Overcompensating is a hilarious coming-of-age college TV show featuring an impressive ensemble of comedic actors with a few big names mixed in. Benito Skinner might have grown to popularity for playing Benny Drama online, but he’s certainly made more of an impression with his new Prime Video TV show. His comedy, and reinventing himself at college. Overcompensating has raked in mostly positive reviews from critics, and hopefully, it will gain enough traction to receive a second season.
Although Benito Skinner’s Benny is the main character, Overcompensating is more of an ensemble show. Most of the actors who appear in Overcompensating are up-and-coming actors with less than 25 credits to their name. However, they quickly prove themselves a capable group that makes the college comedy worth watching. Additionally, the Prime Video original show features a few big-name actors who play minor roles or make cameos.
Actor | Character |
---|---|
Benito Skinner | Benny |
Wally Baram | Carmen |
Adam DiMarco | Peter |
Mary Beth Barone | Grace |
Rish Shah | Miles |
Holmes | Hailee |
Corteon Moore | Gabe |
Owen Thiele | George |
Nell Verlaque | Emily |
Connie Britton | Kathryn |
Kaia Jordan Gerber | Esther |
Elias Azimi | Chris |
Tomaso Sanelli | Trent |
Alexandra Beaton | Bridget |
Austin Lindsay | Trey |
Lukas Gage | Sammy |
Megan Fox | Megan |
Bowen Yang | Davis |
James Van Der Beek | Charlie |
Charlie XCX | Charlie XCX |
Benito Skinner was born in Boise, Idaho, and the comedian-actor-writer gained a name for his online persona, Benny Drama. As an actor, Skinner got his big break playing Jack Cole Jordan in the drama Queer as Folk. He created, executive produced, and led the ensemble cast of the semi-autobiographical show Overcompensating.
Title | Character | Year |
---|---|---|
Queer as Folk | Jack Cole Jordan | 2022 |
Idiotka | Jonathan Smith | 2025 |
In Overcompensating, Benito Skinner plays Benny, a closeted gay former football player who leaves Idaho to attend the fictional Yates University. He hopes that he can reinvent himself now that he’s in a new environment.

Wally Baram is primarily a writer and producer, and her Overcompensating role is only her second time onscreen. Shows she has written on include Brat Chat, What We Do in the Shadows, and Shrinking.
Title | Character | Year |
---|---|---|
Bad Vibes | Jogger | 2018 |
In Overcompensating, Wally Baram plays Carmen, an outcast first-year student who desperately wants to fit in.
Adam DiMarco was born in Canada, and he started gaining traction as an actor with his roles in The Order and The Magicians, both of which had college settings like Overcompensating. However, his big break is generally considered to be his role as Albie Di Grasso in the cast of The White Lotus.
Title | Character | Year |
---|---|---|
The Magicians | Todd | 2016-2020 |
The Order | Randall Carpio | 2019-2020 |
Pillow Talk | Andy | 2022 |
The White Lotus | Albie Di Grasso | 2022 |
Throughout Overcompensating, Adam DiMarco plays Peter, a douchey college student and Grace’s boyfriend. He helps look out for Benny at Yates University.

