Ben Esler (born 1982) is an Australian actor and screenwriter, best known for playing Sean McGinnes in the

AMC AMC may refer to: Film and television * AMC Theatres, an American movie theater chain * AMC Networks, an American entertainment company ** AMC (TV channel) ** AMC+, streaming service ** AMC Networks International, an entertainment company *** ...

television series '' Hell on Wheels'', as well as for his role as war hero Chuck Tatum in

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

's '' The Pacific''. Esler is a writer and cast member of the upcoming

NatGeo ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

and

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October 1 ...

series 'A Small Light', which tells the story of the young woman who protected

Anne Frank Annelies Marie "Anne" Frank (, ; 12 June 1929 – )Research by The Anne Frank House in 2015 revealed that Frank may have died in February 1945 rather than in March, as Dutch authorities had long assumed"New research sheds new light on Anne Fra ...

and her family during the Holocaust.

Early life

Esler was born and raised in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

, the son of Rosemary and

Murray Esler Professor Murray David Esler, AM (born in 1943 in Geelong, Australia) is a clinical cardiologist and medical scientist, based at the Baker Heart and Diabetes Institute and the Alfred Hospital in Melbourne, where he is the Associate Director of t ...

. He is a graduate of the

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne is a public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in Victoria. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb n ...

, where he obtained a

master's degree A master's degree (from Latin ) is an academic degree awarded by universities or colleges upon completion of a course of study demonstrating mastery or a high-order overview of a specific field of study or area of professional practice.

Applied Ethics Applied ethics refers to the practical aspect of moral considerations. It is ethics with respect to real-world actions and their moral considerations in the areas of private and public life, the professions, health, technology, law, and leaders ...

as well as a diploma in Professional Ethics. While a student at university, he wrote and performed sketch comedy for the long running

Law

Revue A revue is a type of multi-act popular theatrical entertainment that combines music, dance, and sketches. The revue has its roots in 19th century popular entertainment and melodrama but grew into a substantial cultural presence of its own du ...

Career

Esler began his career appearing in the popular Australian police drama ''

Blue Heelers ''Blue Heelers'' is an Australian police drama series that was produced by Southern Star Group and ran for 12 years on the Seven Network, from 1994 to 2006. Although based around the policing of the town, the series generally depicted the e ...

'' and the award-winning

ABC Australia The Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) is the national broadcaster of Australia. It is principally funded by direct grants from the Australian Government and is administered by a government-appointed board. The ABC is a publicly-owne ...

made-for-TV movie ''

Curtin Curtin may refer to: Places *Curtin, Australian Capital Territory *Curtin, Oregon, U.S. *Curtin Township, Centre County, Pennsylvania, U.S. *Curtin, Nicholas County, West Virginia, U.S. *Curtin, Webster County, West Virginia, U.S. *RAAF Base Curtin ...

''. In 2010 Esler appeared in

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

Gary Goetzman Gary Michael Goetzman (born November 6, 1952) is an American film and television producer and actor, and co-founder of the production company Playtone with actor Tom Hanks. Life and career Born in Los Angeles, Goetzman began his career as a ch ...

and

Steven Spielberg Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Spi ...

-produced and Emmy Award-winning miniseries '' The Pacific'' as Private First Class

Charles "Chuck" Tatum Charles William Tatum (23 July 1926 – 22 June 2014)
from th

. After portraying Tatum, he was invited to contribute an afterword to Tatum's World War II memoir, ''Red Blood, Black Sand'', which was used as source material for the series. The book, including Esler's contribution, was re-released by

Penguin Publishing Penguin Group is a British trade book publisher and part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by the German media conglomerate Bertelsmann. The new company was created by a merger that was finalised on 1 July 2013, with Bertelsmann initial ...

in May 2012. He was a series regular for the first three seasons of '' Hell on Wheels'', a

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US * Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that i ...

focusing on the construction of the

transcontinental railroad A transcontinental railroad or transcontinental railway is contiguous railroad trackage, that crosses a continental land mass and has terminals at different oceans or continental borders. Such networks can be via the tracks of either a single ...

, on

, Esler appeared in the role of Sean, an Irish immigrant and ruthless businessman, seeking his fortune in the American West. In 2016 he appeared in ''The Jury'' in the role of Ernest. That same year he played the role of Charlie Quinn in the

SyFy Channel Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

television series '' The Magicians'', based upon the book series by author

Lev Grossman Lev Grossman (born June 26, 1969) is an American novelist and journalist who wrote ''The Magicians Trilogy'': '' The Magicians'' (2009), ''The Magician King'' (2011), and '' The Magician's Land'' (2014). He was the book critic and lead technology ...

. In 2017 Esler was a regular cast member in ''Welcome to OxBlood''; a pilot from Executive Producer

Marc Cherry Marc Cherry (born March 23, 1962) is an American television writer and producer. He is best known for creating the ABC dramedy series '' Desperate Housewives''. Personal life Early life Marc Cherry was born in Long Beach and lived briefly ...

and ABC, portraying the role of Hollis; "a shy, sweet and very odd guy taking care of his wheelchair-bound deaf grandmother who has no idea her grandson kidnaps women and keeps them prisoner in her attic." In 2019 he starred in the

Kriv Stenders Kriv Stenders is an Australian writer, producer and director best known for the film '' Red Dog'' and the thriller film '' Kill Me Three Times''. He started off directing music videos for many famous Australian bands, including Go Betweens, ...

directed Australian Vietnam-era war movie '' Danger Close'' as Ken Deacon. In 2020 he played Jed in ''

Endings, Beginnings ''Endings, Beginnings'' is a 2019 romantic drama film, directed by Drake Doremus, from a screenplay he wrote alongside Jardine Libaire. The film is semi-improvised and loosely based on the screenplay. It stars Shailene Woodley, Jamie Dornan, an ...

'' for director

Drake Doremus Drake Doremus (born March 29, 1983) is an American film director, screenwriter and producer best known for directing the films '' Like Crazy'' (2011), which won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, '' Douchebag'' (2010) whi ...

. He is a cast member and writer on the upcoming series

A Small Light ''A Small Light'' is a biographical war drama miniseries created by Joan Rater and Tony Phelan. It premiered on National Geographic on May 1, 2023. The miniseries became available to stream on Disney+ and Hulu the following day. It received wides ...

for

Natgeo ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widel ...

and

Filmography

References

External links

*
Red Blood, Black Sand
{{DEFAULTSORT:Esler, Ben 1983 births Male actors from Melbourne Living people Australian male television actors