Wes Bentley (born September 4, 1978) is an American actor. He is best known for his roles as Ricky Fitts in '' American Beauty'' (1999), which earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Supporting Actor; Seneca Crane in ''

The Hunger Games ''The Hunger Games'' are a series of Young adult fiction, young adult Dystopian fiction, dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The series consists of a trilogy that follows teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and two ...

'' (2012); Doyle in '' Interstellar'' (2014); Erik in '' Mission: Impossible – Fallout''; and Jamie Dutton in ''

Yellowstone Yellowstone National Park is a List of national parks of the United States, national park of the United States located in the northwest corner of Wyoming, with small portions extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U ...

''. He was one of four subjects in the documentary '' My Big Break'' (2009), which covered his fame after ''American Beauty'' and his subsequent struggles with substance abuse. Rebuilding his career, he starred in the premiere of '' Venus in Fur'' by David Ives in the off-Broadway production in 2010. Other film roles include '' The Four Feathers'' (2002), ''

Ghost Rider Ghost Rider is the name of multiple superheroes or antiheroes appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Marvel had previously used the name for a Western character whose name was later changed to Phantom Rider. The first s ...

'' (2007), '' P2'' (2007), and '' Pete's Dragon'' (2016). He began appearing in the FX anthology series ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

'' in 2014, playing Edward Mordrake in ''

Freak Show A freak show is an exhibition of biological rarities, referred to in popular culture as "Freak, freaks of nature". Typical features would be physically unusual Human#Anatomy and physiology, humans, such as those uncommonly large or small, t ...

''. In 2015, he starred as Detective John Lowe in ''

Hotel A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a re ...

'', for which he received a

Critics' Choice Television Award The Critics' Choice Television Awards were accolades that were presented annually by the Critics Choice Association (CCA). They were established in 2011, and the first ceremony was held on June 20, 2011, and streamed live on VH1.com. The fou ...

nomination. The following year, he played Dylan (the actor who plays Ambrose White in ''My Roanoke Nightmare'') in the series' sixth cycle, subtitled '' Roanoke''. From 2018 until 2024, Bentley starred in the

Paramount Network Paramount Network is an American basic cable television channel and the flagship property of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global, who operates it through the MTV Entertainment Group. The network's headquarters are located a ...

original television series ''

''.

Early life

Bentley was born in

Jonesboro, Arkansas Jonesboro () is a city located on Crowley's Ridge in the northeastern corner of the U.S. State of Arkansas. Jonesboro is one of two county seats of Craighead County, Arkansas, Craighead County. In 2023, the city had an estimated population of ...

, and raised in

Little Rock Little Rock is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Arkansas, most populous city of the U.S. state of Arkansas. The city's population was 202,591 as of the 2020 census. The six-county Central Arkan ...

, the third of four sons of Cherie Baker and David Bentley. His father is a minister, and his mother is a chaplain and ordained elder in the Arkansas Conference, both in the

United Methodist The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

denomination. His grandfather was an evangelical minister.Wes Bentley on Yellowstone Success, Turning Down Spider-Man & Being Cast in American Beauty
youtube.com. Accessed May 31, 2023. He is of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

, and English descent. In 1996, he graduated from

Sylvan Hills High School Sylvan Hills High School is an accredited Comprehensive high school, comprehensive public education, public Secondary education in the United States, high school located in the city of Sherwood, Arkansas, United States, serving grades nine throu ...

Sherwood, Arkansas Sherwood is a city in Pulaski County, Arkansas, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 32,731, making it the List of municipalities in Arkansas, 13th most populous city in Arkansas. It is ...

. He attended the

Juilliard School The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...

's Drama Division as part of its Group 29 (1996–2000) but left the school after one year to pursue his acting career.

Career

Bentley has starred in several films, including the Oscar-winning '' American Beauty'', '' The Four Feathers'', '' P2'', and ''

''. He starred in the thriller '' Dolan's Cadillac'', based on the short story by

Stephen King Stephen Edwin King (born September 21, 1947) is an American author. Dubbed the "King of Horror", he is widely known for his horror novels and has also explored other genres, among them Thriller (genre), suspense, crime fiction, crime, scienc ...

, and '' There Be Dragons'' by director

Roland Joffé Roland Joffé (; born 17 November 1945) is an English film and television film director, director, Film producer, producer and screenwriter. He is known for directing the critically-acclaimed films ''The Killing Fields (film), The Killing Field ...

. Bentley is one of the main subjects in the documentary '' My Big Break'', directed by Tony Zierra, which follows Bentley and three of his former roommates,

Chad Lindberg Chad Tyler Lindberg (born November 1, 1976) is an American actor. He is known for his film roles in '' The Fast and the Furious'' and '' October Sky'', as well as television roles on ''Sons of Anarchy'' and ''Supernatural''. Lindberg was also the ...

