Robert Gant

Robert Gant
Gant at a 2009 GLAAD summer event
Born	Robert John Gonzalez (1968-07-13) July 13, 1968 Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Other names	Robert J. Gant
Alma mater	Georgetown University (J.D.) University of Pennsylvania (B.A.)
Occupation(s)	Actor, producer
Years active	1994–present

Robert Gant (born Robert John Gonzalez; July 13, 1968) is an American actor. He rose to prominence through his role as Ben Bruckner on the hit Showtime series Queer as Folk and was recognized as a pioneer in the LGBT community by coming out publicly as a openly gay leading male actor at a time when very few did.

Early life and education

Gant was born in Tampa, Florida, of Spanish, Italian, Cuban, Irish, and English descent. He was raised Baptist. He began acting in television commercials and joined the Screen Actors Guild at the age of ten in his home state of Florida. At the age of 11, he performed a soft-shoe routine with Bob Hope as part of Hope's USO tour.

He majored in English literature at the University of Pennsylvania and then studied law at Georgetown University Law Center. It was his career as a lawyer that brought him to Los Angeles when he accepted a position with the LA office of Chicago-based Baker & McKenzie. The international firm's Los Angeles office was closed soon after. Rather than continuing his career in law, he decided to focus on acting.

Television and film career

Between 2002 and 2005, Gant appeared on television in Showtime's Queer as Folk as Ben Bruckner, his best-known role to date. Prior to Queer as Folk, he appeared in recurring roles in Popular and Caroline in the City. Other guest appearances on television programs include Melrose Place, Ellen, Becker, Friends and Nip/Tuck, among others.

In June 2004, Gant starred in the short film Billy's Dad Is a Fudge-Packer!, an homage to 1950s educational films.

In 2005, he appeared in an episode of the television crime drama The Closer.

In 2007, Gant, Chad Allen and Judith Light acted and produced Save Me. The movie about the ex-gay movement was distributed by Mythgarden, the production company formed by Gant, Allen, and Christopher Racster in 2004.

In 2009, Gant appeared in Personal Affairs, a BBC Three-produced drama set in London's financial sector.

He also appeared in the independent films Special Delivery, The Contract, Fits and Starts and Marie and Bruce.

In 2011, Gant made a cameo appearance in season 1, episode 8 of TV Land's Happily Divorced.

In 2015, Gant played Zor-El, the titular character's father in Supergirl.

Personal life

Gant is involved in a number of philanthropic organizations with a great deal of focus going to the issue of aging in the gay community. He currently resides in Los Angeles.

Gant came out as gay in The Advocate magazine in 2002.

Activism

Gant supports such organizations as Services & Advocacy for GLBT Elders (SAGE) and Gay & Lesbian Elder Housing (GLEH).

He supported Hillary Clinton in her bid for the Democratic Party's Presidential nomination in 2008.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Bitter Vengeance	Bookstore customer	Television film
1994	Cityscrapes: Los Angeles	Policeman B
1996	Jane Street	Jay
1999	Teaching Mrs. Tingle	Professor
2001	Uta Hagen's Acting Class	Petruchio in The Taming of the Shrew	Direct-to-video
2002	The Contract	Gene Collins
2002	Fits and Starts	Ian
2004	Marie and Bruce	Bartender
2004	Billy's Dad Is a Fudge-Packer!	Billy's dad	Short film
2007	Save Me	Scott	Also co-producer
2007	Live!	Casting director
2008	Kiss Me Deadly	Jacob Keane	Television film
2008	Mask of the Ninja	Chief Garver	Television film
2008	Special Delivery	Nate Spencer	Television film
2010	Walter	Jim Benjamin / God	Short film
2012	Joshua Tree, 1951: A Portrait of James Dean	The Famous Director
2015	A Million Happy Nows	Dr. Hansen
2016	Summer of Dreams	Noah Burns	Hallmark movie
2016	Love Is All You Need?	Pete Santilli
2016	The Thinning	Vince Davi	Filming
2017	Milada	Bohuslav Horák
2018	Wedding of Dreams	Noah Burns	Hallmark movie

