Brian Benben (Actor)

Actor Brian Benben at the Museum of Television & Radio's Annual Los Angeles Gala, 2003. (Photo: Doug Benc / Getty Images)

Engaging lead of TV who has made the occasional venture into films. Benben started performing in off-off-Broadway productions at the age of 17. He moved to TV in the early 80s, debuting on the crime series, "The Gangster Chronicles". He began to work regularly, appearing in TV-movies and in the Broadway production of "Slab Boys" (1983) opposite Sean Penn, Kevin Bacon and Val Kilmer. After co-starring and providing recurring characters in a number of short-lived series in the 80s ("Kay O'Brien" 1986, "A Year in the Life" 1988) Benben landed the lead role of Martin Tupper in HBO's "adult" sitcom "Dream On". As a baby-boomer book editor who responds to life's daily anxieties and absurdities by conjuring up hilariously apt clips from old TV and films, Benben conveyed a warmth and wit little evident in his previous efforts. The scripts often show Martin in a less than flattering light but he retains audience sympathy perhaps since we see most of his world through his eyes. "Dream On" received numerous accolades and jumpstarted Benben's feature career, beginning with a lead role opposite Dolph Lundgren in the futuristic thriller "I Come in Peace" (1990). More impressively, he starred in a George Lucas production, "The Radioland Murders" (1994). He returned to series TV briefly in the fall of 1998 as star and executive producer of "The Brian Benben Show" (CBS), which had him playing a TV newsman.