Remember Ben Curtis? You may not know him by his real name, but everybody recalls the "Dell Dude" who famously uttered the "Dude, you're getting a Dell" catchphrase in the company's successful commercial campaign.
Curtis, now, 33, recalls that he got the job when he was studying at New York University on an acting scholarship, and though he was originally scheduled to do only a few commercials, his character and catchphrase became such hits that Dell kept him on for no less than 26 of them, which arguably helped grow and solidify the PC maker as a major player in the early 2000s.
Curtis recounts his experiences as the Dell Dude and his life thereafter in a new video interview.
Ben made the news in 2003 when he was busted buying marijuana on the streets of New York City's Lower East Side. He explains that he was having his weed delivered, and the dealer was being followed by an undercover cop who busted them both. When Dell executives learned of his arrest he was immediately terminated under the company's strict no-drugs policy.
Curtis says life got tough for a while after the arrest. He claims he only made "just around six figures" for his work with Dell, and that he spent all the money. While the majority of the cash went to pay off his NYU student loans, the rest went to "vacations, plane rides, dinner for friends, drugs, cars, and rent." After getting terminated, Curtis says he felt blacklisted from the acting industry and didn't work for five years. He bartended in New York, and then started producing film and theater on his own, in which he starred.
Then Curtis was introduced to yoga, and fell in love with the practice so much he started his own mobile wellness company, teaching it to customers in their homes. But Curtis, who still has the acting bug, is intent on making a comeback. He claims he is "a hundred times better actor" than he was during his Dell gig, that he has recently auditioned for "Orange Is The New Black" and would like to be on that, "Girls" or "any other HBO show."
He also claims, somewhat unconvincingly, that he hasn't smoked marijuana in "about two years." If this is not the case, hopefully he has at least gotten more careful about it, or he could wind up living out a reality version of the new play he is producing -- no, we're not making this up -- "Dude, You're Getting a Cell."
