Rob Benedict (born September 21, 1970) is an American actor and writer. His near 30 year career includes more than 90 television and movie credits. He is best known for his work on the

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

series ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'', '' Threshold'', '' Felicity'' and the

comedy film The comedy film is a film genre that emphasizes humor. These films are designed to amuse audiences and make them laugh. Films in this genre typically have a happy ending, with dark comedy being an exception to this rule. Comedy is one of the o ...

'' Waiting...''. He is also the lead singer/songwriter of the Los Angeles based band

Louden Swain Louden Swain is an American indie rock band from Los Angeles. The band was formed in 1997 when lead singer and guitarist Rob Benedict and bassist Michael Borja, met drummer Stephen Norton through a mutual friend at a party in Los Angeles. Guitar ...

Early life

Benedict was born in

Columbia, Missouri Columbia is a city in Missouri, United States. It was founded in 1821 as the county seat of Boone County, Missouri, Boone County and had a population of 126,254 as recorded in the 2020 United States census, making it the List of cities in Misso ...

. He graduated from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

with a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

in Performance Studies.

Career

Acting

In the WB series ''Felicity'' he appeared as Felicity Porter's dorm mate, Richard Coad. In

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

's Threshold Benedict played physicist Lucas Pegg, member of a secret government team investigating the first contact with an extraterrestrial species. In seasons 4, 5, 10, 11, 14 and 15 of ''

'' he played a writer, Chuck Shurley, previously thought to be a prophet of the lord but later revealed to be

God In monotheistic belief systems, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. In polytheistic belief systems, a god is "a spirit or being believed to have created, or for controlling some part of the un ...

, who eventually becomes the series main antagonist. On

Lucifer The most common meaning for Lucifer in English is as a name for the Devil in Christian theology. He appeared in the King James Version of the Bible in Isaiah and before that in the Vulgate (the late-4th-century Latin translation of the Bib ...

, he recurred as baddie Vincent LeMec. Other credits include

Sydney Bristow Sydney Anne Bristow (played by Jennifer Garner) is a fictional character and the protagonist of the television series '' Alias''. She is an American woman with a Russian-Canadian family background who thought she was working as a spy for the ...

's short

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

partner, Brodien on Alias. Additional early television series credits include ''

Birds of Prey Birds of prey or predatory birds, also known as (although not the same as) raptors, are hypercarnivorous bird species that actively predation, hunt and feed on other vertebrates (mainly mammals, reptiles and smaller birds). In addition to speed ...

'' and '' Come to Papa'', with guest appearances on ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

,'' ''CSI'', ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'', ''

Medium Medium may refer to: Aircraft *Medium bomber, a class of warplane * Tecma Medium, a French hang glider design Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''The Medium'' (1921 film), a German silent film * ''The Medium'' (1951 film), a film vers ...

'', '' Chicago Hope'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', ''

Buffy the Vampire Slayer ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' is an American supernatural fiction, supernatural drama television series created by writer and director Joss Whedon. The concept is based on the Buffy the Vampire Slayer (film), 1992 film, also written by Whedon, a ...

'', '' Snoops'', ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwar, ...

'', and ''

Beverly Hills, 90210 ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' (often referred to as ''90210'') is an American teen drama television series created by Darren Star and produced by Aaron Spelling via his production company Spelling Television. The series ran for 10 seasons on Fo ...

''. Other Recurring characters include roles in ''Bosch'', '' NCIS: New Orleans'', '' Masters of Sex'', Fox's ''

Touch The somatosensory system, or somatic sensory system is a subset of the sensory nervous system. The main functions of the somatosensory system are the perception of external stimuli, the perception of internal stimuli, and the regulation of bo ...

Franklin & Bash ''Franklin & Bash'' is an American legal comedy drama television series created by Kevin Falls and Bill Chais. The series starred Breckin Meyer and Mark-Paul Gosselaar as unconventional lawyers and longtime friends. A Turner Broadcasting exec ...

,'' the digital series ''Susanna'' with Anna Paquin, and he was the irreverent power agent Jeremy Berger in the Starz Original comedy series ''

Head Case ''Head Case'' is an American sitcom starring Alexandra Wentworth as Dr. Elizabeth Goode, a therapist who treats Hollywood stars. Celebrities appear on the show as themselves. The show ran for three seasons, airing on the Starz (TV channel), Star ...

''. His feature film credits include ''

A Little Help ''A Little Help'' is a 2010 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Michael J. Weithorn. It follows the experiences of a dental hygienist following her unfaithful husband's sudden death. It debuted on May 21, 2010, at the Seattle Inter ...

'', with Jenna Fischer, '' State of Play'' with

Russell Crowe Russell Ira Crowe (born 7 April 1964) is an actor and film director. Russell Crowe filmography, His work on screen has earned him List of awards and nominations received by Russell Crowe, various accolades, including an Academy Award, two Gold ...

