Julie Benz

Julie Marie Benz (born May 1, 1972) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (1997–2004) and Rita Bennett on Dexter (2006–2010), for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress and the 2009 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. She has also starred on the series Roswell (1999–2000), Desperate Housewives (2010), No Ordinary Family (2010–2011), A Gifted Man (2011–2012), Defiance (2013–2015), and Hawaii Five-0 (2015–present). Her film roles include Jawbreaker (1999), The Brothers (2001), Rambo, Saw V and Punisher: War Zone (2008), The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009), and Bedrooms (2010).

Contents

1 Early life 2 Career 3 Personal life 4 Filmography 4.1 Film 4.2 Television 5 References 6 External links

Early life

Benz was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania,[2] grew up in Murrysville, and graduated from Franklin Regional High School.[3] Her mother, Joanne Marie (née Seemiller), was a figure skater, and her father, George Benz, Jr., is a surgeon in Pittsburgh.[4] The family settled in nearby Murrysville when Benz was two, and she started ice skating when she was three.[5] She competed in the 1988 U.S. Championships in junior ice dancing with her skating partner David Schilling, and finished in 13th place.[6][7] When Benz was 14, she suffered a stress fracture in her right leg and had to take time off.[3] Career

At age 15, Benz was told by an acting coach that she would never succeed as an actress. According to Benz, "I remember the teacher telling me I should not even try acting. I still have the report card where she was like, 'You will never be an actor. Your voice is horrible.' That was the best thing that ever happened to me because I was like, 'I'll show you'."[8] By 1989, with her figure skating career over, Benz became involved in local theater and was cast in the play Street Law. Her first movie role was a small speaking part in "The Black Cat" segment of the Dario Argento/George A. Romero horror movie Two Evil Eyes (1990).[9] A year later, she was cast in the TV show Hi Honey, I'm Home! (1991),[7] which was cancelled after two seasons.

After graduating from high school in 1990, Benz studied acting at New York University. After graduating from NYU in 1993,[3] she moved to Los Angeles. Two weeks after her move, she obtained a bit part in a 1994 episode of Married... with Children, playing a girl who wanted to lose her virginity to Bud Bundy.[8] Her subsequent roles included an unaired Aaron Spelling television pilot Crosstown Traffic. She starred in another unaired TV pilot called Empire in 1995. Her other TV shows included Hang Time, High Tide, Step by Step, and Boy Meets World, plus a small role in the TV movie The Barefoot Executive. During the 1990s, her acting career was varied and steady. She had one uncredited role in Black Sheep and her appearance in Diagnosis: Murder as top figure skater "Julie" allowed her to demonstrate her skating talent. Later TV appearances included characters on Sliders and The Single Guy. She played Christy in the TV movie Hearts Adrift and a lead role as Julie Falcon in Darkdrive.

In 1996, Benz auditioned for the role of Buffy Summers for the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but lost the role to Sarah Michelle Gellar. However, she was offered the small role of the vampire Darla, in the pilot episode. Her performance was so well-received that her part was expanded to a few more episodes.

This role helped launch her career and Julie appeared in guest appearances in more TV shows such as The Big Easy and Fame L.A., along with a small role as a receptionist in the movie As Good as It Gets (1997). She starred in the short spoof film Eating Las Vegas and the unaired TV pilot Veronica's Video, had a small uncredited role in the TV movie A Walton Easter, and a small role in Inventing the Abbotts. In 1998, she had a recurring role as Joplin Russell in the TV show Ask Harriet (though the show was cancelled and only two of her appearances aired), then guest-starred on Conrad Bloom and The King of Queens. She made two movies, the dark comedy Jawbreaker and Dirt Merchant, before landing a lead role in the TV series Payne, an American remake of the British sitcom Fawlty Towers. It was cancelled after eight episodes had aired. Benz played undercover FBI Special Unit agent Kathleen Topolsky on Roswell during its first season, starred in the TV movie Satan's School for Girls (2000), the unaired TV pilot Good Guys/Bad Guys, and had a lead role in the horror movie parody Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth. Benz at the 2012 Comic-Con in San Diego, California

Benz reprised her role as Darla in 2000 for the Buffy spin-off series Angel,[10] appearing in every season for at least one episode. She was the only white actor featured in the principal cast of the romantic comedy The Brothers (2001). Julie was a guest host for the TV show Rendez-View, cast as Ellie Sparks in Glory Days and appeared in the unaired pilot; however, she left the show. Later, she guest-starred on She Spies, was in the featured cast for the miniseries Taken, did various voices for the video game Hot Shots Golf Fore!,appeared in the short film The Midget Stays in the Picture, and took over the role of Ursu la for George of the Jungle 2.