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Ellen	Dr. Garber	Episode: "The Dentist"
1994	My So-Called Life	Gunther	Episode: "Pressure"
1994	Melrose Place	Room service waiter	Episode: "Just Say No"
1995	My Wildest Dreams	Stewart	Episode: "Sister's Mister"
1995	Step by Step	Fireman	Episode: "Three Girls and a Baby"
1996	High Tide		Episode: "Old Friends"
1996	Melrose Place	Deputy Tom	Episode: "Moving Violations"
1997	Night Stand with Dick Dietrick	Frank Thatcher	Episode: "Leave Your Job or I'm Leaving You"
1997	Life with Roger	Rod Davis	Episode: "The Boxer Rebellion"
1997	Friends	Jason	Episode: "The One with Ross's Thing"
1997	Hangin' with Mr. Cooper	Robin Hood bartender	Episode: "Party, Party"
1997	Silk Stalkings	Kevin	Episode: "Night of the Parrot"
1997	Head over Heels	Blake	Episode: "Hot Guy"
1997–1998	Caroline in the City	Trevor	Recurring role; 9 episodes
1998	Style & Substance	Matthew	Episode: "Terry, We Hardly Knew Ye"
1998	Fantasy Island	Dave Sullivan	Episode: "Estrogen"
1999	Becker	Doug	Episode: "Cyrano De-Beckerac"
1999	Rude Awakening	Jim	Episode: "Abstinence Makes the Heart Grow Fonder"
2000	Linc's	Dr. Brad Wheeler	Episode: "I Just Want to Testify"
2000–2001	Popular	Principal Calvin Krupps	Recurring role; 11 episodes
2000	Veronica's Closet	Bernie	Episode: "Veronica Sets Josh Up"
2002	V.I.P.	Arthur Goodwin	Episode: "Val Cubed"
2002–2005	Queer as Folk	Professor Ben Bruckner	Main role; 55 episodes
2002	Providence	Dancing groom	Episode: "It's Raining Men"
2005	The Closer	Julian Carver	Episode: "Batter Up"
2006	Pepper Dennis	Benny Gold	Episode: "Celebrity Twin Could Hang"
2007	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Lewis Greyburg	Episode: "Empty Eyes"
2008	Nip/Tuck	Jeff Morris	Episode: "Magda and Jeff"
2009	Rick & Steve: The Happiest Gay Couple in All the World	Mayor Mayer / another student	Voice; episode: "The Only Straight in the Village"
2009	CSI: NY	Felix Redman	Episode: "Green Piece"
2009	Tracey Ullman's State of the Union	Buzz	Season 2, episode 6
2009	Personal Affairs	Rock van Gelder	Recurring role; 5 episodes
2009	Castle	Ron Bigby	Episode: "Deep in Death"
2009	CSI: Miami	Lloyd Arrington	Episode: "Hostile Takeover"
2010	Bones	Coach Jason Hendler	Episode: "The Dentist in the Ditch"
2010	Hot in Cleveland	Steve	Episode: "Birthdates"
2010	90210	Dr. Wright	Episode: "Catch Me If You Cannon"
2011	Mike & Molly	Kyle	Episode: "First Valentine's Day"
2011	Happily Divorced	Marc	Episode: "A Kiss Is Just a Kiss"
2011	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Mr. Martin	Episode: "4-1-1"
2011	Free Agents	Mark	Episode: "The Kids Are Probably Alright"
2012	Shameless	Greg Garvin	Episode: "Father's Day"
2013	Vegas	Rick Kent	Episode: "From This Day Forward"
2013	NCIS	Lt. Michael Dunkel	Episode: "Detour"
2013	Anger Management	Dr. Konner	Episode: "Charlie and the Hot Nerd"
2013	Baby Daddy	Steve	Episode: "The Christening"
2013	Sean Saves the World	Chase	Episode: "Date Expectations"
2013–2014	The Young and the Restless	David Sherman	Recurring role; 4 episodes
2014	The Tomorrow People	Peter	Guest role; 2 episodes
2014	Hit the Floor	Lewis Jason	Episode: "Full-Court Press"
2015	Criminal Minds	Warden Miles Tate	Episode: "Lockdown"
2015-2016	Supergirl	Zor-El	Guest role; 3 episodes
2016	K.C. Undercover	Jackson Cleveland	Guest role; 2 episodes
2017	13 Reasons Why	Todd Crimsen	Recurring role; 4 episodes
2018	The Fosters	Jim Hunter	Recurring role; 3 episodes

Theatre

• Working – The Iron Worker
• Taming of the Shrew (Uta Hagen's Acting Class DVD) – Petruchio
• Little Shop of Horrors – The Dentist (et al.)
• Grease – Danny Zuko; Kenicke
• Whose Life is it Anyway? – John
• The Mystery of Edwin Drood – Neville Landless / Victor Grinstead
• The Mikado – Koko

External links

• Robert Gant at IMDb