Benjamin Schnetzer (born February 8, 1990) is an American actor. He was nominated for two
British Independent Film Awards
The British Independent Film Awards (BIFA) is an organisation that celebrates, supports and promotes British independent cinema and filmmaking talent in United Kingdom. Nominations for the annual awards ceremony are announced in early November, ...
for his performance in the film ''
Pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...
'' (2014).
Early life
Schnetzer was born and raised in New York City, the son of actors
Stephen Schnetzer
Stephen Paul Schnetzer (born June 11, 1948) is an American actor.
Life and career
Schnetzer, who is of German descent, was born in Canton, Massachusetts, the son of Thomas A. Schnetzer. His mother was a war bride from Algeria. He attended Ca ...
and
Nancy Snyder. He graduated from the
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
The Guildhall School of Music and Drama is a conservatoire and drama school located in the City of London, United Kingdom. Established in 1880, the school offers undergraduate and postgraduate training in all aspects of classical music and jazz ...
in London.
Career
In 2010, Schnetzer appeared in an episode of ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'' and had a supporting role in the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
series ''
Happy Town''.
As he began appearing in British films, Schnetzer was praised for his "superb mastery of accents". During his final year at Guildhall, he landed the role of Max Vandenburg in the film adaptation of ''
The Book Thief
''The Book Thief'' is a historical fiction novel by the Australian author Markus Zusak, and is his most popular book. Published in 2005, ''The Book Thief'' became an international bestseller and was translated into 63 languages and sold 16 mil ...
'' (2013). The following year, he starred as activist
Mark Ashton
Mark may refer to:
Currency
* Bosnia and Herzegovina convertible mark, the currency of Bosnia and Herzegovina
* East German mark, the currency of the German Democratic Republic
* Estonian mark, the currency of Estonia between 1918 and 1927
* Fin ...
in the historical film ''
Pride
Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...
'', for which he received critical acclaim and two
BIFA nominations.
That same year, he played English-Greek
Oxford University
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
student Dimitri Mitropoulos in ''
The Riot Club
''The Riot Club'' is a 2014 British thriller drama film directed by Lone Scherfig and written by Laura Wade, based on Wade's 2010 play ''Posh''. The film stars Sam Claflin, Max Irons and Douglas Booth. It is set among the Riot Club, a fictional ...
''.
Schnetzer starred as Brad Land alongside
Nick Jonas
Nicholas Jerry Jonas (born September 16, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter and actor. Jonas began acting on Broadway at the age of seven, and released his debut single in 2002; this caught the attention of Columbia Records, where Jonas ...
in ''
Goat
The goat or domestic goat (''Capra hircus'') is a domesticated species of goat-antelope typically kept as livestock. It was domesticated from the wild goat (''C. aegagrus'') of Southwest Asia and Eastern Europe. The goat is a member of the a ...
'', a 2016 film about college hazing. That same year, he starred as Ross in ''
Punk's Dead
''Punk's Dead'' (also known as ''Punk's Dead: SLC Punk 2'') is a 2016 American comedy-drama film written and directed by James Merendino. It is a sequel to the 1998 film ''SLC Punk!'' and was released on February 11, 2016.
Set 19 years after t ...
'' as well as appearing in ''
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 ...
'' and ''
Snowden''. He played British-Kenyan journalist
Dan Eldon in the biopic ''
The Journey Is the Destination''.
Schnetzer returned to television in 2018 with a role as Marcus Goldman in the
Epix
Epix (pronounced ''epics'' and stylized as P) is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by the Epix Entertainment LLC subsidiary of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (MGM), a subsidiary of Amazon's MGM Holdings, Inc. The channel's pr ...
miniseries adaptation of
Joël Dicker
Joël Dicker (born 16 June 1985) is a Swiss novelist.
Early life
Dicker attended College Madame the Staël in Geneva. At the age of 19, he enrolled at the Cours Florent in Paris. After one year, he returned to Switzerland to attend law school, ...
's ''
The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair
''The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair'' is a novel by Swiss author Joël Dicker. It was published in the United States on 27 May 2014, by Penguin Books.
The original French version, ''La vérité sur l’affaire Harry Quebert'', has sold m ...
''. He made his
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
debut in ''The Nap'' at
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre
The Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, formerly the Biltmore Theatre, is a Broadway theater at 261 West 47th Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1925, it was designed by Herbert J. Krapp in the neo-Renai ...
. He had film roles in ''
Entebbe
Entebbe is a city in Central Uganda. Located on a Lake Victoria peninsula, approximately southwest of the Ugandan capital city, Kampala. Entebbe was once the seat of government for the Protectorate of Uganda prior to independence, in 1962. T ...
'', ''
The Grizzlies
''The Grizzlies'' is a 2018 Canadian sports drama film, directed by Miranda de Pencier. Based on a true story, the film depicts a youth lacrosse team that was set up to help combat an onslaught of youth suicide in the community of Kugluktuk, Nu ...
'', ''
The Death & Life of John F. Donovan'', and ''
Saint Judy
''Saint Judy'' is an American biographical drama film directed by Sean Hanish about Judy Wood, an immigration attorney who changed the law on granting asylum in the United States to save the lives of women. It stars Michelle Monaghan and Alfred M ...
'' in 2018 as well as ''
The Giant'' in 2019. Nell Meadow of
RogerEbert.com called Schnetzer's performances "exceptional" in a 2020 review of ''The Grizzlies'' and praised ability to disappear into his roles in ''The Book Thief'', ''Snowden'', and ''Pride''.
In 2020, Schnetzer was cast as protagonist Yorick Brown in the 2021
FX on Hulu
FX Networks, LLC, is a company consisting of a network of cable channels plus a production company and a subsidiary of the Disney General Entertainment Content segment of The Walt Disney Company. Originally a part of 21st Century Fox, the comp ...
adaptation of the post-apocalyptic comic ''
Y: The Last Man''. He has an upcoming role in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
science fiction series ''
The Three-Body Problem''.
In September 2022, Schnetzer will play Eli in the European premiere of ''
Eureka Day
Eureka Day is a play by Jonathan Spector. It focuses on the debates around vaccination.
Productions
Eureka Day premiered at Aurora Theatre Company in Berkeley, California.
The play opened off-Broadway on August 29, 2019. The cast included Tina ...
'' at
The Old Vic
The Old Vic is a 1,000-seat, nonprofit organization, not-for-profit producing house, producing theatre in Waterloo, London, Waterloo, London, England. Established in 1818 as the Royal Coburg Theatre, and renamed in 1833 the Royal Victoria Th ...
in London.
Personal life
Schnetzer is in a relationship with theatre director from
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...
Kate Hewitt. They have a daughter, born 2021.
Filmography
Film
Television
Stage
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Schnetzer, Ben
Living people
1990 births
Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
American expatriate male actors in the United Kingdom
American expatriates in England
American male film actors
American male Shakespearean actors
American male stage actors
American male television actors
American people of German descent