Mary Beth Barone is an up-and-coming actor with very few credits to her name before Overcompensating. She’s performed mostly in short films, and her biggest role to date is Marie in the 2024 movie Sugar Baby.
Title | Character | Year |
---|---|---|
Black Mirror | Lucy | 2023 |
Sugar Baby | Marie | 2024 |
Throughout Overcompensating, Mary Beth Barone plays Grace, Benny’s older sister who found herself during her college years. She’s dating Adam DiMarco’s Peter.
Rish Shah was born in Enfield, London, England, and the up-and-coming actor got his big break in 2022 when he played Kamran in the cast of Disney+’s Ms. Marvel. Since then, he has continued to build his portfolio with both comedy and drama films.
Title | Character | Year |
---|---|---|
Ms. Marvel | Kamran | 2022 |
Do Revenge | Russ | 2022 |
The Sweet East | Mohammad | 2023 |
In Overcompensating, Rish Shah plays Miles, an athletic British student at Yates University. Benny starts crushing on Miles, but he isn’t ready to act on his feelings.
Holmes plays Hailee, Carmen’s roommate in Overcompensating. The up-and-coming mononymous actor got her big break playing Kelly Mallet in Call Me Kat and Welcome to Flatch. She also voices Prack the Unstoppable in Krapopolis and plays Melanie in Hacks.
In Overcompensating, Corteon Moore plays Gabe, the alpha male, macho best friend of Peter. Moore has made a name for himself in the horror genre. His most notable roles include Ellis in the cast of From, Jayden in Slasher, and Mo in Terror Train.
Throughout Overcompensating, Owen Thiele plays George, an out gay sophomore who attends Yates University. Thiele gained attention for appearing in Taylor Swift’s music videos for “You Need to Calm Down” and “The Man.” He also appears as Q in Dollface, David in Hacks, and Gigi Charbonier in Theater Camp.
Nell Verlaque plays Emily, a Yates student from Carmen’s hometown, in Overcompensating. Verlaque is an up-and-coming actor who is known for playing Louise Gruzinsky in Big Shot and Jessica Wright in Thanksgiving.

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Connie Britton plays Kathryn, Benny’s mother, throughout Overcompensating. The famous actress got her big break in the 1995 film The Brothers McMullen. She’s best known for playing Sharon Gaines in Friday Night Lights, Rayna Jaymes in Nashville, and Diane in Seeking a Friend for the End of the World. Across her career, Britton has received four Emmy nominations for Outstanding Lead Actress and one for Outstanding Supporting Actress.
Kaia Gerber is a model-turned-actor who debuted on the runway at the New York Calvin Klein Spring/Summer Fashion Week in 2018, and she won Model of the Year at The Fashion Awards the same year. Although she doesn’t have an extensive acting portfolio, Gerber has impressive credits to her name. The actor has played Kendall Carr in American Horror Story, Brittany in Bottoms, and Jacqueline Carlin in Saturday Night.
Afghan-Canadian actor Elias Azimi is a new actor who has only one credit prior to Overcompensating. He played Andreas in the 2021 short film The Death of a Malevolent Being.
Actor Tomaso Sanelli plays Trent in Overcompensating. Since his 2015 debut, Sanelli has made a name for himself by playing Young Dick Grayson in Titans. Additionally, he played Brett Austin in Detention Adventure, Oscar in Holly Hobbie, and Evan Fletcher in Thanksgiving.
Alexandra Beaton is an up-and-coming actor with some notable roles before Overcompensating. She plays Regan Winters in Bring It On: Cheer or Die, Emily in The Next Step, and Viv Vacious in Purgatory Jack.
In Overcompensating, Austin Lindsay plays Trey, Benny’s roommate in the dorms at Yates University. Other than two short films, Overcompensating is Lindsay’s first role.

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Lukas Gage as Sammy: Lukas Gage is an established actor who got his big break playing Scout in Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse in 2015. Some of his notable roles include Brandon Darrow in T@gged, Dillon in The White Lotus, and Lewis in Smile 2. Additionally, he was a season regular in the cast of You season 4.
Actress Megan Fox makes a cameo in Overcompensating. Fox made her big break in Transformers, and she’s gone on to appear in notable franchises, including Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and The Expendables. She also plays the titular main character in the cult classic horror-comedy movie Jennifer’s Body.
Right off the heels of Wicked’s success, Bowen Yang appears in two episodes of Overcompensating as Davis. The actor and comedian is known for being in the cast of Saturday Night Live. Additionally, Yang has voiced characters in The Second Best Hospital in the Galaxy, Jentry Chau vs. the Underworld, and Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur.
Famous actor James Van Der Beek appears in two episodes of Overcompensating. He’s best known for playing Dawson Leery in the late ‘90s and early ‘00s TV show Dawson’s Creek. Other notable roles include Diplo in What Would Diplo Do?, Mox in Varsity Blues, and a fictionalized version of himself in Don’t Trust the B- - - - in Apartment 23.
Musician Charlie XCX makes a cameo in Overcompensating, and she is also an executive producer and the executive music producer for the Prime Video show.

- Benito Skinner