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Wes Bentley

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Wes Bentley
Bentley in March 2012
Born
Wesley Cook Bentley

(1978-09-04) September 4, 1978 (age 45)
Jonesboro, Arkansas, U.S.
Alma materJuilliard School
OccupationActor
Years active1995–present
Spouse(s)
Jennifer Quanz
​
(m. 2001⁠–⁠2009)​

Jacqui Swedberg
​
(m. 2010)​
Children2

Wesley Cook "Wes" Bentley (born September 4, 1978)[1] is an American actor known for blockbusters and independent films.

Bentley is best known for his roles as Ricky Fitts in American Beauty (1999), which earned him a nomination for a BAFTA Award for Supporting Actor, Blackheart in Ghost Rider (2007), Thomas in P2 (2007), Seneca Crane in The Hunger Games (2012), and Doyle in Interstellar (2014). He was one of four subjects in the documentary My Big Break (2009), which covered his fame after American Beauty and struggles with substance abuse. Rebuilding his career, he starred in the premiere of Venus in Fur by David Ives in the off-Broadway production in 2010. His other film roles include The Claim (2000), The Four Feathers (2002), The Game of Their Lives (2005), Weirdsville (2007), There Be Dragons (2011), The Time Being (2012), Pioneer (2013), After the Fall (2014), We Are Your Friends (2015) and Pete's Dragon (2016).

He began appearing in the FX anthology series American Horror Story in 2014, playing Edward Mordrake in Freak Show. In 2015, he starred as Detective John Lowe in Hotel, for which he received a Critics' Choice Television Award nomination. The following year, he played Dylan (the actor who plays Ambrose White in My Roanoke Nightmare) in the series' sixth cycle, subtitled Roanoke.

Early life

Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and raised in Little Rock,[2][3] the third of four sons of Cherie Baker and David Bentley. His father is a minister, and his mother is a chaplain and ordained elder in the Arkansas Conference, both in the United Methodist denomination.[1][4][5] In 1996, he graduated from Sylvan Hills High School in Sherwood, Arkansas.[6] He attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division as part of its Group 29 (1996–2000)[7] but left the school after one year to pursue his acting career.[8]

Career

Bentley has starred in several films, including the Oscar-winning film American Beauty, The Four Feathers, P2, and Ghost Rider. He starred in the thriller Dolan's Cadillac,[9] based on the short story by Stephen King,[10] and There Be Dragons by director Roland Joffé. Bentley is one of the main subjects in the documentary My Big Break, directed by Tony Zierra, which follows Bentley and three of his former roommates, Chad Lindberg, Brad Rowe and Greg Fawcett, as they pursue their dream to become successful actors in Hollywood.

In the 2007 film Ghost Rider, Bentley played Blackheart, a demonic being that was the main antagonist.

In 2010, he starred opposite Nina Arianda in the premiere of the David Ives play Venus in Fur at the Classic Stage Company in New York City.[11][12][13][14]

In March 2012, Bentley had a supporting role in the blockbuster movie The Hunger Games, playing gamemaker Seneca Crane.

In 2012, Bentley also starred with Amber Tamblyn and Vincent Piazza in the indie feature 3 Nights in the Desert, directed by Gabriel Cowan and written by award-winning playwright Adam Chanzit.[15]

In June 2013, Bentley was selected to star in Ryan Murphy's HBO production, titled Open, along with Scott Speedman.[16]

After guest-starring in American Horror Story: Freak Show in 2014, Bentley was promoted to main cast for the fifth season of American Horror Story, entitled Hotel, starring as Detective John Lowe.

Personal life

Bentley was married to actress Jennifer Quanz from 2001 to 2009. They separated in 2009 due to his substance abuse. He married producer Jacqui Swedberg in 2010. They have a son, Charles, born in late 2010[17] and a daughter, Brooklyn, born in 2014.

In a New York Times article on February 8, 2010, he described his descent into drug addiction that began almost immediately after his success in American Beauty. He said he hid his addiction from his wife; they separated in 2006, and he moved to an apartment where he began doing drugs full-time. During this time he worked sporadically, just enough to pay bills and buy drugs, and in 2008 was arrested and ordered into counseling and 12-step programs. He relapsed, however, and "continued using heroin until he was broke".[11]

In July 2009, he said, he confessed to a friend, "I’m a drug addict, and an alcoholic, and I need help. I need help or I’m going to die".[18] He again entered a 12-step program and, while clean since then, considers himself on the path to recovery.

