Exclusive: "Legacies" Star Ben Levin on Becoming a Main Cast Member and Jed's Future
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Watch out witches, there's a brand new alpha in town. Well, really, he's been here all along, but he's ready to share his own story. Ben Levin, who has played werewolf Jed since season one, got bumped up to the Legacies main cast in season three and now we're finally going to see a brand new side to Jed. Before the upcoming "Salvatore! The Musical Episode" airs, Seventeen got the chance to talk to Ben (along with some other familiar faces at the Salvatore school) about his new status on set, getting to play Stefan Salvatore, and what's next for Jed.
17: Congratulations on becoming a main cast member this season! How does it feel to get the chance to dig deeper into the role?
Ben Levin: Honestly, it's an honor. I've been sort of recurring on the show for those two seasons prior and it kind of feels like I've become a made man, so to speak. It's great knowing that I've got more built in storylines coming down the pipeline. There's also a little pressure and I'm sort of able to explore Jed in a deeper way.
17: The musical episode certainly seemed to turn things upside down for everyone. How was that experience and how was it getting to bring Jed into this?
BL: It was fun to get to explore a side of Jed we don't see, because normally he's in the gym and he was kind of a bully, likely hiding some repressed repressed feelings. In this episode, we get to see a more sensitive side. It was such a treat. This episode is written by Thomas Brandon and I just love him. I feel like there's gonna be a lot of special components for the true Vampire Diaries fans in this one.
17: How familiar with the original series were you prior to this episode and did you do any additional research going into it, especially since Jed is playing Stefan?
BL: I didn't grow up watching The Vampire Diaries too much. I definitely got more familiar [with it], especially during this episode. I did a lot of YouTubing for some early Stefan and Damon scenes. I certainly appreciate and love the TVD universe. It's really exciting knowing that the fans love these characters. Getting to bring Stephen Salvatore to life, so to speak, was really like just such a such a pleasure.
17: It's particularly interesting because none of the other characters were interested in playing him, but Jed was.
BL: I still can't believe that! No one wanted to play Stephen?! Did these kids not understand what a dynamic, brooding, dude he was? Just doing a mock audition on Legacies was, in itself, so meta and hilarious.
17: It also gives us a peak past Jed's hard exterior that we've mostly seen in the series thus far.
BL: Absolutely! Underneath Jed's hard exterior is a hurt person. I think this was a chance to find a side of him that he probably feels pressured to hold in. I really believe that, as Ben, theater, especially musical theater, is such an amazing outlet. Everyone would benefit from being in a school play. Jed really gets the chance to see that it's maybe not so scary to put yourself out there, put on a wig and try to move your feet. Theater is just such an important tool to learn more about yourself. I think has been repressed and not as openly sensitive as he's meant to be.
17: One of the biggest highlights of the episode is a duet between you and Chris Lee, who plays Kaleb/Damon in this episode. How was it getting to work with him on bringing the iconic Stefan and Damon relationship back?
BL: Chris and I have obviously done a lot of rivalry related work together on the show. We're naturally always competing as people, which is just the fun dynamic we have. It's like love and hate and Kaleb and Jed are both on that spectrum. There's a deep love for each other as Damon and Stephen, but of course, there is the intense threat that the other provides. Once we hit the stage with all the moody lighting, I think it all just sort of collected. Even though the fireplace was projected, I felt the warmth of that in the set. It felt like we were actually in this sort of melodramatic brooding scene and that made it even easier.
17: Is there anything about Jed that you can hint towards as Legacies season three continues?
BL: Jed is somebody who's not always coming up with the brightest ideas, as we've seen in the past. He kind of grows in the Super Squad and he's coming up with some better plans on how to save us. Right now I'm preparing an episode that I'm so excited about after the musical episode. I'm gonna get to deal with a different side of Jed. We're gonna see Jed behave and speak in a different way. As these scripts keep coming in, I'm just so thrilled that he's becoming more of a team player. I think there's some more comedic moments coming up. I love that Jed becomes a less hardened person. There is a sweeter care-taking side to him which is part of the the pack mentality. It's nice to see him coming in to his own in an even more gentle way.
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