Ben Shenkman Movies and Career Information

Benjamin Shenkman (born September 26, 1968) is an American television, film and stage actor. Shenkman was born in New York City and raised in what he described as "the secular Eastern European Jewish tradition". He graduated from Brown University, and obtained a Masters of Fine Arts in 1993 from New York University. He began his professional acting career with a small role in the 1994 film Quiz Show directed by Robert Redford and a guest-starring role on Law & Order, his first of seven appearances throughout the run of the show. He also began working in theatre, portraying Louis Ironson in Tony Kushner's play "Angels in America" at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre. The production wasn't the first or last time Shenkman took part in this award-winning piece: while still at New York University, Shenkman played the role of Roy Cohn in a workshop production of the play, and he would reprise the role of Louis eight years later in the HBO miniseries adaptation, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. Throughout the 1990s Shenkman combined work in Off-Broadway productions in NY with small roles in films such as Eraser (1996), The Siege (1998), π (1998), and Jesus' Son