On the set of “Jane the Virgin”, Dr. Bennett, played by El Camino College physics professor Paul Haitkin, told Rogelio De La Vega and Xiomara Villanueva, played by Jaime Camil and Andrea Navedo, that he’s done vasectomies for many celebrities.
This is just a snippet of Professor Haitkin’s past life, who prior to teaching was an actor, playing small roles in productions like “True Blood,” “Saved by the Bell,” “Castle” and many more.
“It was an accident, and it just really clicked,” Haitkin said.
Haitkin found his spark for acting while studying theoretical particle physics in graduate school at the University of California, Los Angeles.
Initially, he enrolled in acting to find balance, as he was feeling overwhelmed with physics classes, but ended up focusing solely on acting.
“My last semester at UCLA I wasn’t taking any physics classes, I was living in the theater department, and just like teacher’s assistant in the physics department,” Haitkin said.
He went on to book multiple gigs, with a favorite role of his being when he played both a father and son, in Nick Salamone’s playwright, “The Sonneteer.”
While a tragic play, Haitkin said how the director, Salamone, changed the script and the mannerisms of the characters depending on the actors and actresses who played the cast.
“That was so exciting for me, to think that somebody was writing for me…because I happen to be the person in that role,” Haitkin said.
He turned to teaching, after leaving graduate school with a masters degree, when the pandemic hit in 2020.
After working as a part time instructor at Mt. San Antonio College from 2020-25, Haitkin got a job at ECC just last year as a full time faculty member, and he’s currently on track to tenure.
“I just transitioned to being an adjunct at various different places, but I found that I really loved teaching… teaching is performance, it’s sales and it’s performance,” Haitkin said.
Growing up in New Jersey, he didn’t have a lot of interest in acting but has always expressed a passion for the arts.
“I’ve always been drawn to arts, I did a lot of creative writing when I was younger and when I was in undergrad,” Haitkin said.
His family, also has ties to the acting industry with his uncle being famous cinematographer, Jacques Haitkin.
Haitkin met his wife, Henree Alyse through an acting class after graduate school, while in between jobs.
She has played on a number of hit shows including “Pretty Little Liars,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Criminal Minds,” “All My Children,” “Dexter” and more.
Haitkin outside of physics and acting is a father to two girls, Ridley, 12, and Harley 10.
Ridley wishes to explore acting and has already played a role in a mini-TV series called “Lessons in Chemistry.”
While Haitkin did take a few roles after the pandemic, he doesn’t express interest in rejoining the industry unless special conditions prove otherwise.
“Unless Paul Thomas Anderson calls in which case I’ll come out of retirement,” Haitkin said.
His students enjoy his personality and teaching style.
Students including computer science major Arahim Kabir, 20, taking his class, described him to be charismatic, and “absolutely a joy to have as a professor.”
Computer science major, 23, Isaac Seydel said that Haitkin is passionate about what he teaches, making topics clear for him and other students who take his course.
“He’s probably my favorite teacher that I’ve had so far, he’s very good at just explaining concepts and giving good examples,” Seydel said.
Haitkin emphasizes the creativity that comes with studying physics.
“I think it’s a misconception that physics is not a creative discipline…I really do, I think that physics is as creative as journalism, or as creative as acting or as creative as painting,” Haitkin said.
This story was edited on Dec. 2 at 3:11 p.m. to add gallery and to remove an image.
