News confirmed: the camera really does add five extra pounds, all corroborated by Benjamin’s very own Mr. Jason Peck. Mr. Peck is playing character Jason Brockman on the Disney-produced reboot of LA Law.

Mr. Peck is playing a very important and prominent character in the reboot, as Jason Brackman is one of the senior members of the firm Lehman, Brackman, and Becker. 

On set, Mr. Peck will be working with very well-known actors such as Blair Underwood and Corbin Bernsen. But Mr. Peck’s students, juniors Alex Fleming-Lake and Katherine Rodgers are really excited about having their teacher meet the up and coming artist Olivia Rodrigo. 

It is not Mr. Peck’s first time playing Jason Brackman, as he played this character in the 2002 movie of LA Law. However, preparation is still needed to truly fulfill the embodiment of this character. 

Mr. Peck said, “Because I got cast in the 2002 reunion movie and then 20 years later, they’re doing this reboot. But I had myself go back to the original footage from 2002 to see what I did, what my vocal cadence was, and things like that. So it’s the first time I’ve ever actually had to revisit a role that I played such such a long time ago. So I went to the tape, and since I didn’t have this on DVD, I had to break out my own VHS player to watch it.”

Mr. Peck has had a lot of experience in theater, especially as he has his own theater company in Connecticut, called Thrown Stone Theatre Company. Hence, as Mr. Peck pointed out when asked why he jumped back into acting, this role he has now received in the reboot was pure happenstance. 

He stated, “The casting director knew they wanted to have some continuity from the 2002 movie. They reached out to me last October, I thought it was a prank and I never got back to them. And then they kept on being persistent. I realized this is actually real. And they said, would you want to play with us? And I said, sure.”

Mr. Peck has a recurring role as Jason Breckman, but as of right now, only the pilot has been shot. It was shot over spring break, but as Mr. Peck explained, the pilot will be reviewed in May, which is when he will find out whether the producers will make that pilot the season premiere or whether they will not proceed with the show. 

While Mr. Peck is most definitely a valued member of the cast, he is also a very valued member of the Benjamin community. As an intersection between his two roles, Mr. Peck wants to use what he learns as lawyer Jason Breckman and apply it as Drama Teacher Jason Peck. 

“It’s really important to remind myself of the stresses of what it’s like to be on this kind of set. And I forgot in filming how difficult it is because the whole thing shoots out of order. When you’re doing a play, it starts from the beginning to the end. When you’re shooting a movie or television show, you might shoot the very last scene of the film the first day you’re there. So mapping the kind of emotional content and the emotional journey of your character is a really huge challenge. I forgot how difficult that was. So I’m gonna bring that to my students,” he said.

Fleming-Lake and Rodgers have learned a lot from Mr. Peck that has helped them enhance their acting abilities. 

Fleming-Lake said, “I learned the art of nuances, and how to be subtle but still powerful in my scenes.”

Rodgers, on the other hand, credits the success of the fall drama play, All My Sons, to Mr. Peck. “All My Sons was super challenging and he helped all of us in our characters to bring our real emotion into the play, and that wouldn’t have happened without him,” she said. 

Both students hope that he will be able to bring even more insight from his own character and his interactions with his other colleagues to the classroom.

Oftentimes, people find it hard to live two lives. But take it from Mr. Peck, living proof that you really can have it all, and actually find the utmost happiness when the two lives enjoy a symbiotic relationship.