# Michael Benz

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**Michael Benz** (born c. 1982)[1] is an English-American actor.[2]

## Early life and education

Benz was born in England to American parents Thomas and Margaret Benz.[3] He attended [The American School in London](/source/The_American_School_in_London) before graduating from [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University) in 2004 and the [Royal Academy of Dramatic Art](/source/Royal_Academy_of_Dramatic_Art) in London in 2007.[4]

## Career

Benz was cast as Mike in the popular British sci-fi TV sitcom *[Mike and Angelo](/source/Mike_and_Angelo)*. Benz participated in six series of the program and appears in 60 episodes. Benz has also provided voice work for the British-American animated adventure comedy film *[We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story](/source/We're_Back!_A_Dinosaur's_Story_(film))*. Benz also appeared as the title character in the BBC 6-part miniseries *[Little Lord Fauntleroy](/source/Little_Lord_Fauntleroy)*, based on the English children's novel by [Frances Hodgson Burnett](/source/Frances_Hodgson_Burnett), and adapted by [Julian Fellowes](/source/Julian_Fellowes). Upon graduation from RADA, Benz made his professional stage debut in the [Shakespeare's Globe](/source/Shakespeare's_Globe) production of *[The Winter's Tale](/source/The_Winter's_Tale)* playing Paulina and the Young Shepherd.[5] Also for Shakespeare's Globe, Benz appeared in *[Love's Labour's Lost](/source/Love's_Labour's_Lost)*, *[As You Like It](/source/As_You_Like_It)*, and the world premiere production of *[A New World: A Life of Thomas Paine](/source/A_New_World:_A_Life_of_Thomas_Paine)*.[6] In the summer of 2012, Benz played the title role in the Globe's production of *[Hamlet](/source/Hamlet)*, directed by artistic director Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst.[7] During the fall of 2012, the production toured the United States and Benz was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor at the Helen Hayes Awards in Washington, DC.[8] Benz made his [West End theatre](/source/West_End_theatre) debut in 2011 playing Horatio in [Trevor Nunn](/source/Trevor_Nunn)'s production of *[Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead](/source/Rosencrantz_%26_Guildenstern_Are_Dead)* at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket.[9] Benz worked with Nunn again later that year, playing Ferdinand opposite [Ralph Fiennes](/source/Ralph_Fiennes)' Prospero, in *[The Tempest](/source/The_Tempest)* also at Theatre Royal, Haymarket.[10] Other stage appearances by Benz include Lee Baum in [Arthur Miller](/source/Arthur_Miller)'s *[The American Clock](/source/The_American_Clock)*[11] and Christopher in the premiere of Oohrah! by [Bekah Brunstetter](/source/Bekah_Brunstetter),[12] both at the [Finborough Theatre](/source/Finborough_Theatre); Simon Bliss in [Noël Coward](/source/No%C3%ABl_Coward)'s *[Hay Fever](/source/Hay_Fever_(play))* at the West Yorkshire Playhouse;[13] and Balthasar in *[Romeo & Juliet](/source/Romeo_%26_Juliet)* for the [Royal Shakespeare Company](/source/Royal_Shakespeare_Company) (RSC).[14] Benz was a guest player in the season four Christmas Special of *[Downton Abbey](/source/Downton_Abbey)* that was broadcast on 25 December 2013 in the UK (season 4, episode 9 in the US). Benz played Ethan, the American valet to guest star [Paul Giamatti](/source/Paul_Giamatti)'s character Harold Levinson.[citation needed] In 2019, Benz played a Wall Street executive in the thriller *[Joker](/source/Joker_(2019_film))*, in which his character is harassing Arthur on the Subway.

## Filmography

### Film

Year Title Role Notes 1993 We're Back! A Dinosaur's Story Voice role 2009 Sam and Jenny Go to a Play Old Sage Short 2010 'As You Like It' at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre Silvius The Newest Pledge Futuristic Party Go-er 2012 City Slacker Well Presented Man 2015 The Importance of Being Earnest LIVE John Worthing 2016 Snowden CIA Student 2017 The Wife White 2019 Joker Wall Street Three 2020 Greyhound Lieutenant Carling

### Television

Year Title Role Notes 1993-1998 Mike and Angelo Mike Mason Series regular 1994 The Tomorrow People Vinny Episode: "The Monsoon Man" 1995 Little Lord Fauntleroy Cedric Errol Mini-series 2013 Downton Abbey Ethan Slade Episode: "The London Season" 2017 Time After Time Smythe Episode: "Pilot" 2021 For All Mankind Gary Piscotty 7 episodes

## External links

- [Michael Benz](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0073121/) at IMDb

## References

1. Isherwood, Charles (2012-10-04). ["Yes, a Blended Family Can Be a Pain, but That Danish Prince Tries His Best"](https://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/04/theater/reviews/michael-benz-in-hamlet-at-the-schimmel-center.html). *[The New York Times](/source/The_New_York_Times)*. Retrieved 2022-12-02. At 30, Mr. Benz is one of the youngest actors I've seen in the role...

1. Marks, Peter (2012-08-23). ["At Folger, 'Hamlet' will be a homecoming for Georgetown grad Michael Benz"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/at-folger-hamlet-will-be-a-homecoming-for-georgetown-grad-michael-benz/2012/08/23/a67c514c-e32d-11e1-89f7-76e23a982d06_story.html). *[The Washington Post](/source/The_Washington_Post)*. Retrieved 2022-04-02. When Anglo American actor Michael Benz was 12...

1. ["Georgetown Alumnus Reaches Shakespearian Heights—Georgetown University"](http://www.georgetown.edu/news/michael-benz-hamlet-shakespeare.html). [Georgetown University](/source/Georgetown_University). 2012-10-25. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["Michael Benz—RADA"](https://www.rada.ac.uk/profiles/michael-benz/). Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Retrieved 2022-04-01.

1. ["The Winter's Tale / Shakespeare's Globe"](http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/previous-productions/the-winter-s-tale-1). Shakespearesglobe.com. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, Bankside, Southwark, London / Shakespeare's Globe"](http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/). Shakespearesglobe.com. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["Hamlet / Shakespeare's Globe"](https://web.archive.org/web/20130926173518/http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/previous-productions/hamlet-2). Shakespearesglobe.com. Archived from [the original](http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/education/discovery-space/previous-productions/hamlet-2) on 26 September 2013. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["The Washington Post"](https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/theater_dance/2013/01/28/1a81ac3e-6954-11e2-ada3-d86a4806d5ee_story.html). Articles.washingtonpost.com. [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20130419212438/http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2013-01-28/entertainment/36596921_1_folger-theatre-dinner-theatre-christopher-youstra) 2013-04-19 at the Wayback Machine. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["» Trevor Nunn Season 2011 – 2012"](http://www.trh.co.uk/about-us/press-releases/trevor-nunn-season/). Trh.co.uk. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. Michael Billington. ["The Tempest – review | Stage"](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2011/sep/07/the-tempest-review). The Guardian. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["The American Clock - Productions 2012"](http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/productions/2012/production-the-american-clock.php). Finborough Theatre. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["Finborough Theatre"](http://www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk/transition-archive/2009/oohrah.php). Finborough Theatre. 2009-04-06. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. Clare Brennan. ["Hay Fever | Theatre review | Stage | The Observer"](https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2010/jun/27/hay-fever-west-yorkshire-playhouse). Theguardian.com. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

1. ["Romeo and Juliet · British Universities Film & Video Council"](http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/av71795). Bufvc.ac.uk. Retrieved 2014-01-04.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Michael Benz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Benz) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Benz?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.