, Brad Rowe and Greg Fawcett, as they pursue their dream to become successful actors in Hollywood. In ''

'' (2007), Bentley played

Blackheart Blackheart is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character is usually depicted as an adversary to the superhero Ghost Rider (Danny Ketch), Ghost Rider. Created by writer Ann Nocenti and artist ...

, a demonic being that served as the main

antagonist An antagonist is a character in a story who is presented as the main enemy or rival of the protagonist and is often depicted as a villain.Nina Arianda in the premiere of the David Ives play '' Venus in Fur'' off-Broadway at the

Classic Stage Company Classic Stage Company, or CSC, is a classical Off-Broadway theater company. Founded in 1967, Classic Stage Company is one of Off-Broadway's oldest theater companies. CSC is led by Producing Artistic Director Jill Rafson. John Doyle previously ...

in New York City. The production later moved to Broadway, with Hugh Dancy in the role debuted by Bentley. In March 2012, Bentley had a supporting role in the blockbuster movie ''

'', playing gamemaker Seneca Crane. In 2012, Bentley starred in the indie feature '' 3 Nights in the Desert'', directed by

Gabriel Cowan Gabriel Cowan is an American film director, composer and film producer. He has made documentaries, horror films, dramas, and comedies. Career Gabriel Cowan was originally a musician. At 18, he worked with Robbie Robertson to score the film ...

. Bentley and

Scott Speedman Robert Scott Speedman (born September 1, 1975) is a Canadian actor and model. He is known for portraying Ben Covington in the coming-of-age drama television series '' Felicity'', Lycan–Vampire hybrid Michael Corvin in the gothic horror–act ...

starred in a

pilot episode A television pilot (also known as a pilot or a pilot episode and sometimes marketed as a tele-movie) in United Kingdom and United States television, is a standalone episode of a television series that is used to sell a show to a television netwo ...

for a planned

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 created by Ryan Murphy, ''Open'', but the series was not picked up. The following year, Bentley guest starred in Murphy's FX series ''

'' for its fourth season, ''

''. In 2015, he was promoted to the main cast for the fifth season, ''

'', starring as Detective John Lowe. In 2016, he played a main role in the sixth season, '' Roanoke''. From 2018 to 2024, he played Jamie Dutton on Paramount Network's ''

''. On ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'' on December 9, 2022, Bentley said he turned down the role of

Spider-Man Spider-Man is a superhero in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appearance, first appeared in the anthology comic book ''Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in ...

, a role later offered to

Tobey Maguire Tobias Vincent Maguire (born 27 June 1975) is an American actor and film producer. He is best known for starring as Peter Parker (2002 film series character), Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man in film#Sam Raimi's trilogy, ''Spider-Man'' tr ...

Personal life

Bentley was married to actress Jennifer Quanz from 2001 to 2009. They divorced in 2009, reportedly due to his substance abuse. He married producer Jacqui Swedberg in 2010, and their son was born in 2010 and their daughter in 2014. In a ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' article on February 8, 2010, he described his descent into

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to use a drug or engage in a behavior that produces natural reward, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use can ...

that began almost immediately after his success in '' American Beauty''. He said he hid his addiction from his wife; they separated in 2006, and he moved to an apartment where he began doing drugs full-time. During this time, he worked sporadically, just enough to pay bills and buy drugs. His addiction began to cause problems on the sets of the films '' P2'' and '' Weirdsville''. In 2008, he was arrested and ordered into counseling and 12-step programs. He relapsed, however, and "continued using

heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a morphinan opioid substance synthesized from the Opium, dried latex of the Papaver somniferum, opium poppy; it is mainly used as a recreational drug for its eupho ...

until he was broke". In July 2009, he said, he confessed to a friend, "I'm a drug addict, and an

alcoholic Alcoholism is the continued drinking of alcohol despite it causing problems. Some definitions require evidence of dependence and withdrawal. Problematic use of alcohol has been mentioned in the earliest historical records. The World Hea ...

, and I need help. I need help or I'm going to die". He again entered a 12-step program and, while clean since then, considers himself on the path to recovery. The documentary '' My Big Break'' (2009) captures Bentley's early life as an unknown actor, his sudden fame after ''American Beauty'', his subsequent emotional struggle with fame, and his admission years later that he was recovering from an addiction to drugs and alcohol. He began to rebuild his career by starring in the

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

premiere of the play '' Venus in Fur'' by David Ives.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bentley, Wes 1978 births 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Actors from Craighead County, Arkansas American male film actors American people of English descent American people of German descent American people of Scottish descent Juilliard School alumni Living people Male actors from Little Rock, Arkansas Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award winners People from Jonesboro, Arkansas Sylvan Hills High School alumni