Ben Shields was raised in eastern Kansas, finally landing in suburban Kansas City - on the Kansas side. His mother is a critical care nurse, and his father is a senior partner in a law firm. He is a great, great grandson of an undertaker who created one of the first mortuaries in Kansas in 1890, and a grandfather was a decorated WWII pilot. He is a distant nephew of the legendary Betsy Ross. Shields began acting at the age of eleven, when he was cast as an understudy in "Oliver" at Kansas City's Starlight Theatre. He went on to perform in every major production in school, then went on to college and received a theatre degree from Northwestern University.
After college Ben worked in theatre, television, film, and voiceover. He attended The Second City Training Center in Chicago and also received training from acclaimed teacher and actress, Uta Hagen. While in Chicago, he was seen at the Royal George Theatre, Shakespeare Repertory, Organic Theater, Apple Tree Theatre, Victory Gardens, among many others. Ben was among the cast of two productions that received Jeff Awards for Best Production. He followed these up with moving to Los Angeles, where he has since appeared on television series, including House M.D., Eleventh Hour, The Unit, Jericho, among others, as well as appearing and voicing on commercials, video games, and L.A. theatre stages.
On-Camera
Demo Reel
Callback clip
Games People Play clip
Wendigo clip
Film
Voodoo Macbeth | Lightyear Entertainment | Sabina Vajrača, d.
Citizens United | PEN Productions | Sean Garrett, d.
Mindbender | Nandar Productions | Andre LeBlanc, d.
Full Résumé Download
Specs
Height: 5’6”
Weight: 155 lbs
Eyes: Blue
Hair Color: Blond
God’s Marble | Crazy Igor Productions | Charles McNamara, d.
Television
Lessons in Chemistry | Co-Star | Apple Studios | Millicent Shelton, d.
Perry Mason | Recurring | HBO | Jessica Lowrey & Nina Lopez-Corrado, d.
General Hospital | Co-Star | ABC | Didy Van Cleave, d.
Games People Play | Recurring | BET Networks | Janice Cooke & Rob Morrow, d.
Do Not Disturb | Co-Star | Fox | Gary Halvorson, d.
House M.D. | Co-Star | Fox/NBC-Universal | David Straiton, d.
Wicked Wicked Games | Guest Star | MyNetwork TV | Terry Cunningham & Dennis Dimster, d.
Stage
Jane Fonda in the Court of Public Opinion | Supporting | Edgemar Center for the Arts | Terry Jastrow, d.
Conquest of the South Pole | Lead | Odyssey Theatre | Steve Pickering, d.
Assassins | Lead | Apple Tree Theatre | Gary Griffin, d.
Macbeth | Supporting | Shakespeare Repertory | Bill Brown, d.
Education
Northwestern University, Major in Theatre, B.S.
The Second City Training Center | Improvisation | Chicago
Uta Hagen | Acting Intensive | Chicago
Allan Miller | Acting | Los Angeles
Ben appears in Ep. 6 "Poirot" in the new Apple Studios series, Lessons in Chemistry, appears in three episodes of the HBO series, Perry Mason, and appeared as Director Gibson on General Hospital.
Ben will soon appear in a new superhero series which is currently confidential.
Chris Jones
Chicago Tribune
“An abundance of comic invention and actor energy…Best of the whole bunch is a taciturn and self-reflexive janitor with a doctorate in anthropology, played with wit and intelligence by the splendid Ben Shields.”
Hedy Weiss
Chicago Sun-Times
"An appealing gift for underplaying."
Nick Green
Chicago Reader
“Hilarious and multidimensional, Ben Shields as Trefusis reveals a keen sense of comic timing.”
Luis Reyes
LA Weekly
"Gives the traditionally weak character of Malcolm a palpable, layered strength.”
Hedy Weiss
Chicago Sun-Times
“Shields endows a not always sympathetic role with genuine decency.”
Dan Zeff
Copley News Service
“The Bailiwick cast…throws itself into the play with irresistible exuberance. They deliver Shaw's often convoluted comic speeches with ease and authority…Everyone in the cast is good and several are outstanding. Maggie Carney remains the best comic character actress on the area theater scene. Carney's equals include Ben Shields as the moneyed revolutionary Sidney.”
Dany Margolies
Backstage West
“Each character is rich…each performance beyond 'acting'.”
Sandra Ross
LA Weekly
“The ensemble is superb.”
Lucia Mauro
Pioneer Press
“Ben Shields and Janelle Snow give outrageous interpretations of their wildly diverse roles.”
Jeff Rossen
Gay Chicago Magazine
“Particularly impressive are Elizabeth Kline, Doug Long, Janelle Snow and, especially, Ben Shields as the assorted bargain-hunters who rifle through and bicker for bits of Joe and Kate’s life.”
Lucia Mauro
Chicago Sun-Times
“As the foiled Trefusis, Ben Shields forges ahead in bumbling egotistical bliss. Through his hapless sense of wounded idealism, however, he is capable of evoking pity.”
Lawrence Bommer
Chicago Tribune
“It's performed at perfect pitch; James Pelton's deft staging features a crackerjack cast whose dead-on accents and wizard timing never waste a witticism. Ben Shields gets magnificently mixed-up as Shaw's foolish firebrand."
Joe Bowen
“The cast is terrific; notably…Ben Shields as the obsessed Hinckley.”
Hedy Weiss
Chicago Sun-Times
“Ben Shields’ wonderfully introverted, boyish, self-deprecating John Hinckley contrasts nicely with Daniel Allar’s terrifically coarse, big-mouthed Samuel Byck.”
playreviews.com
“Ben Shields is a worthy Malcolm.”
Hayley Littman
Littman Talent Group
818-213-2288
Eileen O'Farrell
Eileen O'Farrell Personal Mgmt.
818-985-3136
