{"id":218334,"date":"2025-07-03T16:18:51","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T02:18:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/?p=218334"},"modified":"2025-07-15T09:16:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-15T19:16:32","slug":"uh-olelo-alum-lilo-and-stitch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hawaii.edu\/news\/2025\/07\/03\/uh-olelo-alum-lilo-and-stitch\/","title":{"rendered":"UH<\/abbr> \u02bb\u014dlelo alum lands role in Lilo & Stitch"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading time: <\/span> 3<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>
\"La
Brutus La Benz with his daughter Kealaleih\u014dk\u016b at the movie\u02bbs premiere<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

University of Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> at M\u0101noa<\/a> alumnus Brutus La Benz has long been a familiar face on Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> television screens appearing in commercials for everything from Texaco and 7-Eleven to Kona Brewing Company and the Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> Quit Tobacco campaign. But his big break came this spring, when he debuted as Lilo\u2019s kumu hula (hula teacher) in Disney\u2019s live-action Lilo & Stitch<\/em>, a box office hit that soared past the $1 billion mark this July.<\/p>\n

\"Two
La Benz with late Hawai\u02bbi actor David Hekili Kenui Bell—both well known for their roles in Kona Brewing Co. commercials<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Stitch\"
The movie reimagines Disney\u2019s 2002 animated classic, Lilo & Stitch<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n
\"Jumba\"
Alien character Jumba (left)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n

Before landing a role in the major Disney film, La Benz\u2019s earliest acting stage was his family\u2019s living room in Kailua. As a kid, he and his brother would spend hours performing scenes from hit flicks Wayne\u2019s World<\/em> and Tommy Boy<\/em> after summer fun.<\/p>\n

“A lot of times we would just kind of memorize lines and reenact them. And I always thought that was fun,” he said.<\/p>\n

That early love for performance stuck. The Olomana native can still recite skits from the late, beloved Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> comedian Rap Replinger—classic jokes he proudly calls “scripture.”<\/p>\n

La Benz, a Punahou School graduate, earned degrees in ʻ\u014dlelo Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span><\/a> (Hawaiian language) and Hawaiian studies<\/a> from the UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa Â鶹´«Ã½nuiākea<\/span> School of Hawaiian Knowledge<\/a>. It was in those ʻ\u014dlelo classes he says a passion for acting truly began to grow.<\/p>\n

“In order to help us learn the sentence structures and the new vocabulary, some of them would ask us to do a lot of mini skits, just so that we could memorize the lines and patterns,” La Benz added. “Once I figured out we can make these funny skits and still learn, that was really cool.”<\/p>\n

That energy led him to the stage in 2004, when he starred in Kamapuaʻa<\/span><\/em>, a Hawaiian-language stage production directed by Tammy Hailiʻōpua<\/span> Baker, founder of UH<\/abbr> M\u0101noa\u2019s Hawaiian theatre program<\/a>. It\u2019s there he learned how to tell stories through action, not just words.<\/p>\n

“Because many didn’t understand Hawaiian language, the words needed to come across in the way we acted. And so that was challenging, but also I think that’s what made us all really, really fun and decent actors,” La Benz said.<\/p>\n

Seeking permission<\/h2>\n

In 2023, when Disney offered him the “kumu hula” role, La Benz actually hesitated. A trained ʻ\u014dlapa hula (hula dancer) under Kumu Hula Snowbird Bento, he wasn\u2019t sure if taking the role of a kumu hula on screen was appropriate.<\/p>\n

“My initial reaction was I better call my kumu first to make sure that it\u2019s okay to portray a kumu,” La Benz said.<\/p>\n

With her blessing, he stepped into it.<\/p>\n

“He Mele No Lilo” (A song for the lost)<\/h2>\n
\"La
La Benz on set<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Filming for the lively scene took place at the Kokokahi YMCA<\/abbr> in Kailua, and La Benz, who has a 9-year-old daughter, said it felt natural.<\/p>\n

“It was just like having a bunch of my daughters there. They were super goofy. I felt more like I was being a parent and modeling after how I see my kumu interact with her students at those ages,” he said.<\/p>\n

In addition to his role as Lilo\u2019s kumu hula, La Benz also served as the body double for the alien character Jumba, performing the character\u2019s physical movements on set.<\/p>\n

His daughter, Kealaleih\u014dk\u016b lit up at the film\u2019s Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> premiere.<\/p>\n

“She was just staring into the screen, but when I came on she said, ‘Oooh! Daddy!!’”<\/p>\n

Guiding life moments<\/h2>\n

Outside of acting, La Benz pours his heart into work as a kahu (officiant). He\u2019s spent more than a decade overseeing weddings, blessings and farewells.<\/p>\n

“Honored to be a part of different celebrations…making people feel safe and comfortable enough to celebrate or grieve in a way that they need to,” said La Benz.<\/p>\n

He expressed deep gratitude for the opportunity to serve as a kahu and looks forward to taking on new acting roles but says above all, being a dad is the role he cherishes most.<\/p>\n

—By Moanikeʻala<\/span> Nabarro<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

ʻ\u014clelo Â鶹´«Ã½<\/span> and Hawaiian studies alumnus Brutus La Benz stars in Disney\u2019s live-action Lilo & Stitch<\/em>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":16,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[90,679,33,1057,551,1503,411,131,130,9],"class_list":["post-218334","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-people","tag-alumni","tag-alumni-recognition","tag-hawaiian","tag-hawaiian-language","tag-hawaiinuiakea-school-of-hawaiian-knowledge","tag-kamakakuokalani-center-for-hawaiian-studies","tag-kawaihuelani-center-for-hawaiian-language","tag-kennedy-theatre","tag-theatre","tag-uh-manoa","entry","has-media"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t