Benjamin A. Foster (born October 29, 1980) is an American actor. He has had roles in films including ''

The Punisher The Punisher (Francis "Frank" Castle, born Castiglione) is an antihero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer Gerry Conway and artists John Romita Sr. and Ross Andru. The Punisher made ...

'' (2004), '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' and ''

Alpha Dog ''Alpha Dog'' is a 2006 American crime film written and directed by Nick Cassavetes based on the true story of the kidnapping and murder of Nicholas Markowitz in 2000. The cast includes Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Ben Foster, Shawn Hato ...

'' (both 2006), '' The Messenger'' and ''

Pandorum ''Pandorum'' is a 2009 German/British science fiction horror film, with elements of Lovecraftian horror and survival adventure. The film was directed by Christian Alvart and produced by Robert Kulzer, Jeremy Bolt and Paul W. S. Anderson, the l ...

'' (both 2009), '' The Mechanic'' (2011), ''

Contraband Contraband (from Medieval French ''contrebande'' "smuggling") refers to any item that, relating to its nature, is illegal to be possessed or sold. It is used for goods that by their nature are considered too dangerous or offensive in the eyes o ...

'' (2012), ''Kill Your Darlings'' and ''

Lone Survivor ''Lone Survivor'' is a 2013 American biographical war film based on the 2007 nonfiction book of the same name by Marcus Luttrell with Patrick Robinson. Set during the war in Afghanistan, it dramatizes the unsuccessful United States Navy SEAL ...

'' (both 2013), '' The Program'' (2015), and '' Leave No Trace'' (2018). He was nominated for a

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

and a

Satellite Award The Satellite Awards are annual awards given by the International Press Academy that are commonly noted in entertainment industry journals and blogs. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards. The award ceremonies take place ...

for his role in '' 3:10 to Yuma'' (2007) and won an

Independent Spirit Award The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic glas ...

for portraying Tanner Howard in '' Hell or High Water'' (2016). He also acted as Russell Corwin in '' Six Feet Under'' (2003–2005). He had a recurring role portraying a high school student named Eli on the Judd Apatow show, ''

Freaks and Geeks ''Freaks and Geeks'' is an American teen comedy-drama television series created by Paul Feig and executive-produced by Judd Apatow that aired on NBC during the 1999–2000 television season. The show is set in a suburban high school near Detr ...

'' (2000), which ran for one season.

Early life

Benjamin A. Foster was born in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 29, 1980, the son of restaurant owners Steven Foster and Gillian Kirwan. He has described his parents as "free-spirited,

Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...

-protesting hippies". He has a younger brother,

Jon Jon is a shortened form of the common given name Jonathan, derived from "YHWH has given", and an alternate spelling of John, derived from "YHWH has pardoned".Fairfield, Iowa, when their Boston home was broken into by robbers while they were present. Foster was raised

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

, and had a Bar Mitzvah ceremony. His paternal grandparents were Celia (Segal) and Abraham Foster, who was a prominent judge and politician in Boston; their families emigrated from the

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire and the final period of the Russian monarchy from 1721 to 1917, ruling across large parts of Eurasia. It succeeded the Tsardom of Russia following the Treaty of Nystad, which ended the Great Northern War. ...

. As a youth, he attended

Interlochen Arts Camp Interlochen Center for the Arts is a non-profit corporation which operates arts education institutions and performance venues in northwest Michigan. It is situated on a campus in Interlochen, Michigan, roughly southwest of Traverse City. ...

, studying theatre.

Career

Foster began working as an actor when he was 16 years old. In 1996 and 1997, he starred in the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

television series ''

Flash Forward A flashforward (also spelled flash-forward, and more formally known as prolepsis) is a scene that temporarily takes the narrative forward in time from the current point of the story in literature, film, television and other media. Flashforwards a ...

''. In 2001, he acted in the film '' Get Over It''. Foster also had a recurring role as Russell Corwin (22 episodes) in the HBO original series, '' Six Feet Under''. After appearing in the films '' 11:14'' and ''

'', Foster appeared in ''

Hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or ref ...

'' with

Bruce Willis Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...

Kevin Pollak Kevin Elliot Pollak (born October 30, 1957) is an American actor, comedian, impressionist and podcast host. He has appeared in over 80 films; his roles include Sam Weinberg in Rob Reiner's legal film ''A Few Good Men'', Jacob Goldman in '' Grump ...

and

Michelle Horn Michelle Horn (born February 28, 1987) is an American actress. Career Horn is known for her work in the television shows ''Strong Medicine'' and ''Family Law.'' Horn is also known for her voiceover work as young Kiara in '' The Lion King II: ...

. In 2006, Foster appeared in '' X-Men: The Last Stand'' as the comic-book hero Angel / Warren Worthington III. In the crime thriller ''

'', he played the character Jake Mazursky and added

glaucoma Glaucoma is a group of eye diseases that result in damage to the optic nerve (or retina) and cause vision loss. The most common type is open-angle (wide angle, chronic simple) glaucoma, in which the drainage angle for fluid within the eye rem ...

drops to his eyes to simulate the appearance of a drug addict in the film. In 2007, he played cold-blooded killer and outlaw Charlie Prince in the

Western film The Western is a genre set in the American frontier and commonly associated with folk tales of the Western United States, particularly the Southwestern United States, as well as Northern Mexico and Western Canada. It is commonly referred ...