The documentary My Big Break (2009) captures Bentley's early life as an unknown actor, his explosive career launch after American Beauty, his subsequent emotional struggle with fame, and his admission years later that he was recovering from an addiction to drugs and alcohol.[11] He began to rebuild his career by starring in the Off-Broadway premiere of the play Venus in Fur by David Ives.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Serendipity Lane Lonnie Short film
1998 Three Below Zero Julian Flincher
Beloved Schoolteacher's Nephew
1999 American Beauty Ricky Fitts
The White River Kid White River Kid
2000 The Claim Donald Daglish
2001 Carving Out Our Name Himself
Soul Survivors Matt
2002 The Four Feathers Jack Durrance
2005 The Game of Their Lives Walter Bahr
2007 Weirdsville Royce
Ghost Rider Blackheart / Legion
The Ungodly Mickey Gravatski
P2 Thomas
2008 The Last Word Evan
The Tomb Johnathan
2009 Dolan's Cadillac Robinson
The Greims Donnie Greims Short film
2010 Jonah Hex Adleman Lusk
2011 Rites of Passage Benny
Hirokin Hirokin
There Be Dragons Manolo Torres
After-School Special Man Short film
2012 Underworld: Awakening Dr. Edward Vronski Uncredited
Gone Peter Hood
The Hunger Games Seneca Crane
Stars in Shorts Man
The Time Being Daniel
Hidden Moon Victor Brighton
2013 Lovelace Thomas
Pioneer Mike
Cesar Chavez Jerry Cohen
2014 After the Fall Bill Scanlon
The Better Angels Mr. Crawford
Things People Do Bill Scanlon
Interstellar Doyle
Welcome to Me Gabe
Final Girl William
2015 Knight of Cups Barry
We Are Your Friends James
Amnesiac Man
2016 Pete's Dragon Jack
Broken Vows Patrick

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2011 Tilda — Television movie
2014 Open Evan Foster Unsold TV pilot
2014–15 American Horror Story: Freak Show Edward Mordrake 3 episodes
2015–16 American Horror Story: Hotel Det. John Lowe 11 episodes
2016 American Horror Story: Roanoke Ambrose White 4 episodes
American Horror Story: Roanoke Dylan 3 episodes

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Venus in Fur Thomas East 13th Street/CSC Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year Association Category Nominated work Result
1999 National Board of Review Best Male Breakthrough Performance American Beauty Won
2000 BAFTA Awards Best Actor in a Supporting Role Nominated
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards Favorite Supporting Actor – Drama Nominated
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards Most Promising Actor Won
MTV Movie Awards Breakthrough Male Performance Nominated
Online Film Critics Society Awards Best Supporting Actor Nominated
Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Won
Teen Choice Awards Choice Movie Breakout Performance Nominated
2007 Fright Meter Awards Best Actor P2 Nominated
2016 Critics' Choice Television Awards Best Actor in a Movie or Limited Series American Horror Story: Hotel Nominated
2017 MTV Movie Awards Best Villain American Horror Story: Roanoke Nominated

References

  1. ^ a b "Wes Bentley Biography (1978–)". FilmReference.com.
  2. ^ "Wes Bentley Talks Past Drug Use, Loss Of "Brother" Heath Ledger - Larry King Show".
  3. ^ "American Beauty's Wes Bentley".
  4. ^ "Wes Bentley star bio". Tribute.ca.
  5. ^ http://www.arumc.org/n_arkansas-born_actor_reconnects_with_god_on_film_se.php
  6. ^ Bennett, Tara (March 21, 2012). "The 'Hunger Games' Cast Before They Were Famous: Wes Bentley, Senior Year at Sylvan Hills High School, Sherwood, Arkansas (1996)". Snakkle.com. Pontiac Digital Media.
  7. ^ "Alumni News". The Juilliard School. March 2010. Archived from the original on November 11, 2011. Retrieved April 7, 2012.
  8. ^ Daly, Steve (October 8, 1999). "Wes Bentley of 'American Beauty'". People.
  9. ^ Christian Slater and Wes Bentley Join 'Dolan's Cadillac', Cinematical, April 25, 2008
  10. ^ Stephen King's DOLAN'S CADILLAC Filming in Canada!, May 29, 2008
  11. ^ a b c Healy, Patrick (February 8, 2010). "Back From the Depths, Rebuilding a Career". The New York Times. p. 1.
  12. ^ Run Extended for ‘Venus in Fur’, Patrick Healey, February 3, 2010, NY Times
  13. ^ Charles Isherwood, "One Object of Desire, Delivered", New York Times, January 28, 2010
  14. ^ "Nina Arianda: A Star Is Born", Playbill
  15. ^ Mike Fleming Jr. "Indie Feature '3 Nights In The Desert' Gets Underway". Deadline.com.
  16. ^ Goldberg, Lesley (June 13, 2013). "Wes Bentley to Star in Ryan Murphy's HBO Sexuality Drama 'Open'". The Hollywood Reporter.
  17. ^ Oliver Jones (June 13, 2011). "Wes Bentley: 'I Felt Myself Dying'". People magazine. Retrieved January 13, 2012. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  18. ^ "The Hunger Games Star Wes Bentley Fights Back From Homelessness, Bankruptcy". Radar Online. March 29, 2012. Retrieved April 9, 2012.
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