By Constance Drugeot & Léna Fontaine

After making his Broadway debut in 2022 in The Music Man alongside Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster, and playing the title role in Oliver! at Encores! NY City Center, Benjamin Pajak is back on Broadway to originate the stage role of Sam Emerson in The Lost Boys. He also made his movie debut in The Life of Chuck and stars in two upcoming films. At only fifteen years old, Benjamin shows a lot of maturity and humility for a kid doing shows on Broadway every night, and it was a delight talking to him about how he made the role his own and how he found his stage family in the cast and crew of The Lost Boys. 

The Lost Boys has been running for a few months now and has had a beautiful journey so far. How is it going? How does it feel to be part of it? 

It’s great! I’m the type of actor who’s determined to find something different in every show. So it’s stayed very fresh, which has been very delightful. We’re still having such a great time with the script. It’s such a fun show to do every day. And our fans are so devoted to the show! I always smile when I get to meet our most devoted fans at the stage door. It’s awesome. I love the people around me, and it’s a great environment every day.

Can you tell us how you got involved in the production? How was your audition process, and how did you feel when you got the role? 

I got involved with the production in February 2025–I did the last industry reading of The Lost Boys. It was really my first professional theatre job after my voice changed. I didn’t really expect to get the Broadway offer at all because everyone was so talented and had incredible voices. I was 14 at the time and had no idea what was going on in my throat. So, when they called me, around late May 2025, I was just completely in shock. We ran to the theatre, and it was the best night ever, and we screamed at the top of our lungs!

The show probably changed so much since you joined?

Yes, it was a completely different show in February. Since it’s an original new musical, we were getting around 40 new pages a day during rehearsals and previews. We would work on them during the day, then do a show at night, say a prayer, and hope for the best [laughs]! It was hard for everyone, especially for me with my ADHD. It’s overstimulating to have so many new changes. It was a little crazy at times, but we got through it, and people seemed to really like the show! So I guess we did well.

The show is not your Broadway debut, but it was your first time originating a role on Broadway. What was the best part of making Sam your own? 

For Music Man, I had source material. And for this, we obviously had the movie, which I watched a million times. I’d known the movie a little bit before I got involved. One of the first things that I did when I got offered the Broadway role was think of Corey Haim, who was the original Sam Emerson. His sister actually reached out to me on Instagram, and we talked. I asked her, “What do you think Corey would want to bring through or want to see in the role?” And she said, “Probably just think about how he’s a kid and an observer. And think about the love through it.” That was a big part of it. I took inspiration from Sean Hayes or Michael J.Fox from the 80s. I took all these different characters and tried to make it my own. I love that I get the chance to do it every night.

I took a lot of inspiration from a lot of characters, not just from the 80s, but also from when I played Winthrop. I took that innocence and tried to put a little bit of that in Sam. I took some stuff from Oliver because I connected with him so easily when I was younger. It served as a baseline for me to structure this whole thing around. Every experience has taught me something. I’ve had such good mentors to learn from. I learned under Hugh Jackman, Sutton Foster, Raul Esparza… I just feel so humbled and grateful for the people that I’ve met and worked with, and they’ve shaped me as a person and in my career. I’m forever grateful to know them, and to work with them is incredible.

Sam is a very beloved character in the show, and it’s absolutely wonderful being able to see him get to be the superhero and be proud of who he is. What do you love most about Sam Emerson? 

There are so many things that I love about the character. I love that I just get to be a kid first of all, it’s so much fun! Right now, there are no roles for kids my age on Broadway, and I feel so lucky. That’s the first thing. The second thing is I love getting to play with Shoshana [Bean] and LJ [Benet], and that family dynamic. And with Jennifer [Duka] and Miguel [Gil], who play the Frog Brothers. I have so much fun listening and playing with my castmates on stage. It’s new and exciting every night. I’m really excited to have the chance to play with these incredible castmates on stage every night.

Sam’s big moment is obviously “Superpower” when he realises his worth and his inner superpower. What do you hope the audiences take away from Sam’s journey? And this song, particularly?

I think a big part of it is I’ve met so many, especially kids at the stage door or on Instagram, who’ve said how seen they feel from the song. That is the best compliment I could ever get as an actor, and it warms my heart every time. That, and the reactions we get throughout the song, gives me so much adrenaline every single time I sing it. Getting to be a role model for these kids is the sweetest gift in the world. I’m just so humbled by the response.

The relationships and the family themes are at the core of the show. What is your relationship like with the Emerson family and the rest of the company? What is it like backstage? 

