Ben Foster (actor)

Early life

Foster was born in Boston on October 29, 1980, the son of Steven and Gillian Foster ( Kirwan), both restaurant owners. He has described his parents as "free-spirited, Vietnam-protesting hippies". He has a younger brother, Jon, who is also an actor. In 1984, the Foster family relocated to Fairfield, Iowa when their Boston home was broken into by robbers while they were present.

Foster's father is Jewish and he was raised in this faith. His paternal grandparents were Celia (née Segal) and Abraham Foster, who was a prominent judge and politician in Boston; their families emigrated from the Russian Empire. Foster also has Irish ancestry. As a youth he attended Interlochen Arts Camp and studied theatre there.

Career

Foster began working as an actor when he was 14 years old. From 1995 to 1997, he starred in the Disney Channel television series Flash Forward. His first major film role was in the 1999 Barry Levinson film, Liberty Heights, which Todd McCarthy described as an "outstanding bigscreen debut."

In 2001, he acted in the film Get Over It. Foster also had a recurring role as Russell Corwin (22 episodes) in the HBO original series, Six Feet Under.

In 2007, he played cold-blooded killer and outlaw Charlie Prince in the Western film 3:10 to Yuma. In February 2013, he was cast to replace Shia LaBeouf in the Broadway play Orphans as his first theater performance. In May 2014, it was announced that he would star opposite Gillian Anderson and Vanessa Kirby in Benedict Andrews' new production of A Streetcar Named Desire at the Young Vic in London. The same production closed on September 19, 2014 and transferred to New York in 2016, opening at St. Ann's Warehouse in Brooklyn.

Foster played Lance Armstrong in the biopic The Program, and co-starred in the fantasy adventure Warcraft, released in June 2016. Also in 2016, Foster appeared in Hell or High Water as the dangerous Tanner Howard, opposite Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges. He reunited with director Barry Levinson to make The Survivor in 2021. In the 2025, Foster played James V. Martin, the coach and abusive husband of boxer Christy Martin, in the biopic Christy. Sonia Rao of The Washington Post wrote that Foster "tries his best" to provide a nuanced portrayal of Martin but that his "efforts are thwarted by an uninspired script".

He is next set to play Evel Knievel in The Stunt Driver.

Personal life

Foster was in a relationship with German actress Antje Traue, his co-star in the movie Pandorum. Traue moved to Los Angeles and lived with Foster until their relationship ended around 2010. In early 2012, Foster began a relationship with actress Robin Wright. They became engaged in early 2014, but called off their engagement in November 2014. Foster and Wright reconciled in early 2015. In August 2015, they announced they were ending their second engagement.

In October 2016, Foster announced his engagement to actress Laura Prepon. Prepon gave birth to their first child, a daughter, Ella, in August 2017. Foster and Prepon married in June 2018. Their son was born in February 2020. Foster filed for divorce from Prepon on November 12, 2024, citing “irreconcilable differences”.

After filming of the movie Here ended, five members of the cast and crew, including Foster, got tattooed with the letters T.I.A., which stand for "This is Armenia". Foster practices transcendental meditation.

