Ben Lawson

Early life and education

Ben Lawson was born on 6 February 1980 in Brisbane, Queensland. He was raised there, and attended St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace. His father Peter is a GP and his mother Dianne was a flight attendant and then a secretary. Their parents divorced when Lawson was seven.

At the age of 11-12 he set out to secure an acting agent. A number of screen appearances followed, in Time Trax (1993), The Adventures of Skippy (1993), The Wayne Manifesto (1997), Sabrina Down Under (1999), Chameleon II: Death Match (1999) and TwentyfourSeven (2022). He has said he was "kicked out" of drama school at the University of Southern Queensland, going on to graduate from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney.

Career

Acting

Lawson joined the main cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Frazer Yeats in 2006. Lawson departed Neighbours in April 2008. He then moved to Los Angeles in 2008.

Lawson had a small role in the film No Strings Attached, which starred Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher. He also appeared in the television action drama Covert Affairs. In August 2012, he landed a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 as Benjamin, a love interest for main character Chloe (Krysten Ritter). In 2017, Lawson starred in the short lived CBS drama Doubt opposite Laverne Cox. On The Talk, Cox said that Lawson was "an amazing actor".

Lawson played Larry Hemsworth, the fictional "hideous shame" of the Hemsworth family on The Good Place, and he and his brother Josh played Lachlan and James Murdoch respectively in the 2019 film Bombshell.

In July 2017, Lawson was cast as MI6 agent Damien Rennett on the second season of the ABC political drama, Designated Survivor. In 2018, Lawson played high school coach Rick on the second season of the Netflix original series, 13 Reasons Why. In 2019, Lawson starred as Thomas 'Clay' Fox Jr. in Dolly Parton's Heartstrings, Netflix's anthology series about Dolly Parton. In 2021, Lawson starred in the Netflix series Firefly Lane opposite Katherine Heigl and Sarah Chalke.

In May 2024, Lawson was named for the Australian-Irish co-commission series Mix Tape. for Binge He also filmed the first series of Victoria drama series, Love Divided By Eleven for Stan.

Poetry

During the 2020 Australian bushfires, Lawson wrote a poem titled To My Country, and a video of him reading it went viral on social media. In January 2021, the poem was turned into a book of the same name with illustrations by Bruce Whatley and proceeds from sales going to the Port Macquarie Koala Hospital.

In January 2021, he wrote a poem entitled The 26th of January about the history of Australia Day, using sarcasm to support the movement to change the date.

Personal life

In March 2023, he became an American citizen.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

References

1. [https://www.tvinsider.com/people/ben-lawson/ Ben Lawson] ''TV Insider''. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
2. (9 February 2021). [https://www.qrl.com.au/news/2021/02/09/i-came-across-a-91-queensland-origin-jersey-and-i-thought...-you-beauty...-this-is-it/ I came across a '91 Queensland Origin jersey and I thought... 'you beauty... this is it'] Queensland Rugby League. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
3. (13 January 2020). [https://www.couriermail.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=CMWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.couriermail.com.au%2Fentertainment%2Fconfidential%2Faussie-actor-ben-lawsons-poem-about-bushfires-goes-viral%2Fnews-story%2F16eb7be2ce90dac6fc3bafb69c9a2a4e&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-1-SCORE Aussie actor’s moving poem about bushfire crisis goes viral] ''Courier Mail''. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
4. Idato, Michael. (9 January 2018). "Surviving fame: Ben Lawson on failure, success and Hollywood's pound of flesh". [[The Sydney Morning Herald]].
5. Anita, Anabel (15 February 2000). [https://thelatch.com.au/ben-lawson-actor-interview/ TheLatch— Profiles: Australian Actor Ben Lawson] ''The Latch''. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
6. Hageman, Estefania (2018). [https://schonmagazine.com/interview-ben-lawson-13-reasons-why/ interview. ben lawson] ''Schön!''. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
7. (2 April 2007). "Logie Nominations 2007". David Knox.
8. "Blair is right neighbourly". Herald Sun.
9. (10 August 2011). "Don't miss". [[Herald Sun]].
10. Goldberg, Lesley. (17 August 2012). "'Apartment 23': Ben Lawson to Romance Chloe". [[Prometheus Global Media]].
11. "The Talk".
12. Petski, Denise. (2017-07-14). "'Designated Survivor': Ben Lawson Cast As Series Regular in Season 2". Deadline.
13. Wagmeister, Elizabeth. (2017-08-08). "'13 Reasons Why' Adds Seven New Actors for Season 2". Variety.
14. (13 August 2019). "'Firefly Lane': Ben Lawson Joins Katherine Heigl in Netflix Drama Series".
15. Knox, David. (2024-05-12). "Mix Tape drama now filming in Sydney {{!}} TV Tonight".
16. (19 February 2025). [https://vicscreen.vic.gov.au/news/new-series-love-divided-by-eleven-in-love-with-in-victoria New series Love Divided By Eleven in love with in Victoria] Vic Screen. Retrieved on 6 April 2025
17. (3 November 2020). "Book Review: To My Country". -MindFood.
18. Tam, Adrienne. (21 November 2020). "Ben Lawson: LA-based actor says US response to COVID has him homesick". The Daily Telegraph.
19. Anabel, Anita. (25 January 2021). "Actor Ben Lawson's Rousing Poem Points Out What's Wrong With Australia Day". The Latch.
20. "Instagram".