It’s really nice backstage because they just renovated the theatre, and so all of us are on the same floor. Usually that’s not the case. We’re all kind of split up in the theatre. So, it’s really nice. We’re all connected. Even during previews, we had a lot of moments to connect. A lot of the people in his cast are very young, too. I’ve just got out of school. Usually I’ve been the only kid in shows. So, it’s been very nice to have people closer to my age who know the same things as me. It was really easy to connect with them. Obviously, Shoshana and LJ are just the sweetest, and I loved them from day one. I love our little Emerson family. I’m always in Shoshana’s dressing room. She lets me see her dog Sammy all the time. Boston [LJ’s dog] comes backstage all the time too. Usually Jennifer Duka is with Boston. I will say that it’s a great group of people on stage and off.

Despite the show’s dark tones, you and the Frogs bring a breath of fresh air through all the chaos. How fun is it to play with that duality and be part of the “comic” side?

It’s our relationship. During the second act, this relationship is huge for the show. It’s huge for the plot. I had so much fun with Miguel and Jennifer getting to put this little group of us together. I’d known Miguel from the reading I did in February; then we did one more reading last year in December. After I was cast, I went out to eat with them and got to know Jennifer and Miguel a little better. From then on, we just became so connected. Because we were such good friends, it really helped us. We put in little handshakes and little moments in the show. They’re just the sweetest and always look out for me, and I always look out for them.

The show has been running for a few months now. Have you had any mishaps or funny moments you’d like to share with us?

We’ve had a lot recently, because there are a lot of understudies. It’s a really intense time not just for us, but also for the crew doing the show, too. So we’ve made mistakes. People backstage have made mistakes. Usually they’re very funny, which has been great. We’ve had some stuff in the dinner scene. We’ve had Miguel out this week on vacation, and we had Pierce [Wheeler] and Ryan [Behan] go on. Whenever we have an understudy on, it’s always different. It was just really fun to play with another side of Edgar Frog this week. I think any time someone’s gone on, there’s always been something funny that’s happened. LJ always finds a way to get me to laugh, or I always find a way to get LJ to laugh. It’s the family dynamic! It takes an army to make the show. 

The show has been nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won 4. Since then, the show has been very successful and received a lot of acclaim. Why do you think it’s working so well?

There are a lot of themes in this show, but the one that sticks out most is that everyone wants to belong to someone. I think anyone can relate to that; whatever your age or who you are, you can relate. It’s shown in such a beautifully written arc that people can connect with it so easily, and it’s not just a show about vampires. It has a lot of heart, and it has family. I think that’s what makes our show so beautiful. It’s for everyone. It’s hilarious. People are flying, and all the things that Ali and LJ are doing every night, I will just never understand. It’s so awesome and cool. I look up to them so much.

You’ve been acting since you were very young. What first drew you to musical theatre? 

I live in the city now, but when I was a little bit younger, I lived in New Jersey, and we were close enough to the city to go and see Broadway shows every weekend. My mom was a singer and a dancer, so she wanted to expose me to it. I loved it. I saw Broadway shows every weekend. From then on, I did regional shows and somehow found an open call for The Music Man, and that happened. Then I went on to Oliver!, and it was crazy and so much fun. I went into film for a little bit and then came back here. And it’s so good to be back. I am so grateful for everything that’s come my way, for all the people I’ve met and for all the relationships that I have made. I’ve made countless relationships through every single project that I’ve done. It’s all I could ask for and more. I think theatre is so important for kids to see. There are so many incredible things to see on stage! Theatre was the best thing ever gifted to me. I think it is so important for anyone, but especially kids, to get involved with.

Benjamin’s Run-Through

Vampires or Humans?

Oh, I would probably say vampire because everyone wants to be a vampire!

Edgar or Allan? 

I can’t choose. They come as a pair.

What would be your favourite move to take down a vampire?

Oh, it’s got to be push, right? It’s gotta be.

Holy water or wooden spike?

Holy water. Because you can get a water gun. 

Comic books or motorcycles? 

Oh, motorcycle. That goes with the vampire style.

If you could do any dream role or show, what would it be? 

It would either be Dear Evan Hansen or Orpheus in Hadestown.

Three words to describe the show? 

Belonging, love and awesomeness.

Any advice for aspiring performers?

The first thing that I learned when I was younger was to stay humble. You hear this all the time, but it’s so true. Just stay humble. Stay yourself. It’s the first thing that I learned, and it shaped me as a person. I think it’s one of the most important lessons to have in this business.