Shaun Benson
Shaun Benson (born January 16, 1976) is a Canadian actor and director.[1]
Early life
Benson was born in Guelph, Ontario.[1] He is the son of Eugene Benson, an English professor and a prolific novelist, playwright and librettist.[2] He later graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a bachelor of science in chemistry and biochemistry, before studying acting at the George Brown College Theater School in Toronto.
While at university he began training Karate. He currently holds a 5th Degree Black Belt and his Renshi Teaching Certificate in Legacy Shorin Ryu under Hanshi Gary Legacy and Kyoshi Randy Dauphin and a Purple Belt in Brazillian Jiu Jitsu from Toronto BJJ under Jorge Britto with his time in Los Angeles spent training with Jean-Jacques Machado [2]
Career
As an actor
His early roles as an actor included theatrical productions of John Palmer's Singapore,[3] Fabrizio Filippo's Waiting for Lewis,[4] William Shakespeare's Love's Labour's Lost[5] and Robin Fulford's Steel Kiss.[6]
In 2000, he appeared in a Molson Canadian commercial as a Canadian office worker who unleashes a torrent of hockey-style violence on an American coworker taunting him with Canadian stereotypes.[7] In 2001, he was cast in a lead role in the television drama series The Associates.[8]
In 2002, following the cancellation of The Associates he was cast in the legal drama series Just Cause, which ran for one season.[9]
Benson played the recurring role of Dr. Steven Lars Webber on the soap opera General Hospital from 2004 to 2005, which attracted him considerable attention compared to his previous roles.[1][10] Since his time on General Hospital, Benson has guest starred in numerous television series, including Cold Case, The Unit, and Being Erica. In 2008, he appeared in the Proud Family film Oscar Proud.
In 2012, Benson starred in the IMAX 3D documentary film Flight of the Butterflies[11] and in French comedy Populaire.[12]
In the 2015 made-for-TV movie Kept Woman, Shaun played an eccentric professor, Simon, who kidnaps his neighbor Jessica, played by Courtney Ford. Also in 2015, he starred in the Starz television series The Girlfriend Experience.[citation needed]
In 2016, Benson appeared in the Netflix time loop thriller ARQ as Sonny, as well as Season 2 of the series Gangland Undercover as Crowbar. He subsequently appeared in the SyFy series Channel Zero as the town sheriff, Gary Yolen.
Between 2017 and 2021 Benson appeared in many prestige projects including The Boys on Amazon as Ezekiel, Tiny Pretty Things on Netflix as Brooks, Code 8 as Dixon as well as independent and TV film work for Lifetime, SyFy, etc
As a director
In 2013 he directed Stop/Kiss by Diana Son for the Toronto Fringe Festival. The play won best of festival and garnered and extended run.
In 2014, Benson directed the independent film Barn Wedding, which won the HMV People's Pick For Best Flick award at the 2015 Canadian Film Fest.
In 2021 Shaun co-wrote, co-directed and starred, with Karen Knox, in Borderline which had its World Premiere in the UK at Crystal Palace International Film Festival and its North American Premiere at Dances With Films at the Chinese Theatre. [13]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | K-19: The Widowmaker | Leonid Pashinski | |
| 2012 | Populaire | Bob Taylor | |
| 2013 | The Beautiful Risk | William | also known as Le beau risque |
| 2016 | ARQ | Sonny | |
| Edge of Winter | Ted | ||
| 2017 | Trench 11 | Müller | |
| 2018 | Never Saw It Coming | Kirk Nicholson | |
| 22 Chaser | Elvis | ||
| I Still See You | Mr. Calder | ||
| 2019 | Togo | Gunnar | |
| Queen of the Morning Calm | Ian |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | Just Cause | Patrick Heller | Main role |
| The Associates | Jonah Gleason | Recurring role; 6 episodes | |
| 2006 | Cold Case | Truck Sugar | Episode: "The Red and the Blue" |
| 2007 | The Unit | Interrogater #1 | Episode: "Sub-Conscious" |
| 2009 | Tornado Valley | Bobby | Television film |
| 2010 | Being Erica | Will Appleyard | 3 episodes |
| Wedding for One | Jeff Doyle | Television film | |
| 2011 | Against the Wall | Mike Fletcher | Episode: "Obsessed and Unwanted" |
| Flashpoint | Geoff Daikin | Episode: "Grounded" | |
| Stay with Me | Davis Sakeris | Television film | |
| 2012 | The Listener | Jack Newman | Episode: "The Bank Job" |
| Haven | Robert Taylor | Episode: "Reunion" | |
| Republic of Doyle | Eric Langtson / Eric Howlett | 2 episodes | |
| 2013 | Played | Charlie Mulcair | Episode: "Revenge" |
| Cracked | Damian Tremblay | Episode: "The Hold Out" | |
| Heartland | Adrian Gilson | 2 episodes | |
| Lucky 7 | Phil | Episode: "Cable Guy" | |
| 2014 | Darknet | Desmond | Episode: "Darknet 3" |
| Defiance: The Lost Ones | Lenny | Recurring role; 5 episodes | |
| Working the Engels | Ken | Episode: "Jenna vs. The Momfia" | |
| That's My DJ | Mark | Television miniseries | |
| 2015 | Saving Hope | Lane Berkley | Recurring role; 6 episodes |
| Kept Woman | Simon | Television film | |
| 2016 | Inhuman Condition | William "Will" Bader | Recurring role; 10 episodes |
| The Girlfriend Experience | Ryan | 4 episodes | |
| Gangland Undercover | Crowbar | Recurring role; 6 episodes | |
| Channel Zero: Candle Cove | Gary Yolen | Main role | |
| 2018 | Killjoys | The Hunter | Episode: "Baby, Face Killer" |
| Prescription for Danger | Dr. Mark Laurie | Television film | |
| 2019 | The Boys | Ezekiel | 4 episodes |
| 2020 | Tiny Pretty Things | Topher Brooks | 8 episodes |
References
- ^ a b c . Guelph Public Library. Archived from the original on August 20, 2016. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
- ^ a b "Just Cause for Benson: The actor can stay in Vancouver - series gets an extension". The Province, March 7, 2003.
- ^ "A bad taste that lingers". National Post, April 3, 2000.
- ^ "Plays about teens not up to challenge ; Productions confront questions of fame and homophobia". Toronto Star, April 17, 1999.
- ^ "Oakville ups ante on outdoor Shakespeare Review". Toronto Star, July 24, 1999.
- ^ "From a gang of thugs to a bunch of losers". National Post, January 15, 1999.
- ^ "'I am Canadian' the sequel: Meet the obnoxious American". Toronto Star, July 29, 2000.
- ^ "The associates deliver their verdict: How close does CTV's new television series come to life at a law firm?". National Post, January 13, 2001.
- ^ "Fall TV looks to Vancouver: Several new shows are being filmed here or feature local talent". Vancouver Sun, September 11, 2002.
- ^ "Soapfest lures dedicated fans". Windsor Star, February 22, 2005.
- ^ "a Canadian story that's top flight". The Globe and Mail, April 12, 2013.
- ^ "A slight rom-com, but that's all; Paint-by-numbers Populaire powered by chemistry between stars". Montreal Gazette, February 8, 2013.
- ^ Julianna Cummins March (March 30, 2015). "Canadian Film Fest unveils 2015 winners". Playback. Retrieved July 14, 2016.
External links
- Shaun Benson at IMDb