Ben Shenkman

Actor

• Born: September 26, 1968
• Birthplace: New York, New York

Contribution: Ben Shenkman is an acclaimed American actor best known for his roles in the television miniseries Angels in America (2003) and the comedic medical drama Royal Pains (2012–16).

Background

Ben Shenkman was born Benjamin Alexander Sheinkman on September 26, 1968, in New York, New York. He later moved to Washington, DC, with his family. His father was a senior executive at the Washington office of the Segal Company, a consulting firm based in New York. His mother was an attorney at the law offices of Dow, Lohnes & Albertson.

Shenkman attended Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, graduating in 1990. As he had become interested in acting as a career, he then returned to New York to enroll at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He earned his master of fine arts degree in theater in 1993.

Shenkman soon began performing in various theater productions around New York, moving from job to job and even appearing in a 1993 episode of Law & Order. After he landed a small part in Robert Redford’s 1994 film drama Quiz Show, his screen career slowly began to gain momentum.

Career

Shenkman quickly built up his résumé in the late 1990s with supporting roles in features such as Camp Stories (1997), Pi (1998), and The Siege (1998).

In 1999 Shenkman appeared in his first starring role in the independent romance film 30 Days, about a man and a woman who are set up for a relationship. He stayed active in film into the new millennium, with supporting roles in Joe Gould’s Secret (2000), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002). Shenkman also appeared on stage in a 2001 Manhattan Theatre Club production of David Auburn’s play Proof. He was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance.

Shenkman made a significant breakthrough on mainstream television when he secured the part of Louis Ironson in Angels in America, an HBO miniseries adaptation of Tony Kushner’s 1993 play about the spread of the AIDS virus in the 1980s Reagan-era United States. Shenkman’s Louis leaves his lover, Prior Walter, after learning that he has been diagnosed with AIDS. Shenkman appeared in all six episodes of the miniseries, and for his dramatic portrayal of Louis Ironson, he was nominated for an Emmy Award for outstanding supporting actor and a Golden Globe in the same category.

The mid- to late 2000s brought Shenkman work mostly in the form of supporting roles in film and guest roles on television. He appeared in the films Must Love Dogs (2005) and Americanese (2006) as well as several episodes of the short-lived television series Love Monkey (2006). Shenkman continued to make consistent appearances as supporting characters in comedy films such as Breakfast with Scot (2007) and Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (2009), interspersing his film work with a principal role in the similarly short-lived 2008 series Canterbury’s Law and recurring roles in Grey’s Anatomy and Burn Notice in 2009.

Shenkman took on more independent film work in 2009 with small roles in the Michael Douglas drama Solitary Man and the 2010 romance Blue Valentine. Also in 2010, he guest starred in eleven episodes of the popular legal drama Damages and joined the main cast of the comedy series The Paul Reiser Show, which was canceled after airing two episodes.

In 2012 Shenkman again found mainstream television success when he joined the cast of the USA Network’s popular medical dramedy Royal Pains. The show focuses on Dr. Hank Lawson, a former emergency-room physician who moves to the Hamptons to establish his own practice catering to the affluent residents of the area. Shenkman played Dr. Jeremiah Sacani, who replaced Hank for a time and then worked with him when he returned. Though only a recurring character in the show’s fourth season, Shenkman was upgraded to the main cast for the fifth-season premiere in June 2013. He also appeared in the Sundance-selected independent film Concussion in 2013.

Shenkman continued to portray Sacani until Royal Pains came to an end in 2016 before going on to find other work, largely on television. In addition to appearing in the HBO miniseries The Night Of in 2016, he landed a recurring role as an attorney in the Showtime series Billions starting that same year. He next joined the cast of the ABC legal drama For the People in 2018, playing the chief of the US Attorney's Office's criminal division. However, the show was canceled by the network in 2019 after only two seasons.

Impact

Shenkman has proven himself to be a highly talented dramatic actor, capable of channeling raw emotion through the characters he plays, best exemplified by his Emmy-nominated role as Louis Ironson in Angels in America. Since then, Shenkman has become a solid supporting man in a wide variety of roles in independent films and television shows.

Personal Life

On September 17, 2005, Shenkman married Lauren Bennett Greilsheimer, who directs youth programs at a YMCA in New York. The couple have two children and live in New York.

Principal Works

Film

Quiz Show, 1994

Pi, 1998

30 Days, 1999

Requiem for a Dream, 2000

Breakfast with Scot, 2007

Blue Valentine, 2010

Concussion, 2013

Television

Angels in America, 2003

Love Monkey, 2006

Canterbury’s Law, 2008

Damages, 2010

Royal Pains, 2012–16

The Night Of, 2016

Billions, 2016–

For the People, 2018–19

Bibliography

“Dr. Jeremiah Sacani Played by Ben Shenkman.” USA Network. NBCUniversal, 2013. Web. 16 Aug. 2013.

Goldfarb, Brad, and Patrick Giles. “The Angels Have Landed.” Interview Dec. 2003/Jan. 2004: 170–74. Print.

“Lauren Greilsheimer and Ben Shenkman.” New York Times. New York Times, 18 Sept. 2005. Web. 16 Aug. 2013.

Shenkman, Ben. “Ben Shenkman.” Interview by Anne Stockwell. Advocate 9 Dec. 2003: 50. Print.

Stanhope, Kate. “Royal Pains’ Ben Shenkman on Being the New Guy: He’s Being Thrown into the Deep End.” TV Guide. CBS Interactive, 5 June 2012. Web. 16 Aug. 2013.