Meet Benji Paya | Production Designer, Writer, Actor and Musician

We had the good fortune of connecting with Benji Paya and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Benji, where are your from? We’d love to hear about how your background has played a role in who you are today?
In the past year, I’ve realized that I’ve been doing production design in one way or another long before I even knew what that term meant. Despite moving across the United States several times, I spent a good decade of my childhood on a hobby farm in rural Wisconsin with my two brothers, surrounded by fabrication, design, and theatrical expression.
When I was about four, we started the longstanding tradition of going wildly over the top for birthday parties—so much so that, by the end, our house often looked like a recently struck film set. I didn’t realize it at the time, but these weren’t your average farm-kid birthday parties. One year, for an ancient Greece theme, we transformed our home with papier-mâché columns made from oblong cardboard boxes. Another year, we built a full haunted house in our basement, complete with fake blood, fog machines, surround sound, and a maze of simple black flats. We went all out—down to serving stuffed grape leaves with bouzouki music playing in the background.
Eventually, my brothers and I started doing theater at an artists’ collective in an old Cornish mining town called Mineral Point. Between our Halloween costumes and the seasonal theater productions, we were sewing fabric and sculpting props before the age of ten.
When we weren’t crafting, acting, or tending to the animals, we entertained ourselves by building contraptions (my favorite word when I was eight). This usually meant hurling cantaloupe-sized water balloons hundreds of feet into the forest with homemade slingshots and catapults. If we weren’t endangering local wildlife with latex munitions, we were building treehouses, rigging rope swings in the forest, or constructing wooden shelters for the livestock.
At the time, these things just felt like fun, but looking back, they instilled in me a deep passion for creating immersive worlds through hands-on design. That love of storytelling and fabrication has stayed with me ever since.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
Immersive worlds are everything to me! Whether in my work as a production designer or as a writer, I believe the most impactful stories are the ones that completely capture your attention—pulling you away from the excess stimuli of everyday life.
During my college years as an Architecture and Urban Design major, I spent a significant amount of time considering the big picture of a project. That meant learning everything from design theory and construction logistics to historical context and more abstract components like acoustics, philosophy, and the relationship between design, literature, and cinema. My interest in art history led me to a design internship at the Metropolitan Museum of Art during my junior year, where I gained invaluable experience working on projects at a grand scale. That experience reinforced my desire to make my artistic work well-rounded, deeply contextualized, and visually consistent.
As I’ve gone on to do production design and art department work for short films, commercials, music videos, theater sets, and more, I’ve made it a priority to consider both the smallest details and the overarching themes of a design. Sometimes that means creating dark, worn-down props to reflect a city’s decay, building set pieces with repeating motifs to convey a sense of time and place, or meticulously stenciling a tiny logo onto a cardboard box in the soft-focus background—tedious as that may sound. Every detail matters if it helps the audience become fully absorbed, unsettled, or even just more entertained.
In the coming year, I’m pushing this immersive approach even further as I take on larger and more ambitious projects. There will be work with fire, full-scale period pieces, and quite a few horrors and thrillers that demand creative solutions for props and practical effects. 2025 is shaping up to be a year of experimentation, expanding scopes, and bringing my own visions from script to screen.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
That’s a tough question in a city like New York! When people visit, I usually like to pick a good starting spot and then let the adventure unfold from there—because there’s always something new or unexpected to come across.
With my background in museum work, I’d probably start at the Met or the American Museum of Natural History. They always have fascinating temporary exhibits, and they’re great places to walk and catch up at the same time. If the weather is nice, it’s the perfect opportunity to explore Central Park from the Met or wander through the Upper West Side after visiting the Natural History Museum.
For food, I try to take people to places that serve cuisines you don’t typically find in most major cities. A few favorites are Mama Fina’s in the East Village for incredible Filipino food, Chama Mama for delicious Georgian cuisine, and Michaeli Bakery for the best Jewish pastries I’ve had.
Beyond museums and food, I love heading to Blue Stripes Café in the Village on Thursdays. They have a fantastic house band that starts jamming around 9 PM, and if you have some musical skills, you might even get a chance to join in.
In the summertime, one of my favorite things to do is take the ferry from Manhattan to the Rockaways, spend the day at the beach, and ride back at sunset on the roof of the boat. There’s nothing quite like watching the city skyline light up as you glide across the water—a cinematic way to end the day.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
This is such a tough question because I work with so many incredible people who have also become great friends.

First and foremost, though, I have to shout out my parents. Both incredibly intelligent and endlessly curious, they instilled in me a love for learning and creating that ultimately led me to the passions I pursue today. My mother, with a background in teaching, made sure we had access to the best educational materials—filling our rooms with fascinating books and making museum trips to Chicago a regular occurrence. As we grew, she poured immense effort into our artistic endeavors, teaching us to sew, paint, and craft endless costumes for theater and Halloween.

My father, with his background in archaeology and woodworking, shared his knowledge and skills in ways that shaped my approach to design and fabrication. He introduced us to the archaeological history of our area and familiarized us with carpentry tools, always encouraging innovation and hands-on problem-solving. Without his guidance, I don’t think I would be where I am today.

Next, I’d have to shout out Nathan Vincenti. A close friend who helped me take the leap into working in film, Nathan is an incredible actor, writer, producer, and more. He is always focused on maximizing the impact of whatever story he takes part in—whether it’s drama, comedy, or action. Beyond his talent, he has an unmatched ability to inspire confidence in those around him, pushing people to believe in their abilities and give their absolute best for themselves and for the sake of art.

I also have to mention Maya Peters. Aside from recommending me for this interview, she has been instrumental in helping me navigate the art department side of the film world, offering invaluable insights and recommendations. Incomparably talented in both production design and directing, Maya is constantly exploring new mediums and skills to bring design concepts to life—from carpentry and scenic painting to 3D modeling. She’s a constant source of inspiration to me and everyone lucky enough to work with her.

At the end of the day, I feel incredibly lucky to be surrounded by such skilled, passionate, and motivated people. Their dedication, creativity, and collaborative spirit make every project more exciting and fulfilling. I’m constantly inspired by the artistry and drive of those around me, and I can’t wait to see what we all create next.

Instagram: @benjipayafilm