Ben Foster (actor)

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Ben Foster
BenFoster07.jpg
Foster in December 2007
Born (1980-10-29) October 29, 1980 (age 32)
Boston, Massachusetts, United States
Occupation Actor, producer
Years active 1996–present
Relatives Jon Foster (brother)

Ben Foster (born October 29, 1980) is an American actor. His film roles include The Laramie Project, Liberty Heights, Get Over It, Hostage, X-Men: The Last Stand, Alpha Dog, 30 Days of Night, The Messenger, Bang Bang You're Dead, The Mechanic, Contraband, and Pandorum.[1] He received best supporting actor nominations from both the Saturn and Satellite Awards for his 2007 role in the film 3:10 to Yuma.[2]

Contents

Early and personal life[edit]

Foster was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of restaurant owners Gillian Kirwan (née Sterling) and Steven Foster.[3][4][5] He has described his parents as "free-spirited, Vietnam-protesting hippies".[6] He has a younger brother, Jon, who is also an actor. When Foster was four years old, his family relocated to Fairfield, Iowa, after their Boston home was burglarized while they were present.[5][6]

Foster was raised in his father's Jewish religion.[6][7] His paternal grandmother emigrated from Russia, to escape pogroms, in 1923.[8] Foster practices Transcendental Meditation,[9] and, while living in Fairfield, attended the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment.[5]

Foster has been in a relationship with actress Robin Wright since early 2012.[10][11]

Career[edit]

Foster began working as an actor when he was sixteen years old.[5] Foster dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career.[citation needed] In 1996 and 1997, he appeared in the television series Flash Forward and had an unsuccessful audition for the lead role in Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko. Over the next three years, Foster obtained small roles in two made-for-TV movies as well as two episodes of the TV series Freaks and Geeks.

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.[5] After appearing in the films 11:14 and The Punisher, Foster appeared in Hostage with Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak and Michelle Horn. In 2006, Foster appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand as the comic-book hero Angel / Warren Worthington III.[5] In the crime thriller Alpha Dog, he played the character Jake Mazursky and added glaucoma drops to his eyes to simulate the appearance of a drug addict in the film.[12] In 2007, he played cold-blooded killer Charlie Prince in the critically acclaimed western film 3:10 to Yuma.[13] In February 2013, he was cast to replace Shia LaBeouf in the Broadway play Orphans as his first theater performance.[14]

Filmography[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
1996–97 Flash Forward Tucker James 26 episodes
1997 Kounterfeit Travis
1998 I've Been Waiting for You Charlie Television film
1998 You Wish Earl Episode: "Future Shock"
1998 Breakfast with Einstein Ryan Television film
1998 1973 Peter Television film
1999 Liberty Heights Ben Kurtzman
1999 Freaks and Geeks Eli
2000 Family Law Jason Nelson Episode: "A Mother's Son"
2001 Get Over It Berke Landers
2001 Boston Public Max Warner Episode: "Chapter Twenty-Nine"
2002 Laramie Project, TheThe Laramie Project Aaron Kreifels
2002 Big Trouble Matt Arnold
2002 Bang Bang You're Dead Trevor Adams
2002 Phone Booth Big Q (uncredited)
2003 Northfork Cod
2003 11:14 Eddie
2003 Six Feet Under Russell Corwin 22 episodes
2004 Punisher, TheThe Punisher Spacker Dave
2004 The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things Fleshy Boy
2005 Hostage Mars Krupcheck
2005 Dead Zone, TheThe Dead Zone Darren Foldes Episode: "The Last Goodbye"
2006 X-Men: The Last Stand Warren Worthington III / Angel
2007 Alpha Dog Jake Mazursky
2007 3:10 to Yuma Charlie Prince
2007 My Name Is Earl Glenn
2007 30 Days of Night The Stranger
2008 Birds of America Jay
2009 Messenger, TheThe Messenger Staff Sergeant Will Montgomery
2009 Blink AJ Short film
2009 Pandorum Bower
2010 Here Will Shepard
2011 Mechanic, TheThe Mechanic Steve McKenna
2011 Rampart Terry Also producer
2012 Yellow Nowell
2012 Contraband Sebastian Abney
2012 360 Tyler
2013 Ain't Them Bodies Saints Patrick Wheeler
2013 Kill Your Darlings William Burroughs
2013 Lone Survivor Matt Axelson Post-production

