Luke Aaron Benward (born May 12, 1995) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Will in the Disney film '' Cloud 9'' (2014). His first starring role was Billy Forrester in ''

How to Eat Fried Worms ''How to Eat Fried Worms'' is a children's book written by Thomas Rockwell, first published in 1973. The novel's plot involves a boy eating worms as part of a bet. It has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Library ...

'' (2006), and as Charlie Tuttle in '' Minutemen'' (2008). He played the role of Dillon in '' Ravenswood'' and Bo 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 fi ...

film '' Dumplin'''. He recurred as Teddy's boyfriend, Beau, on the final season of the Disney Channel series ''

Good Luck Charlie ''Good Luck Charlie'' is an American sitcom that originally aired on Disney Channel from April 4, 2010, to February 16, 2014. The series' creators, Phil Baker and Drew Vaupen, wanted to create a program that would appeal to entire families, no ...

''.

Early life

Benward was born in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020, its population was 83,454 ...

, the son of Kenda (née Wilkerson) and

Aaron Benward Aaron Jeoffrey Benward (born September 13, 1973) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, film/TV producer and music supervisor. Life and career Benward is the son of Candice and Jeoffrey Benward and has two siblings, Sareece and Colin. In hi ...

. His father is in the country duo Blue County, his mother is a part-time actress,

model A model is an informative representation of an object, person or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin ''modulus'', a measure. Models c ...

, and acting coach, and his grandfather is Contemporary Christian music artist

Jeoffrey Benward Jeoffrey Benward (born January 10, 1952) is an American Contemporary Christian Music singer and songwriter. He has been involved in the Christian music business since the 1970s, but achieved attention when he formed a duo with his son, Aaron, cal ...

. He has two younger sisters.

Career

Benward's acting career started when he landed a role in the film ''

We Were Soldiers ''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. Based on the book '' We Were Soldiers Once… and Young'' (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. Galloway, i ...

'' as David Moore in 2002. His success grew in 2006, when he played Billy Forrester in the movie ''

'', which he won a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

for in the category of Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film. He also played 14-year-old Charlie Tuttle in the Disney Channel movie '' Minutemen'', the 14-year-old Alan in '' Dear John'', and the little boy who helps the abused girl in the music video "

Concrete Angel "Concrete Angel" is a song written by Stephanie Bentley and Rob Crosby, and recorded by American country music artist Martina McBride. It was released in November 2002 as the fourth and last single from McBride's ''Greatest Hits'' compilation alb ...

" by

Martina McBride Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, born July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer-songwriter and record producer. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and reloc ...

. Benward's first album, '' Let Your Love Out'', came out on January 5, 2009, and contained five songs. He also toured with the Christian group ''iShine LIVE'' for a short time, where he would sing his music in concert. The record label that signed him is called In Crowd Productions, whose collective credits include

Hilary Duff Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress and singer. She is the recipient of various accolades, including seven Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards, four Teen Choice Awards and two Young Artist Awards. She began her acti ...

India.Arie India Arie Simpson (born October 3, 1975), also known as India Arie (sometimes styled as india.arie), is an American singer and songwriter. She has sold over five million records in the US and ten million worldwide. She has won four Grammy Awards ...

, the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson. Lou Pearlman formed the group in 1993 in Orlando, Florida. The ...

Mat Kearney Mathew William Kearney (; born December 1, 1978) is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, and based in Nashville, Tennessee. So far, he has a total of five top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40 Chart. '' Just Kids'' was released on February 2 ...

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie is an American rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. The band is currently composed of Ben Gibbard (vocals, guitar, piano), Nick Harmer (bass), Dave Depper (guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), Zac Rae (keyb ...

, and the Jonas Brothers. He has also been in various commercials, including Nintendo,

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation is an American multinational fast food chain, founded in 1940 as a restaurant operated by Richard and Maurice McDonald, in San Bernardino, California, United States. They rechristened their business as a hambur ...

Willy Wonka Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' and its 1972 sequel ''Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator''. He is the eccentric founder and proprietor ...

, American Express, and

Hamburger Helper Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product from Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box with brow ...

. He also played the role of Nicky in ''

Mostly Ghostly ''Mostly Ghostly'' is a series of books written by children's horror author R. L. Stine. Its targeted audience is primarily middle school-aged youths ages 11–14. The book series has led to a film series. Books * ''Who Let the Ghosts Out?' ...

'' and played Stevie Dewberry in the film ''

Because of Winn-Dixie ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' is a 2000 children's novel written by Kate DiCamillo. It was adapted as a 2005 family film directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, and starring AnnaSophia Robb as Opal Buloni.

''. He also played in the Disney Channel Original Movie '' Girl vs. Monster'' as Ryan Dean, the love interest of Skylar Lewis (

Olivia Holt Olivia Hastings Holt (born August 5, 1997) is an American actress and singer. She starred in the Disney XD series ''Kickin' It'', Disney Channel Original Movie '' Girl vs. Monster'', and the Disney Channel Original Series '' I Didn't Do It''. Fr ...

). Benward also had a recurring role as Matthew Pearson, the ex-boyfriend of Emily Hobbs ( Ryan Newman) on ''

See Dad Run ''See Dad Run'' is an American television sitcom that premiered on Nick at Nite on October 6, 2012. It stars Scott Baio, who also serves as an executive producer. On March 17, 2014, Nick at Nite confirmed that season three would be the last. Afte ...

''. He was in the movie ''Cloud 9'' from Disney Channel with ''

Liv and Maddie ''Liv and Maddie'', also known as ''Liv and Maddie: Cali Style'' for the fourth season, is an American comedy television series created by John D. Beck and Ron Hart that aired on Disney Channel from July 19, 2013 to March 24, 2017. The series ...

'' star

Dove Cameron Dove Olivia Cameron (born Chloe Celeste Hosterman; January 15, 1996) is an American singer and actress. She became famous for her double role of the eponymous characters in the Disney Channel comedy series ''Liv and Maddie'', for which she won ...

and appeared as Beau, Teddy's love interest, on six episodes of ''

'', reuniting him with his ''Minutemen'' costar

Jason Dolley Jason Scott Dolley (born July 5, 1991) is an American actor and musician, known for his roles in Disney Channel shows and movies. These include Newton "Newt" Livingston III on ''Cory in the House'', Virgil Fox in '' Minutemen'', Connor Kennedy ...

. He appeared as Thor in the third-season premiere of the Disney Channel series ''

Girl Meets World ''Girl Meets World'' is an American comedy television series created by Michael Jacobs and April Kelly that premiered on Disney Channel on June 27, 2014. The series ran for three seasons, consisting of 72 episodes, and concluded on January 20 ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Extended play

Promotional singles

Other appearances

Music videos

References

External links

* *
iShine Tour interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benward, Luke 1995 births 21st-century American male actors American male child actors American male film actors American male television actors American male pop singers Living people Male actors from Tennessee Singers from Tennessee 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male singers