Benz appeared in Peacemakers, Coupling, NCIS, and Oliver Beene. She landed the lead role of Annie Garrett in the Hallmark TV movie The Long Shot[10] and provided the voice of Miranda Keyes for the video game Halo 2,[11] and played the lead role of Danielle in Bad Girls from Valley High (a film shot in 2000 under the title A Fate Totally Worse Than Death) which was released on DVD in 2005. She had a small role in the critically acclaimed TV movie Lackawanna Blues. In the Sci-Fi Channel original film Locusts: The 8th Plague, she played the lead female role Vicky. She also appeared in the straight-to-DVD movie 8mm 2 as Lynn. The film was originally called The Velvet Side of Hell and was not supposed to be a sequel to 8MM. Benz appeared in episodes of Supernatural, CSI: Miami, Law & Order, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She had a supporting role in the Swedish independent movie Kill Your Darlings (2006), a lead role in the Lifetime movie Circle of Friends (2006), and joined the cast of TV show Dexter as Rita Bennett.[12] Benz played a lead role in the fifth film of the popular Saw horror franchise, Saw V, as Brit, a real estate developer who is one of Jigsaw's five victims. Benz had a supporting role in Punisher: War Zone as Angela and co-starred with Sylvester Stallone in Rambo (2008), the fourth film of the series.

She played the title role in the short film Kidnapping Caitlynn, written by her close friend Jenny Mollen, which premiered at the Vail Film Festival 2009 and was released online April 6, 2009.[13] She starred in the Lifetime movie Held Hostage as Michelle Estey.[14] in July. She also starred in the Hallmark Channel movie Uncorked (2009)[15] as Johnny Prentiss[16] which premiered in the UK in July 2009. She is the lead female character Special Agent Eunice Bloom in The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day which had a limited release on October 30, 2009, and was released on DVD March 9, 2010. She has been cast in another indie film called Bedrooms as Anna.[17] She played Frankie in the 2011 film Answers to Nothing.

Benz appeared on The Soup with Joel McHale. Benz next took a recurring role on Desperate Housewives as Robin Gallagher, a stripper with a heart of gold and a master's degree in education who gets offered the chance to transition into a more legitimate career.[18] The character of Robin is further developed when the audience discovers she is a lesbian and begins an affair with housewife Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany).[19] After the season-four finale of Dexter, Benz returned for the season-five premiere.[20]

In early 2010, ABC announced that Benz had landed a lead role as Stephanie Powell in the network's drama pilot No Ordinary Family.[21] Production of the series commenced the following May and it premiered on September 28, 2010,[22] as part of the 2010–11 season.[23] On May 13, 2011, No Ordinary Family was cancelled after one season with only 20 episodes filmed. In 2011, she was cast in the new CBS TV show A Gifted Man. Originally a co-star,[24] she was later downgraded to a recurring role. A Gifted Man was cancelled by CBS in May 2012 after one season of 16 episodes. She was cast in TV movie Ricochet as Elise Laird.[25] Benz played the lead female role, Mayor Amanda Rosewater, in the science-fiction series Defiance[26] and also stars in the indie movie Supremacy[27] and the unaired TV pilot Middle Ages.[28]

In 2015, Benz landed a recurring role in the CBS series Hawaii Five-O, playing the latest team member and Chin Ho's girlfriend, Abby Dunn. She also starred in the TV movie Charming Christmas. Personal life

