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Background:
“It’s a bad thing just to play off your looks. People have given me a chance to
transform myself. That’s what I love about acting.” Wes Bentley
One of Hollywood burgeoning stars, Wes Bentley got his start on local plays and
independent films before storming into Hollywood scene with his galvanizing
portrait of former mental patient-turn-drug-dealing videographer Ricky Fitts in
the highly-acclaimed American Beauty (1999). For his efforts, he took home a
Chicago Film Critics Association Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, a National
Board of Review Award, a Young Hollywood Award, and an Online Film Critics
Society Award, as well as a BAFTA and MTV Movie nominations.
Since the breakthrough performance, Bentley’s career has ignited. He is set to
play roles in the forthcoming The Ungodly (2006), Weirdsville (2007) and Ghost
Rider (2007, with Nicolas Cage).
Off camera, Bentley, who shares his birthday with actress/pop singer Beyoncé
Knowles, is married to Jennifer Quanz.
Pretty Boy
Childhood and Family:
Wesley Cook Bentley was born on September 4, 1978, to Methodist ministers, David
and Cherie Bentley. A native of Jonesboro, Arkansas, he was raised in Mountain
Home, Arkansas, until his sophomore year, and then moved to Sherwood, Arkansas,
where he attended Sylvan Hills High School. He was a drum major at his junior,
played the trombone, and was inspired to be a hip hop artist. A huge soccer fan,
this self-describe “pretty boy” took part in sports in an attempt to neutralize
the mockery and abuse he received from classmates over his face. During his high
school days, Wesley also became the member of his school’s drama club. After
graduating in 1996, he briefly attended the prestigious Juilliard Drama School
in New York.
The brother of Jamey, Philip and Patrick was married to Jennifer Quanz on
September 25, 2001. Wesley considers himself a Taoist regardless of his
Methodist upbringing.
The Ungodly
Career:
Wes Bentley started acting in high school. Aside from joining a drama club at
school, he also participated in a number of local productions, including “Joseph
and his Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat,” “La Cage aux Folles” and “Oliver.” After
high school graduation, he headed to New York to attend a drama school, but
dropped out quickly. While there, he was cast in such stage productions as
“Henry IV, Part 1” and “The Weavers.”
Bentley, who once worked as a waiter at TGI Friday’s on Long Island, got his
first taste in front the film camera with a role in the independent Three Below
Zero (1998), a drama directed by Simon Aeby, and was additionally featured as
Schoolteacher’s Nephew in Jonathan Demme’s Beloved, that same year. The latter
film starred Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover and Thandie Newton.
A year later, the young actor earned his breakthrough role when director Sam
Mendes had him play the supporting role of Ricky Fitts in the Academy Award
winning American Beauty. His incredible portrayal of drug-dealing videographer
who romances his neighbor’s daughter brought Bentley a Chicago Film Critics
Association for Most Promising Actor, a Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding
Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical Motion Picture and a National Board of
Review for Breakthrough Performer. Additionally, he picked up a BAFTA nomination
for Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role as well as a MTV Movie nod
for Breakthrough Male Performance. Along with his cast mates that included Kevin
Spacey, Annette Bening and Thora Birch, he also nabbed a Young Hollywood for
Best On-screen Chemistry and an Online Film Critics Society for Best Ensemble.
The success cemented Bentley’s reputation as an ascending star.
The left-handed actor followed the triumph by taking on the lead of a young
serial killer who joins forces with a roving con man (Antonio Banderas) in The
White River Kid (2000), portraying a railroad assessor named Dalglish in Michael
Winterbottom’s The Claim (2000, opposite Peter Mullan and Milla Jovovich) and
teaming up with Melissa Sagemiller, Eliza Dushku and Luke Wilson in the thriller
Soul Survivors (2001). He also starred in the remake of The Four Feathers
(2002), helmed by Shekhar Kapur and costarring Heath Ledger.
After a two-year hiatus, Bentley revisited the wide screen with the sport-themed
The Game of Their Lives (2005), starring along side Gerard Butler. Based on a
true story, the movie follows the story of the 1950 American soccer squad who,
against all odds, strike England in the city of Belo Horizonte, Brazil. He will
play Mickey Gravatski in the upcoming thriller The Ungodly (2006) for Thomas
Dunn, and in 2007, he can add comedy-drama Weirdsville and the Nicolas Cage
starring vehicle Ghost Rider to his impressive credits.
“It’s surreal how nonchalant my family is about it, because no one else in my
hometown is. People seem to find my number, and most of them are guys who used
to threaten to beat me up. Wes Bentley concerning about his celebrity
Awards:
- Chicago Film Critics Association: Most Promising Actor, American Beauty,
2000
- Screen Actors Guild: Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Theatrical
Motion Picture, American Beauty, 2000
- Young Hollywood: Best On-screen Chemistry, American Beauty, 2000
- National Board of Review: Breakthrough Award, American Beauty, 1999
- Online Film Critics Society: Best Ensemble, American Beauty, shared with
cast mates, 1999
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