Awards[edit]

Year Nominated work Award Result Notes
1997 Flash Forward Gemini Award Nominated Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series (for episode "Presents")[15]
1998 Flash Forward Gemini Award Nominated Best Performance in a Children's or Youth Program or Series (for episode "Fresh Start All Over Again")[15]
2001 Get Over It Teen Choice Awards Nominated Film — Choice Chemistry (shared with Kirsten Dunst)[15]
2003 Bang Bang You're Dead Daytime Emmy Award Won Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special[15]
2004 Six Feet Under Screen Actors Guild Award Won Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (shared with 11 others)[15]
2005 Six Feet Under Screen Actors Guild Award Nominated Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (shared with 14 others)[15]
2006 Alpha Dog Young Hollywood Awards Won Breakthrough Performance — Male[15]
2007 3:10 to Yuma Satellite Award Nominated Best Actor in a Supporting Role, Drama[15]
2008 3:10 to Yuma Screen Actors Guild Award Nominated Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture (shared with 8 others)[15]
2008 3:10 to Yuma Saturn Award Nominated Best Supporting Actor[15]
2009 Messenger, TheThe Messenger Gotham Awards Nominated [15]
2009 Messenger, TheThe Messenger San Diego Film Critics Society Nominated Best Actor

References[edit]

  1. ^ Ordona, Michael (November 1, 2009). "Ben Foster puts his heart into The Messenger". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  2. ^ "Ben Foster". Yahoo! Movies. 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  3. ^ Fee, Gayle; Laura Raposa (September 3, 1995). "Inside Track: Pool barons foster son's fledgling career". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  4. ^ Sherman, Paul (December 9, 1999). "New Heights; After landing the lead role in Barry Levinson's latest film, Boston native Ben Foster is flying". Boston Herald. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f Abel, Judy (November 15, 2009). "Exploring life’s ‘darker corners’". The Boston Globe. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  6. ^ a b c Miller, Gerri (1999). "Foster Reaches for the "Heights"". JVibe. Retrieved November 12, 2006. 
  7. ^ Sragow, Michael (December 16, 1999). "It's a boy's, boy's, boy's world (and a girl's)". Salon.com. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  8. ^ Breed, Allan G. (February 4, 1999). "Ben Foster reaches for new Heights". Lawrence Journal-World. Retrieved December 10, 2007. 
  9. ^ DeYoung, Bill (October 27, 2009). "Extreme closeup: Ben Foster". Connect Savannah. Archived from the original on 8 November 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010. 
  10. ^ "Robin Wright and Ben Foster Get Cozy". People.com. February 10, 2012. Retrieved April 19, 2013. 
  11. ^ Justin Ravitz (December 24, 2012). "Robin Wright, 46, and Ben Foster, 32, Affectionate During Shopping Trip". US Magazine. Retrieved April 19, 2013. 
  12. ^ "X-Men star Foster risks eyesight to play druggie". Contact Music. December 12, 2006. Retrieved December 12, 2006. 
  13. ^ "Interview: Ben Foster, actor and producer". The Scotsman. February 17, 2012. Retrieved September 15, 2012. 
  14. ^ Lawson, Richard (21 February 2013). "Ben Foster to Replace Shia LaBeouf, Esquire Reader, on Broadway". The Atlantic Wire. Yahoo!. Retrieved 21 February 2013. 
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k "Awards: Ben Foster". Internet Movie Database. Retrieved September 15, 2012. 

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