Max Benitz (born 14 March 1985) is an English writer, journalist, and former film and television actor.

Education

Benitz was born in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. He attended

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

from 1998 to 2003, where he appeared in student productions of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'', ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', '' The Pirates of Penzance'', and '' Me and My Girl''. He completed two weeks' work experience as a filing clerk at the offices of ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...

'' magazine. After seeing his performance as Midshipman Calamy in the film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World'',

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

, then editor of the ''Spectator'', wrote that Benitz had shown "much the same dash and dispatch s Calamyin rescuing my Toyota from the car pound." Benitz went on to study history at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. As an undergraduate, he completed a nine-month programme at

University of Calcutta The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a Public university, public collegiate university, collegiate State university (India), state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered ...

, after which, in 2007, he embarked, with friend and fellow University of Edinburgh student George Vlasto, in a journey from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

by car.Patrick Pringle
"A drive to London - Students choose Ambassador for trip"
''The Telegraph'' (Calcutta), 5 June 2007 The trip, undertaken in a Hindustan Ambassador car, took ten weeks and covered in a route that passed through

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a subregion, region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes t ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

and

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

. As a part of journey, they raised more than £12,000 for the

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

Future Hope in Calcutta and Royal Marsden Hospital on behalf of disadvantaged children.Peter Foster
"Ambassador makes light of epic drive"
''Daily Telegraph'' (U.K.), 25 August 2007.

Acting career

Benitz was a

teenager Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

when acting in what may be his best known role, as

Midshipman A midshipman is an officer of the lowest rank, in the Royal Navy, United States Navy, and many Commonwealth navies. Commonwealth countries which use the rank include Canada (Naval Cadet), Australia, Bangladesh, Namibia, New Zealand, South Afr ...

Peter Calamy in the 2003 film '' Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World''. Still a teenager, he next appeared in a small role as Huband in the 2005 TV movie of Thomas Hughes' novel '' Tom Brown's Schooldays''. In 2007, Benitz featured prominently as James Harrogate in the two-part episode " Sins of the Father" of the tenth series of '' Trial & Retribution''. After 2007, concentrating on his journalism career, Benitz, as of 2023, has only appeared in two films ''

The Water Diviner ''The Water Diviner'' is a 2014 drama film starring and directed by Russell Crowe, in his directorial debut, and written by Andrew Anastasios and Andrew Knight. The film is loosely based on the book of the same name written by Andrew Anastasios ...

'' (2014) and ‘’ Mara’’ (2018).

Journalism

In 2008–2009, Benitz worked as an unpaid journalist for the

MOBY Group Moby Media Group is the largest media company in Afghanistan. Moby Group is privately owned, with headquarters in Kabul and 15 bureaus throughout Afghanistan. The company also has an office in Dubai, where regional business is conducted. History ...

and as a freelancer in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

, covering the activities of the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

in that country.Max Benitz, "Kabul's Eye," '' Tatler'', March 2009.Max Benitz
"On patrol with Generation Xbox,"
''

New Statesman The ''New Statesman'' is a British political and cultural magazine published in London. Founded as a weekly review of politics and literature on 12 April 1913, it was at first connected with Sidney and Beatrice Webb and other leading members ...

'', 2 May 2011. His book, ''Six Months Without Sundays: The Scots Guards in Afghanistan'', was published by

Birlinn The birlinn ( gd, bìrlinn) or West Highland galley was a wooden vessel propelled by sail and oar, used extensively in the Hebrides and West Highlands of Scotland from the Middle Ages on. Variants of the name in English and Lowland Scots inclu ...

in November 2011.Author page
at Birlinn

Personal life

Benitz has one son with actress Olga Kurylenko, born on 3 October 2015.

References

External links

*
Max Benitz
at Birlinn Limited {{DEFAULTSORT:Benitz, Max English male journalists 1985 births Living people People educated at Harrow School Alumni of the University of Edinburgh University of Calcutta alumni English male television actors English male film actors Male actors from London Writers from London