Benz married actor John Kassir on May 30, 1998, and filed for divorce in December 2007.[29][30] In 2011, she became engaged to Rich Orosco, a partner at the now defunct B360 Studios,[31] and they married on May 5, 2012.[32] Filmography Film Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes 1990 	Two Evil Eyes 	Betty 	Segment: "The Black Cat" 1996 	Black Sheep 	Dancing Blonde Woman 	Uncredited[citation needed] 1996 	Darkdrive 	Julie Falcon 1997 	Eating Las Vegas 	Sheila 	Short film 1997 	Inventing the Abbotts 	Co-ed 1997 	As Good as It Gets 	Receptionist 1999 	Jawbreaker 	Marcie Fox 1999 	Dirt Merchant 	Angie 2000 	Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the Thirteenth 	Barbara Primesuspect 	Video 2000 	Bad Girls from Valley High 	Danielle 2001 	The Brothers 	Jesse Caldwell 2003 	The Midget Stays in the Picture 	A-List Actress 	Short film 2003 	George of the Jungle 2 	Ursula Stanhope, Queen of the Jungle 	Video 2004 	The Long Shot 	Annie Garrett 2005 	8mm 2 	Lynn 	Video 2006 	Kill Your Darlings 	Katherine 2008 	Rambo 	Sarah Miller 2008 	Saw V 	Brit Steddison 2008 	Punisher: War Zone 	Angela Donatelli 2009 	Kidnapping Caitlynn 	Caitlynn 	Short film 2009 	The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day 	FBI Special Agent Eunice Bloom 2010 	Bedrooms 	Anna 2011 	Ricochet 	Elise Laird 2011 	Answers to Nothing 	Frankie 2014 	Supremacy 	Kristen 2015 	Circle 	Wife 2015 	Life on the Line 	Carline 2016 	Havenhurst 	Jackie Television Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes 1991–1992 	Hi Honey, I'm Home! Babs Nielson 	14 episodes 1994 	Married... with Children 	Sascha 	Episode: "Field of Screams" 1995 	The Barefoot Executive 	Sexy Woman 	TV movie remake 1995 	Crosstown Traffic 	Unknown role 	Unaired pilot[citation needed] 1995 	Empire 	Christine Lambert 	Unaired pilot[citation needed] 1995 	Hang Time 	Linda Cantrell 	Episode: "Earl Makes the Grade" 1995 	High Tide 	Joanna Craig 	Episode: "Sea No Evil" 1995 	Step by Step 	Tawny 	Episode: "The Wall" 1996 	Boy Meets World 	Bianca 	Episode: "City Slackers" 1996 	Hearts Adrift 	Christy 	Television film 1996 	Diagnosis: Murder 	Julie Miller 	Episode: "Murder on Thin Ice" 1996 	Sliders 	Jenny Michener 	Episode: "The Electric Twister Acid Test" 1996 	The Single Guy 	Cranberries Girl 	Episode: "Love Train" 1997 	Veronica's Video 	Heidi 	Unaired pilot[citation needed] 1997 	A Walton Easter 	Jeannie 	Uncredited[citation needed] 1997 	The Big Easy 	Roxanne 	Episode: "BeGirled" 1997 	Fame L.A. 	Vanessa 	Episode: "The Beat Goes On" 1997–2000 	Buffy the Vampire Slayer 	Darla 	5 episodes 1998 	Ask Harriet 	Joplin Russell 	7 episodes 1998 	Conrad Bloom 	Julie 	Episode: "The Rebound Guy" 1999 	Payne 	Breeze O'Rourke 	9 episodes 1999 	The King of Queens 	Julie Patterson 	Episode: "Train Wreck" 1999–2000 	Roswell 	Kathleen Topolsky 	7 episodes 2000 	Satan's School for Girls 	Alison Kingsley 	Television film (ABC) 2000 	Good Guys/Bad Guys 	Unknown role 	Unaired pilot[citation needed] 2000–2004 	Angel 	Darla 	20 episodes 2002 	Glory Days 	Ellie Sparks 	Unaired pilot[citation needed] 2002 	Taken 	Kate Keyes 	2 episodes 2002 	She Spies 	Elaine 	Episode: "Spies vs. Spy" 2002 	Peacemakers 	Miranda Blanchard 	Episode: "The Witness" 2002 	Coupling 	Amanda 	Episode: "Decatur Guy" 2004 	The Long Shot: Believe in Courage 	Annie Garrett 	Television film (Hallmark) 2004 	NCIS 	Denise Johnson 	Episode: "A Weak Link" 2004 	Oliver Beene 	Cigarette Girl 	Episode: "Idol Chatter" 2005 	Locusts: The 8th Plague 	Vicky 	Television film (Syfy) 2005 	Lackawanna Blues 	Laura 	Television film (HBO) 2006 	Supernatural 	Layla Rourke 	Episode: "Faith" 2006 	CSI: Miami 	Hayley Gordon 	Episode: "Deviant" 2006 	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation 	Heidi Wolff 	Episode: "Time of Your Death" 2006 	Circle of Friends 	Maggie 	Television film (Lifetime Movies) 2006–2009 	Dexter 	Rita Bennett 	49 episodes Won – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2007 	Law & Order 	Dawn Sterling 	Episode: "Church" 2009 	Held Hostage 	Michelle Estey 	Television film (Lifetime) 2009 	Uncorked 	Johnny Prentiss 	Television film (Hallmark) 2010 	Desperate Housewives 	Robin Gallagher 	5 episodes 2010–2011 	No Ordinary Family 	Stephanie Powell 	Main role (20 episodes) 2011 	Royal Pains 	Elyse 	Episode: "An Apple a Day" 2011–2012 	A Gifted Man 	Christina Holt 	Recurring; 7 episodes 2012 	Middle Ages 	Unknown role 	Unaired pilot[citation needed] 2013 	Sole Custody 	Joey 	Television film (Lifetime) 2013 	Taken: The Search for Sophie Parker 	Lt. Stephanie Parker 	Television film (Lifetime) 2013–2015 	Defiance 	Mayor Amanda Rosewater 	Main role (39 episodes) 2015 	Charming Christmas 	Meredith Rossman 	Television film (Hallmark) 2015–2017 	Hawaii Five-0 	Inspector Abby Dunn 	Recurring; 12 episodes 2017 	Training Day 	Holly Butler 	7 Episodes Christmas Homecoming 	Amanda 	Television film (Hallmark Movies & Mysteries) Video Games Year 	Title 	Role 	Notes 2003 	Everybody's Golf 4 (a.k.a. Hot Shots Golf Fore!) 	Various voices 2004 	Halo 2 	Miranda Keyes