Luke Aaron Benward (born May 12, 1995) is an American actor and singer. He is most known for his

Disney Channel Disney Channel is an American pay television television channel, channel that serves as the flagship (broadcasting), flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney Entertainment business segment of the Walt Disney Company ...

roles as Charlie 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. Min ...

'' (2008), Ryan in '' Girl vs. Monster'' (2012), and Will in '' Cloud 9'' (2014). He played the role of Dillon in the ''

Pretty Little Liars ''Pretty Little Liars'' is an American Mystery fiction, mystery teen drama television series created by I. Marlene King, which aired on Freeform (TV channel), Freeform from June 8, 2010 to June 27, 2017, based on the novel series Pretty Little L ...

spin-off Spin-off, Spin Off, Spin-Off, or Spinoff may refer to: Entertainment and media *Spinoff (media), a media work derived from an existing work *''The Spinoff'', a New Zealand current affairs magazine * ''Spin Off'' (Canadian game show), a 2013 Canad ...

'' Ravenswood'' (2013–14) and Bo in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film '' Dumplin''' (2018). He recurred as Teddy's boyfriend, Beau, on the fourth and final season of the

series ''

Good Luck Charlie ''Good Luck Charlie'' is an American sitcom that aired on Disney Channel from April 4, 2010, to February 16, 2014. It focuses on the Duncan family of Denver as they adjust to the births of their fourth and later fifth children, Charlotte "Char ...

'' (2013).

Early life

Benward was born in

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...

, 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 A model is an informative representation of an object, person, or system. The term originally denoted the plans of a building in late 16th-century English, and derived via French and Italian ultimately from Latin , . Models can be divided in ...

, and acting coach, and his grandfather is

Contemporary Christian music Contemporary Christian music (CCM), also known as 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 Christianity, Chri ...

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 ''We Were Soldiers'' is a 2002 American war film written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson. Based on the book '' We Were Soldiers Once… and Young'' (1992) by Lieutenant General (Ret.) Hal Moore and reporter Joseph L. ...

'' 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 Libra ...

'', which he won a

Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

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 ''

'', 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 Martina Mariea McBride (née Schiff, July 29, 1966) is an American country music singer and songwriter. She is known for her soprano singing range and her country pop material. McBride was born in Sharon, Kansas, and relocated to Nashville, T ...

. Benward's first release, a 5-song EP titled ''Let Your Love Out'', came out on January 5, 2009. 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 Hilary Erhard Duff (born September 28, 1987) is an American actress, singer, author and businesswoman. She is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Hilary Duff, various accolades, including a World Music Awards, World Mus ...

, India.Arie, the

Backstreet Boys Backstreet Boys (often abbreviated as BSB) are an American vocal group consisting of Nick Carter, Howie Dorough, AJ McLean, and cousins Brian Littrell and Kevin Richardson (musician), Kevin Richardson. The band formed in 1993 in Orlando, Flori ...

Mat Kearney Mathew William Kearney (; born December 1, 1978) is an American musician born in Eugene, Oregon, and based in Nashville, Tennessee. So far, he has a total of five top 20 hits on the Adult Top 40 Chart. '' Just Kids'' was released on February 2 ...

Death Cab for Cutie Death Cab for Cutie (commonly abbreviated to DCFC or Death Cab) is an American rock music, rock band formed in Bellingham, Washington, in 1997. Death Cab for Cutie's music has been classified as indie rock, indie pop, and alternative rock. The ...

, and the

Jonas Brothers The Jonas Brothers () are an American pop rock band formed in 2005 comprising brothers Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote thei ...

. He has also been in various commercials, including

Nintendo is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational video game company headquartered in Kyoto. It develops, publishes, and releases both video games and video game consoles. The history of Nintendo began when craftsman Fusajiro Yamauchi ...

McDonald's McDonald's Corporation, doing business as McDonald's, is an American Multinational corporation, multinational fast food chain store, chain. As of 2024, it is the second largest by number of locations in the world, behind only the Chinese ch ...

Willy Wonka Willy Wonka is a fictional character appearing in British author Roald Dahl's 1964 children's novel ''Charlie and the Chocolate Factory'' and its 1972 sequel '' Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator''. He is the eccentric founder and proprieto ...

American Express American Express Company or Amex is an American bank holding company and multinational financial services corporation that specializes in payment card industry, payment cards. It is headquartered at 200 Vesey Street, also known as American Expr ...

, and

Hamburger Helper Hamburger Helper is a packaged food product manufactured by Eagle Foods. As boxed, it consists of a dried carbohydrate (often pasta or rice), with powdered seasonings contained in a packet. The consumer is meant to combine the contents of the box ...

. He also played the role of Nicky in '' Mostly Ghostly'' and played Stevie Dewberry in the film ''

Because of Winn-Dixie ''Because of Winn-Dixie'' is a 2000 children's novel written by American author Kate DiCamillo. It was adapted as a 2005 family film directed by Wayne Wang, produced by Walden Media and Twentieth Century Fox, and starring AnnaSophia Robb as Op ...

''. He also played in the Disney Channel Original Movie '' Girl vs. Monster'' as Ryan Dean, the love interest of Skylar Lewis (

Olivia Holt Olivia Hastings Holt (born August 5, 1997) is an American actress and singer. She starred in the Disney XD series ''Kickin' It'', List of Disney Channel original films, Disney Channel Original Movie ''Girl vs. Monster'', and the List of program ...

). 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 ''

'', 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''.

Personal life

Benward dated

after meeting her on the set for

’s '' Girl vs. Monster''. The couple split in 2017. Since 2020, he has been in a relationship with actress

Ariel Winter Ariel Winter Workman (born January 28, 1998) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Alex Dunphy in the ABC sitcom '' Modern Family'' (2009–2020), for which she and her several costars won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Ou ...

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 male singers 21st-century American singers