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How Dan Benson Went From Wizards of Waverly Place to OnlyFans
When erstwhile Wizards of Waverly Place actor Dan Benson found retired that intimate photos helium thought helium sent to a woman he met connected a dating app had actually been splashed each implicit the Internet, helium was some highly embarrassed and beauteous definite helium was going to get fired.
Thankfully, his brag astatine the time was precise knowing and helium remained employed, but "it was mortifying," the 35-year-old, who played charmingly goofy Zeke connected the deed Disney Channel series, told E! News successful an exclusive interview. "It was perfectly horrifying."
But helium wouldn't beryllium wherever helium is now—racking up subscriptions connected OnlyFans and having a blast making NSFW content—if events hadn't unfolded as they did.
"I wouldn't alteration immoderate of the unspeakable things that happened to me," Benson noted, "because they made maine who I americium today."
Which isn't to say, helium emphasized, that his determination to thin into big amusement was an casual 1 oregon that helium expects everyone to applaud—or adjacent understand—why he's doing it.
"It took a small portion for maine to summation the confidence, not lone successful my quality to spell retired determination and enactment that together, but besides successful not being acrophobic of what different radical would think," Benson said. "I deliberation that was the biggest obstacle, due to the fact that this is thing I've wanted to bash for a while."
However, the Springfield, Mo., autochthonal had admittedly been "out of the spotlight for a agelong time." He booked a fewer much roles after Wizards of Waverly Place ended successful 2012, including immoderate dependable enactment connected Rick and Morty, but, Benson said, helium near "being a struggling actor" down immoderate years agone and moved on.
He went backmost to school, getting his BA successful graphic plan from Denver's Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design successful 2018, and pursued a vocation successful marketing. So helium was "actually conscionable moving a mean job," helium said, erstwhile those aged photos surfaced.
And by the clip helium was considering posing bare connected purpose, for money, helium thought of the concern relationships he'd formed. "I was aware," Benson said, "that they're each going to beryllium like, 'Whoa! What is going connected with Dan?!'"
Brian To/FilmMagic
What was going connected with Dan was that helium had developed rather the pursuing connected societal media, some fans from his Wizards days ("I was a batch of young men's cheery awakening," helium noted, which was precise flattering") and newer arrivals who had travel crossed his nude pics online and started stopping by his regular, afloat clothed Instagram to permission feedback.
"There were radical commenting benignant of obscene things," Benson said. "My Instagram was just, like, maine and my dog, and past determination were these truly weird, awkward comments connected determination to the constituent I couldn't flight it."
He did see deleting each of his societal media accounts.
"But determination was thing wrong maine that was just, like, Don't bash that," helium recalled. "There is simply a mode to instrumentality it and make a spot for these radical to spell and bask this stuff, right? And it conscionable made consciousness to maine aft I enactment each the pieces together."
Benson started "dabbling" successful the adult space astir six months ago, helium said, archetypal chiefly conscionable posting shirtless pics connected Patreon.
Eventually, helium recalled, "all my Patreon subscribers were like, 'What are you doing?! Please articulation OnlyFans, this is ridiculous, we emotion you!'"
Still, helium knew that OnlyFans would be a full caller ballgame.
He counts Kaili Thorne—sister of Bella Thorne, who made headlines erstwhile she joined successful 2020—as a good friend, "and I was perpetually asking her questions astir it." Including, what were his prospects arsenic a consecutive male, connected a tract where, arsenic of 2022, determination were astir 1.9 cardinal contented creators and 77.36 percent of 175 cardinal subscribes were male?
As it turned out, his prospects were promising.
"I try to marque contented that tons of antithetic kinds of radical could enjoy," Benson said, "but the world is, the important information of my followers are cheery men. I don't cognize what it is astir me, successful particular, but I don't question it."
And, helium added, "I'm comfy with my sexuality. I person a ton of cheery friends, I've been immersed successful the civilization for a agelong time, truthful [the attraction] ne'er bothered me, the mode it mightiness different consecutive men successful that way. I thin into it."
Subsequently, Benson noted, he always wants to beryllium giving backmost to a assemblage that has fixed him truthful overmuch support.
"I person specified a profound respect and admiration for the cheery assemblage and I'm moving truly hard astatine being an advocator for cheery rights, trans rights," helium said. Last year, helium utilized his resurgent level to assistance rise much than $60,000 for the Trevor Project, which immunodeficiency at-risk LGBTQ+ youth.
"Those are the kinds of things that marque it truthful I consciousness truly bully astir the absorption I'm going," helium said. "I privation to instrumentality that momentum and nonstop it toward warring for the causes and communities that request outspoken supporters."
Meanwhile, helium credits TikTok—which helium besides didn't articulation till past August—with not lone jump-starting his caller venture, but besides for opening a whole other frontier of fandom and reviving the ardor of the Zeke stans who were conscionable waiting for Benson (and the abs he's acquired since his Disney days) to driblet backmost into their lives.
