set of You People last year. Bennett recounted the silly story on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, which was shared on YouTube.
“My first day of shooting was with Eddie [Murphy] and my mom showed up. I am walking with Eddie. This is like, you know, Coming to America, Donkey from Shrek, everything that you love,” the Confess, Fletch actor explained.
“And I hear, ‘Travis! Travis! Travis!’ and he’s like, ‘Do you know those people’? And I look, I see my mother and two of her friends, and immediately was just like, ‘Nah!'”
He went on to explain that he loves his mom, but she embarrassed him a little bit there. Apparently, she’s so proud of her son’s emerging film career that she goes around telling nearly everyone she meets all about it. That includes “a waiter from the Cheesecake Factory,” as Bennett told Kimmel.
Bennett sticks out among a cast of heavy-hitters
Bennett’s mom likely interrupted her son as he worked out comedic beats with Murphy. The former Odd Future DJ plays Omar Mohammed, the overprotective brother of romantic lead Amira Mohammed (played by Lauren London).
The role marks Bennett’s introduction to the comedy movie big leagues. His character may revolve around Amira, but the scenes place him in hilarious conflict with some of the biggest living stars of the genre, according to Coming Soon. That includes a wedding scene that involves much of the cast at once, partying together.
Alongside Murphy, the young actor also has to hold his own opposite Jonah Hill, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, David Duchovny, and Nia Long. These are all actors with vastly different resumes, but all are equally legendary — and he does indeed make it work.
Bennett has built up an impressive comedy resume in recent years
In the last decade, Bennett was primarily known as “Taco,” the hype man for the hip hop collective Odd Future. His rise is stranger than the other members of the DIY-minded group. He didn’t rap, he didn’t produce, and he had no album release cycles to promote. But he was crucial to their live performances, and their non-musical work like the Adult Swim series Loiter Squad.
That led him down a different path from other famous Odd Future alumni like Frank Ocean and Tyler, the Creator. The former “Taco” leveraged his Adult Swim resume to land a role on the FX hip hop comedy Dave. There, he played the childhood friend of the titular wannabe rapper protagonist, giving free studio time to his struggling pal.
Bennett’s low-key breakout, though, was in the Jon Hamm-led comedy caper Confess, Fletch, Complex reports. That film was one of the sadly underrated joys of 2022. And while audiences mostly missed out on the former Odd Future star’s hilarious appearance as a graffiti artist, clearly Hollywood casting directors haven’t.
You People is streaming on Netflix now.