Acting credits

Film

Television

Stage

References

References

1. "Ben Foster Biography (1980–)". FilmReference.com.
2. Ordona, Michael. (November 1, 2009). "Ben Foster puts his heart into ''The Messenger''". [[Los Angeles Times]].
3. (25 February 2017). "2017 Film Independent Spirit Awards Winners Announced! – Film Independent".
4. (13 November 2009). "Ben Foster on Shooting The Messenger's Most Harrowing Scenes".
5. (12 November 2009). "Delivering Bad News and Truths About War".
6. Matt Zoller Seitz. (29 July 2016). "Ben Foster's one of those actors who makes even a bad film worth seeing. Sometimes he suggests the film you'd rather be watching.".
7. Fee, Gayle. (September 3, 1995). "Inside Track: Pool barons foster son's fledgling career". [[Boston Herald]].
8. Sherman, Paul. (December 9, 1999). "New ''Heights''; After landing the lead role in Barry Levinson's latest film, Boston native Ben Foster is flying". [[Boston Herald]].
9. Abel, Judy. (November 15, 2009). "Exploring life's 'darker corners'". [[The Boston Globe]].
10. Miller, Gerri. (1999). "Foster Reaches for the "Heights"". JVibe.
11. Sragow, Michael. (December 16, 1999). "It's a boy's, boy's, boy's world (and a girl's)". [[Salon (website).
12. "Jews in the News: Ben Foster, Barry Levinson and Ruth Bader Ginsburg". Tampa JCCs and Federation.
13. Breed, Allan G.. (February 4, 1999). "Ben Foster reaches for new ''Heights''". [[Lawrence Journal-World]].
14. Lakshmanan, Indira A.R.. (December 27, 1994). "A. Frank Foster, judge who once halted a man's beating; at 84". Boston Globe.
15. (June 28, 2010). "CELIA ( SEGAL) FOSTER « Brezniak Rodman Funeral Directors". Brezniakrodman.com.
16. Smith, David. (April 27, 2022). "Ben Foster: ‘This is very dangerous territory and I sense you’re poking’". [[The Guardian]].
17. "Halloween in Hollywood | Interlochen Center for the Arts".
18. (10 November 1999). "Liberty Heights". Variety.
19. (December 12, 2006). "X-Men star Foster risks eyesight to play druggie". Contact Music.
20. (February 17, 2012). "Interview: Ben Foster, actor and producer". [[The Scotsman]].
21. Lawson, Richard. (21 February 2013). "Ben Foster to Replace Shia LaBeouf, Esquire Reader, on Broadway". Yahoo!.
22. "Ben Foster and Vanessa Kirby join Young Vic's Streetcar".
23. "St. Ann's Warehouse – A Young Vic & Joshua Andrews Co-Production".
24. (2014-11-13). "Bikes from Lance Armstrong movie to be sold off".
25. (October 23, 2013). "First Look: Ben Foster as Lance Armstrong in Stephen Frears' Biopic". [[The Hollywood Reporter]].
26. Collura, Scott. (December 4, 2013). "Ben Foster and Dominic Cooper Head for Warcraft". IGN.
27. Blair, Caroline. (November 8, 2025). "See the 'Christy' Stars Side-by-Side with the Real People They Play".
28. Rao, Sonia. (November 7, 2025). "Sydney Sweeney never gets off the ropes in the boxing drama ‘Christy’". The Washington Post.
29. Grobar, Matt. (2025-10-14). "Ed Helms & Ben Foster Among New Additions To Michael Dowse Pic ‘The Stunt Driver’ Starring Jay Baruchel; Foster Playing Evel Knievel".
30. Pauli, Harald. (2018-04-14). "Antje Traue, Der schoenste deutsche Hollywood-Import (in German)". Focus Magazin (Nr. 16, 2018).
31. (February 10, 2012). "Robin Wright and Ben Foster Get Cozy". [[People (magazine).
32. Justin Ravitz. (December 24, 2012). "Robin Wright, 46, and Ben Foster, 32, Affectionate During Shopping Trip". US Magazine.
33. Alexis L. Loinaz. (January 11, 2014). "Robin Wright and Ben Foster are engaged". [[People (magazine).
34. Marquina, Sierra. (November 12, 2014). "Robin Wright and Ben Foster Split, Call Off 10-Month Engagement – Find Out What Went Wrong". Us Magazine.
35. "Introducing Robin Wright, Our April 2015 Cover Star". Vanity Fair.
36. (29 August 2015). "Robin Wright, Ben Foster Call Off Engagement For the Second Time".
37. (5 October 2016). "Laura Prepon and Ben Foster Are Engaged! See Her Gorgeous New Ring".
38. (June 3, 2018). "Laura Prepon and Ben Foster Are Married! 'Thank You for All the Love'". [[People (magazine).
39. Weinberg, Lindsey. (February 26, 2020). "Laura Prepon and Ben Foster Welcome Second Child".
40. (13 November 2024). "Ben Foster Files for Divorce from Laura Prepon a Year After Their Separation".
41. "A Roundtable Chat with Ben Foster of Mechanic".
42. DeYoung, Bill. (October 27, 2009). "Extreme closeup: Ben Foster". [[Connect Savannah]].
43. Andreas Wiseman, [https://deadline.com/2022/11/jessica-lange-ed-harris-new-movie-long-days-journey-into-night-1235182453/ Jessica Lange & Ed Harris Wrap New Movie Version Of 'Long Day's Journey Into Night']
44. [https://deadline.com/2025/06/cowboy-film-rudy-pankow-gabriel-basso-starts-production-1236442481/ Cowboy’ Rodeo Drama Film Starring Ben Foster, Rudy Pankow And Gabriel Basso Starts Production Under Range’s Paint Horse Pictures]