It wasn't until Jan. 7, though, that helium decided to unfastened up a spot much connected TikTok astir what helium was up to connected OnlyFans and the traumatic acquisition that brought him there.
Like joining OnlyFans successful the archetypal place, it wasn't an casual determination to unfastened himself up to the inevitable judgment, but he yet reached the constituent wherever helium thought, "I'm acceptable to spell for this and radical are gonna respond however they're going to react. But astatine the extremity of the day, I conscionable got to wherever it was, like, I don't truly attraction anymore. And that was truthful freeing for me."
Not to mention, the reaction, helium said, was "completely antithetic than I anticipated."
TikTok
For starters, helium got truthful galore benignant responses, including people who cheered him for taking his powerfulness back. But also, helium said, "I was shocked astatine however galore radical replied successful the comments, 'Yeah, this happened to maine arsenic well.' It feels therapeutic to person idiosyncratic other bring this to light—because you consciousness truthful embarrassed to person that benignant of happening hap to you."
And portion helium expected to origin a ripple, helium made rather the splash. "I couldn't judge it," helium said. "I consciousness similar I'm much celebrated present than I was backmost then." He said it had been six oregon 7 years since Wizards fans would admit him retired successful the wild, but "now I'm walking done the promenade and I spell into Vans, and the girls are like, 'Excuse me, are you Dan Benson?' I'm like, 'What?! Yes! This is weird…'"
He admitted he's loving the attention—especially since it isn't the benignant that prevents him from surviving an different mean existence—but "fading retired of the spotlight," helium said, "and then being backmost successful the spotlight gives you a antithetic position connected it. I'm truly appreciative, and I volition instrumentality clip with anybody to beryllium and speech and get to cognize them. But I besides cognize it's fleeting. This is not real."
Benson's been touched by the OnlyFans experience, though, due to the fact that not lone are his thousands of subscribers paying $20 per period to spot what he's putting retired there, "they privation a connection," helium observed. "But really, it's what everyone wants. I tin subordinate to that, being azygous for a agelong time."
He once thought being blessed astatine 35 would mean being joined and having a mates of kids, but for now, he's enjoying being unattached—though he's inactive navigating the tricky concern of explaining to women helium meets what helium does for a living.
"It has affected things," helium acknowledged. "But I'm conscionable upfront and honorable erstwhile I'm starting those conversations, like, 'Look, this is conscionable thing that's portion of my life and if you're not comfortable, let's get that out, aboriginal on.'"
In the meantime, Benson shared, helium has "an unbelievably supportive" family, whom he kept successful the loop arsenic helium prepared to embark connected this journey.
And erstwhile a Disney alum, ever a Disney alum: He shared that he's reconnected with Wizards star Jennifer Stone, who played Harper, BFF of Selena Gomez's Alex and Zeke's eventual emotion interest—and portion helium preemptively apologized for the "weird questions" helium assumed she'll beryllium getting astir him, Stone sweetly told him to unopen up. Whatever was making him happy, "'that's wholly large and everything other is conscionable noise,'" helium recalled her saying.
Adam Rose/Disney Channel via Getty Images
"Most radical that are adjacent to maine and attraction astir me, their lone reactions person been thing but supportive," Benson said. "They conscionable privation maine to beryllium happy, they privation maine to beryllium healthy—and they privation maine to beryllium safe."
Which, astatine times, successful summation to being wary of who's lurking retired determination online (and IRL, for that matter), does impact stepping backmost from the camera and the comments conception erstwhile request be. (Even amid each the positivity, he'll absorption on that 1 antagonistic jab, conscionable similar the remainder of us.) At the aforesaid time, helium knows he's signed up to springiness the radical what they want.
While helium posts erstwhile it feels right, going much the improvisatory way than sticking to a acceptable schedule, "it comes down to consistency, it comes down to marketing, and perpetually providing the radical that similar your contented with things that proceed to marque them interested," helium said.
And even though helium doesn't expect to regret this X-rated chapter of his life, helium thinks astir the aboriginal portion he's astatine it.
"I've been truly diligent astir staying successful interaction with however I feel," Benson explained. "In this industry, you tin get pulled successful the absorption wherever you're doing things that you didn't privation to do, but you're doing it due to the fact that you deliberation it's what radical want."
So, helium continued, "I'm being cognizant arsenic I'm going done this process to enactment things retired determination that I consciousness comfy about. I'm afloat alert that determination volition beryllium long-lasting repercussions from the choices I've made close now."
But Benson wants radical to cognize that, portion evidently this concern isn't for everybody, helium thought agelong and hard astir it earlier diving successful and it was thing helium truly wanted to do.
"It's precise breathtaking and fun," Benson said. "But I'm besides not acrophobic to spell backmost and beryllium a mean guy. I besides had a large clip doing that."
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