. In 2005 he starred as Calvin in the cult comedy '' Waiting...'' with

Ryan Reynolds Ryan Rodney Reynolds (born October 23, 1976) is a Canadian and American actor, producer and businessman. Known for starring in comedic and superhero films, he was the List of highest-paid film actors, world's second-highest-paid actor in 202 ...

, and later revised the role in the sequel '' Still Waiting...'' Other films include '' Kicking & Screaming'', with

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

, ''

Group Sex Group sex is sexual activity involving more than two people. Participants in group sex can be of any sexual orientation or gender. Any form of sexual activity can be adopted to involve more than two participants, but some forms have their own na ...

'', ''Say Goodnight'' with Aaron Paul, '' Two Days'', with Paul Rudd, '' The First $20 Million Is Always the Hardest'', starring

Rosario Dawson Rosario Isabel Dawson (born May 9, 1979) is an American actress. She made her feature-film debut in the 1995 independent drama '' Kids''. Her subsequent film roles include '' He Got Game'' (1998), '' Josie and the Pussycats'' (2001), ''Men in B ...

, and '' Not Another Teen Movie''. In 2018, he had a starring role in the horror film '' 30 Miles from Nowhere'', with

Carrie Preston Carrie Preston (born June 21, 1967) is an American actress, director, and producer. She is best known for her roles as Arlene Fowler in the HBO fantasy drama series '' True Blood'' (2008–2014) and as Elsbeth Tascioni in the CBS legal drama ...

, ''Clearmind'', and ''Connescence'' with

Kevin Bacon Kevin Norwood Bacon (born July 8, 1958) is an American actor. Known for various roles, including leading man characters, Bacon has received numerous accolades such as a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Bacon made his featu ...

. Benedict has also done some

voice acting Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-sc ...

work, most notably voicing the character Vin, in the video games ''

Jak II ''Jak II'' is an action-adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2 in 2003. It is the second game of the ''Jak and Daxter'' series and a sequel to '' Jak and Daxter: The Prec ...

'' and ''

Jak 3 ''Jak 3'' is a 2004 action-adventure video game developed by Naughty Dog and published by Sony Computer Entertainment for the PlayStation 2. The game is the sequel to '' Jak II'' and serves as the conclusion of the trilogy. The story of the prev ...

''.

Writing and producing

He co-wrote and starred in the independent short film ''Lifetripper'', which made its debut at the LA Short Film Festival. He also co-wrote and played Miles Davis-Davidson in the ''Unauthorized Hangover 2 Documentary'', which was featured on the DVD of ''

The Hangover Part II ''The Hangover Part II'' is a 2011 American comedy film produced by Legendary Pictures and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. The sequel to the 2009 film ''The Hangover'' and the second installment in ''The Hangover'' trilogy, the film wa ...

''. In 2013 he wrote, produced and starred in the 30 minute short film ''The Sidekick'', which starred

Jordan Peele Jordan Haworth Peele (born February 21, 1979) is an American actor, comedian and filmmaker. He is known for his film and television work in the Comedy film, comedy and Horror film, horror genres. He has received List of awards and nominations r ...

, Lizzy Caplan,

Ike Barinholtz Ike Barinholtz (born February 18, 1977) is an American actor and comedian. He is best known for his starring roles in the comedy series '' MADtv'' (2002–2007), '' Eastbound & Down'' (2012), '' The Mindy Project'' (2012–2017), '' Bless the Hart ...

Ron Livingston Ronald Joseph Livingston (born June 5, 1967) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Peter Gibbons in ''Office Space'' (1999) and Captain Lewis Nixon III in the miniseries ''Band of Brothers (miniseries), Band of Brothers'' (2001). Liv ...

and

Jason Ritter Jason Morgan Ritter (born February 17, 1980) is an American actor. The son of actors John Ritter and Nancy Morgan, he is known for his work in television series such as ''Joan of Arcadia'' (2003–2005), ''Gravity Falls'' (2012–2016), '' Anot ...

. In 2017, he wrote, produced and starred in the 10 episode series ''Kings of Con'' with friend and fellow actor Richard Speight Jr. The series first aired on Comic-ConHQ. It is set behind the scenes at fan conventions, based loosely on their real-life experiences at conventions. He started a podcast on 27 March 2020 along with friend and fellow actor Richard Speight Jr., called ''...And my Guest is Richard Speight''. It ran for 10 episodes, ending on 5 August 2020. In September 2020, the two started a new podcast called ''Kings of Con: The Podcast'', after their short series by the same name. The two also present a podcast called ''Supernatural: Then and Now'', where they discuss ''

''.

Music

Benedict is the frontman and guitar player in the

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

band

, which has released eleven albums. He has been featured on the work of other artists, includin
Jason Manns
and bandmate Billy Moran. He has released a solo album
Leave the Light On

Personal life

Benedict was married to Mollie Benedict from 1995 to 2019 and together they have two children: Audrey and Calvin. Benedict is in a relationship with his ''Supernatural'' co-star, Ruth Connell. They have a daughter, who was born in January 2024.

Early life

Career

Acting

Writing and producing

Music

Personal life

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links