Former child actor Dan Benson, who stared in Disney’s Wizards of Waverly Place alongside Selena Gomez from 2007 to 2012, says he feels like a “badass” now that he has switched from acting to porn.
“Mental health check-in. I’ve been doing adult entertainment for about a year now,” Benson said in a recent TikTok video. “My first reaction is confusion, because I expected a lot more hate, and instead, people have just been like, ‘Go you, awesome,’ which is amazing.”
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@danleebenson Dan Benson who played Zeke on Wizards of Waverly Place went into adult entertainment. This is a mental health check in for Year 1 to talk about how it feels. #disney #disneychannel #wizardsofwaverlyplace
The actor-turned porn star went on to say, “Mental health wise, I feel good. I don’t feel bad about myself. I feel kind of like a badass a little bit.”
“Now, there are plenty of people on a daily basis asking me and demanding I do things that I don’t feel comfortable doing. But I’ve kinda just been in a position to be like, ‘No,'” he added.
“You’re gonna get what you’re gonna get,” Benson affirmed. “You’re gong get what I’m comfortable with sharing with the world, which now, is quite a bit.”
Benson concluded his video by insisting that he has no regrets about his career change, saying, “I’m feeling good, I’m excited about the future, and I don’t really feel bad about my decisions at all.”
“If you’ve checked out my stuff at all, thank you so much,” he added.
Benson’s last film credit was in 2018, according to his IMDb page. Before that, he had appeared in the television shows Zoey 101, American Dreams, State of the Union, Private Practice, and Nuclear Family, among others.
While one of Disney’s former child stars goes on to take up a career in adult entertainment, the company has made clear its position against anti-grooming legislation, going to war with Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R) over his law that prohibits teachers from discussing sexuality and transgender ideology to children in kindergarten through third grade.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.