'' 3:10 to Yuma''. In February 2013, he was cast to replace

Shia LaBeouf Shia Saide LaBeouf (; born June 11, 1986) is an American actor, performance artist, and filmmaker. He played Louis Stevens in the Disney Channel series ''Even Stevens'', a role for which he received Young Artist Award nominations in 2001 and ...

in the Broadway play ''

Orphans An orphan (from the el, ορφανός, orphanós) is a child whose parents have died. In common usage, only a child who has lost both parents due to death is called an orphan. When referring to animals, only the mother's condition is usuall ...

'' as his first theater performance. In May 2014, it was announced that he would star opposite

Gillian Anderson Gillian Leigh Anderson ( ; born August 9, 1968) is an American actress. Her credits include the roles of FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in the series ''The X-Files'', ill-fated socialite Lily Bart in Terence Davies's film ''The House of Mirth'' ...

and

Vanessa Kirby Vanessa Nuala Kirby (born 18 April 1988) is an English actress. She has received several accolades, including a BAFTA TV Award, in addition to nominations for an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. Born in London to urologist Roger Kirb ...

Benedict Andrews Benedict Andrews is an Australian theatre and film director, based in Reykjavík. Born in Adelaide in 1972, he was educated at Flinders University Drama Centre. His first feature film ''Una'' (an adaption of '' Blackbird'' by David Harrower) was ...

' new production of ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of person ...

'' at the

Young Vic The Young Vic Theatre is a performing arts venue located on The Cut, near the South Bank, in the London Borough of Lambeth. The Young Vic was established by Frank Dunlop in 1970. Kwame Kwei-Armah has been Artistic Director since February 201 ...

in London. That production closed on September 19, 2014. The same production transferred to New York in 2016, opening at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn. Foster played

Lance Armstrong Lance Edward Armstrong (''né'' Gunderson; born September 18, 1971) is an American former professional road bicycle racing, road racing cyclist. Regarded as a sports icon for winning the Tour de France seven consecutive times from 1999 Tour de ...

in the biopic '' The Program'', and co-starred in the fantasy adventure ''

Warcraft ''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of five core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...

'', released in June 2016. Also in 2016, Foster appeared in '' Hell or High Water'' as the dangerous Tanner Howard, opposite

Chris Pine Chris Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–present), Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' (2017) and ''Won ...

and

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent a ...

. Foster was acclaimed for his roles and has received numerous awards nominations. Foster has continuously received praise from critics for his "intense" and "unhinged" performances in numerous films. Film critic

Matt Zoller Seitz Matt Zoller Seitz (born December 26, 1968) is an American film and television critic, author and film-maker. Career Matt Zoller Seitz is editor-at-large at RogerEbert.com, and the television critic for '' New York'' magazine and Vulture.com, as ...

described Foster in 2016 as "one of those actors who makes even a bad film worth seeing. Sometimes he suggests the film you'd rather be watching."

Personal life

Foster was in a relationship with German actress Antje Traue, his co-star in the movie ''

''. Traue revealed in an interview that she had moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

and lived with Foster until their relationship ended around 2010. Foster began a relationship with actress

Robin Wright Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress. She has won a Golden Globe Award and a Satellite Award, and has received eleven Emmy Award nominations for her work in television. Wright first gained attention for her role in t ...

in early 2012. They became engaged in early 2014, but called off their engagement on November 12, 2014. Foster and Wright reconciled in early 2015; however, on August 29, 2015, they announced they were ending their second engagement. In October 2016, Foster announced his engagement to actress

Laura Prepon Laura Helene Prepon (born March 7, 1980) is an American actress. She rose to fame with her role as Donna Pinciotti in the Fox sitcom ''That '70s Show'' (1998–2006). She is also known for portraying Alex Vause in the Netflix comedy-drama series ...

. Prepon gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Ella, in August 2017. Foster and Prepon married in June 2018. Their son was born in February 2020. After filming of the movie ''

Here Here is an adverb that means "in, on, or at this place". It may also refer to: Software * Here Technologies, a mapping company * Here WeGo (formerly Here Maps), a mobile app and map website by Here Television * Here TV (formerly "here!"), a TV ...

'' ended, five members of the cast and crew got tattooed with the letters T.I.A., which stand for This Is Armenia. Foster practices

Transcendental Meditation Transcendental Meditation (TM) is a form of silent mantra meditation advocated by the Transcendental Meditation movement. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi created the technique in India in the mid-1950s. Advocates of TM claim that the technique promotes a ...

Filmography and stage work

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Foster, Ben 1980 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of Scottish descent Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Male winners Jewish American male actors Living people Male actors from Boston Male actors from Iowa People from Fairfield, Iowa 21st-century American Jews