Luke Aaron Benward (born May 12, 1995) is an American actor and singer. He is best known for his role as Will in the Disney film ''
Cloud 9
In meteorology, a cloud is an aerosol consisting of a visible mass of miniature liquid droplets, frozen crystals, or other particles suspended in the atmosphere of a planetary body or similar space. Water or various other chemicals may ...
'' (2014). His first starring role was Billy Forrester in ''
How to Eat Fried Worms
''How to Eat Fried Worms'' is a children's book written by Thomas Rockwell, first published in 1973. The novel's plot involves a boy eating worms as part of a bet. It has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Lib ...
'' (2006), and as Charlie Tuttle in ''
Minutemen
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...
'' (2008). He played the role of Dillon in ''
Ravenswood'' and Bo in the
Netflix film ''
Dumplin'
''Dumplin is a 2015 young adult novel and the second book by the American author Julie Murphy (author), Julie Murphy. It was first published in hardback in the United States on September 15, 2015 through Balzer + Bray. An audiobook adaptation, na ...
''. He recurred as Teddy's boyfriend, Beau, on the final season of the
Disney Channel
Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...
series ''
Good Luck Charlie''.
Early life
Benward was born in
Franklin, Tennessee, the son of Kenda (née Wilkerson) and
Aaron Benward. His father is in the country duo
Blue County, his mother is a part-time actress,
model, and acting coach, and his grandfather is
Contemporary Christian music
Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...
artist
Jeoffrey Benward. He has two younger sisters.
Career
Benward's acting career started when he landed a role in the film ''
We Were Soldiers'' as David Moore in 2002. His success grew in 2006, when he played Billy Forrester in the movie ''
How to Eat Fried Worms
''How to Eat Fried Worms'' is a children's book written by Thomas Rockwell, first published in 1973. The novel's plot involves a boy eating worms as part of a bet. It has been the frequent target of censors and appears on the American Lib ...
'', which he won a
Young Artist Award for in the category of Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film.
He also played 14-year-old Charlie Tuttle in the Disney Channel movie ''
Minutemen
Minutemen were members of the organized New England colonial militia companies trained in weaponry, tactics, and military strategies during the American Revolutionary War. They were known for being ready at a minute's notice, hence the name. Mi ...
'', the 14-year-old Alan in ''
Dear John'', and the little boy who helps the abused girl in the music video "
Concrete Angel" by
Martina McBride. Benward's first album, ''
Let Your Love Out'', came out on January 5, 2009, and contained five songs.
He also toured with the Christian group ''iShine LIVE'' for a short time, where he would sing his music in concert. The record label that signed him is called In Crowd Productions, whose collective credits include
Hilary Duff,
India.Arie, the
Backstreet Boys,
Mat Kearney,
Death Cab for Cutie, and the
Jonas Brothers
The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in W ...
.
He has also been in various commercials, including
Nintendo
is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto, Japan. It develops video games and video game consoles.
Nintendo was founded in 1889 as by craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi and originally produce ...
,
McDonald's,
Willy Wonka,
American Express
American Express Company (Amex) is an American multinational corporation specialized in payment card services headquartered at 200 Vesey Street in the Battery Park City neighborhood of Lower Manhattan in New York City. The company was found ...
, and
Hamburger Helper. He also played the role of Nicky in ''
Mostly Ghostly'' and played Stevie Dewberry in the film ''
Because of Winn-Dixie''. He also played in the Disney Channel Original Movie ''
Girl vs. Monster'' as Ryan Dean, the love interest of Skylar Lewis (
Olivia Holt).
Benward also had a recurring role as Matthew Pearson, the ex-boyfriend of Emily Hobbs (
Ryan Newman) on ''
See Dad Run''. He was in the movie ''Cloud 9'' from Disney Channel with ''
Liv and Maddie'' star
Dove Cameron and appeared as Beau, Teddy's love interest, on six episodes of ''
Good Luck Charlie'', reuniting him with his ''Minutemen'' costar
Jason Dolley. He appeared as Thor in the third-season premiere of the Disney Channel series ''
Girl Meets World''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Discography
Extended play
Promotional singles
Other appearances
Music videos
References
External links
*
*
iShine Tour interview
{{DEFAULTSORT:Benward, Luke
1995 births
21st-century American male actors
American male child actors
American male film actors
American male television actors
American male pop singers
Living people
Male actors from Tennessee
Singers from Tennessee
21st-century American singers
21st-century American male singers