Owen Benjamin
Encyclopedia
Early life
Owen Benjamin was born Owen Smith, son of John Kares Smith and Jean Troy-Smith, both professors at State University of New York at OswegoState University of New York at Oswego
State University of New York at Oswego, also known as SUNY Oswego and Oswego State, is a public university in the City of Oswego and Town of Oswego, New York, on the shore of Lake Ontario...
. He attended college at the State University of New York at Plattsburgh
State University of New York at Plattsburgh
The State University of New York at Plattsburgh is a four-year, public liberal arts college in Plattsburgh, New York. The college was founded in 1889 and opened in 1890. The college is currently part of the State University of New York system and is accredited by the Middle States Association of...
where he got his start in television at the student run station Plattsburgh State Television.
Career
Benjamin produces the late show on Saturday Nights at The ImprovThe Improv
The Improv is a comedy club franchise. Originally, it was a single venue founded in 1963 by Budd Friedman and located in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of New York City on West 44th near the SE corner of 9th Ave. A second location was opened in 1974 at 8162 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District...
in Hollywood, California, and he has also performed on MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
's show Punk'd
Punk'd
Punk'd is an American hidden camera/practical joke reality television series that first aired on MTV in 2003 and was created by Ashton Kutcher and Jason Goldberg, produced and hosted by Ashton Kutcher. It bore a resemblance to both the classic hidden camera show Candid Camera and to TV's Bloopers...
. He is a regular correspondent on The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show
The Jay Leno Show is an American comedy show created by and starring Jay Leno, that aired from September 14, 2009 to February 9, 2010 on NBC following the May 29, 2009 conclusion of Leno's first tenure as host of The Tonight Show...
having appeared twice in a segment performing comical jingles for local Burbank
Burbank, California
Burbank is a city in Los Angeles County in Southern California, United States, north of downtown Los Angeles. The estimated population in 2010 was 103,340....
businesses.
Benjamin has starred in several web-only video series. Since 2008 he has been appearing on Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television
Sony Pictures Television, Inc. is an American and global television production/distribution subsidiary of Sony Pictures Entertainment. In turn, the latter is part of the Japanese conglomerate Sony.-Background:...
's C-SPOT, including the role of Owen on Gaytown as well as hosting his own series, Owen Benjamin Presents. In March 2009 Benjamin began playing the role of Chance Stevens on Heckle U for CBS Interactive.
In 2007 Benjamin made an appearance in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry
I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry is a 2007 comedy film directed by Dennis Dugan, written by Barry Fanaro, and starring Adam Sandler and Kevin James as the title characters. The film was released on July 20, 2007, in the U.S., August 16, 2007, in Australia and on September 21, 2007, in the UK and...
, the scene was deleted from the theatrical release, but can be found in the extended deleted scenes in the home video release. In 2008 he had a supporting role in The House Bunny
The House Bunny
The House Bunny is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Fred Wolf, written by Kirsten Smith and Karen McCullah Lutz, and starring Anna Faris as a former Playboy bunny who signs up to be the "house mother" of an unpopular university sorority after being conned by a rival into believing she's now...
.