Benjamin Koldyke (born March 27, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Don Frank on ''

How I Met Your Mother ''How I Met Your Mother'' (often abbreviated as ''HIMYM'') is an American sitcom created by Craig Thomas (screenwriter), Craig Thomas and Carter Bays for CBS. The series, which aired from September 19, 2005, to March 31, 2014, follows main char ...

'' (2009–2010), Lee Standish in '' Work It'' (2012), and Greg Gibbon on ''

Gortimer Gibbon's Life On Normal Street ''Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street'' is an American live action, magic realism family television series created by David Anaxagoras that was initially streamed for two seasons (2014–16) on Amazon Prime Video. The series, follows young G ...

'' (2014–2016).

Early life and education

Koldyke was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in nearby Kenilworth. His father, Martin J. "Mike" Koldyke, is a former investment banker who founded

Frontenac Company Frontenac is a Chicago-based private equity firm founded in 1971. The firm focuses on investing in lower middle market buyout transactions in the consumer, industrial, and services industries. Frontenac works in partnership with established operat ...

in Chicago and is a life trustee of

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

; through his mother, Patricia Blunt Koldyke, he is a member of the family that controls Laird Norton Company, an investment company with roots in the timber industry of the Pacific Northwest. After graduating from high school, he did a post-graduate year at

Choate Rosemary Hall Choate Rosemary Hall ( ) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, College-preparatory school, college-preparatory boarding school in Wallingford, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1890, it took its present na ...

. He graduated in 1991 from

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and was a quarterback for the football team.

Career

Koldyke worked as a high school English teacher and football coach in Chicago. His acting career received a jump start after a chance encounter with ''

It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia ''It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'', also known colloquially simply as ''Always Sunny'', is an American sitcom created by Rob McElhenney and co-developed by Glenn Howerton for FX (TV channel), FX. It premiered on August 4, 2005, and stars Charl ...

'' creator-star,

Rob McElhenney Robert McElhenney III ( ; born April 14, 1977) is an American actor, screenwriter and producer. He is best known for his role as Mac on the FX/ FXX comedy series '' It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia'' (2005–present), a show he created and co ...

. Regulars at the same Venice cafe, he covered Rob's tab with a note that said he "thought his show was fantastic," and this exchange led to Koldyke's first TV pilot, ''Boldly Going Nowhere'' for

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

, a few years later. After ''Boldly'' was not picked up, Koldyke went on to recur as Dale Tomasson in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, 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 based a ...

series ''

Big Love ''Big Love'' is an American drama (film and television), drama television series created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer that aired on HBO from 2006 to 2011. It stars Bill Paxton as the patriarch of a Mormon fundamentalism, fundamentalist Mor ...

'' and as Don Frank in ''

'' for

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS (an abbreviation of its original name, Columbia Broadcasting System), is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainme ...

. In 2012, Koldyke starred as the lead character in the short-lived

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, Philippine broadcast company * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial American ...

comedy series '' Work It'' and later guest starred in

's '' The Newsroom''. 2013 saw him star in another

sitcom, '' Back in the Game'', opposite

James Caan James Edmund Caan ( ; March 26, 1940 – July 6, 2022) was an American actor. He came to prominence playing Sonny Corleone in ''The Godfather'' (1972), for which he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award an ...

and Maggie Lawson. He had a significant arc on

Showtime Showtime or Show Time may refer to: Film * ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film * ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur Television Networks and channels * Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...

's ''

Masters of Sex ''Masters of Sex'' is an American period drama television series that premiered on September 29, 2013, on Showtime. It was developed by Michelle Ashford and loosely based on Thomas Maier's biography '' Masters of Sex''. Set in the 1950s thro ...

'' as teacher and football coach Paul Edley, and played male chauvinist Brent throughout the final season of ''The Good Place''. In 2021 he had a recurring role on season 1 of

Peacock Peafowl is a common name for two bird species of the genus '' Pavo'' and one species of the closely related genus '' Afropavo'' within the tribe Pavonini of the family Phasianidae (the pheasants and their allies). Male peafowl are referred t ...

sitcom

Rutherford Falls ''Rutherford Falls'' is an American sitcom television series that premiered on the streaming service Peacock on April 22, 2021. It was created by Ed Helms, Michael Schur, and Sierra Teller Ornelas. In July 2021, the series was renewed for a seco ...

. Koldyke was seen on the big screen in 2016 in a supporting role for

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

's '' The Finest Hours'' alongside

Chris Pine Christopher Whitelaw Pine (born August 26, 1980) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as James T. Kirk in the ''Star Trek'' reboot film series (2009–2016) and Steve Trevor in the DC Extended Universe films ''Wonder Woman'' ...

Casey Affleck Casey Affleck (born Caleb Casey McGuire Affleck-Boldt; August 12, 1975) is an American actor. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Casey Affleck, various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film ...

Eric Bana Eric Martin Andrew Banadinović (born 9 August 1968), known professionally as Eric Bana (), is an Australian actor. He began his career in the sketch-comedy series '' Full Frontal'' before gaining notice in the comedy drama '' The Castle'' (199 ...

, and Ben Foster.

Personal life

On August 8, 2015, Koldyke married actress Maggie Lawson in a ceremony at his family's ranch in Las Vegas, New Mexico. In early 2017, Lawson filed for divorce from Koldyke.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koldyke, Benjamin American male film actors American male television actors Living people 1968 births Male actors from Chicago Dartmouth Big Green football players 21st-century American male actors