Ben Lawson

Ben Lawson is an Australian actor. From 2006 until 2008, he played Frazer Yeats in the Australian soap opera Neighbours . The role earned him a Logie Award nomination. Lawson has since appeared in several American television series, including The Deep End , Covert Affairs , and Don't Trust the B---- in Apartment 23 . In 2011, he starred opposite Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher in the film No Strings Attached . From 2017 to 2018, he starred as Damien Rennett on the ABC political drama Designated Survivor . He also played baseball coach Rick Wlodimierzin in the second season of 13 Reasons Why , and Larry Hemsworth on The Good Place . Lawson portrays Lachlan Murdoch in the 2019 film Bombshell , alongside his brother Josh Lawson who played James Murdoch. Since 2021, he stars in the Netflix series Firefly Lane .

Lawson attended St. Joseph's College, Gregory Terrace.^{[citation needed ]} His father Peter is a GP and his mother Dianne was a flight attendant then secretary.^[1] He is the third of five boys including Josh Lawson, an actor who is known for his appearances on Thank God You're Here .^[2] Their parents divorced when Lawson was seven.^[1] He has said he was "kicked out" of drama school at the University of Southern Queensland before graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).^{[2] [1] [3]}

Lawson joined the main cast of the Australian soap opera Neighbours as Frazer Yeats in 2006. His role earned him a nomination for Most Popular New Male Talent at the 2007 Logie Awards.^[4] Lawson departed Neighbours in April 2008.^[5] He then moved to Los Angeles in 2008.^{[2] [3]}

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 .^[6] 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).^[7] 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".^[8]

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 .^[3]

In July 2017, Lawson was cast as MI6 agent Damien Rennett on the second season of the ABC political drama, Designated Survivor .^[9] In 2018, Lawson played high school coach Rick on the second season of the Netflix original series, 13 Reasons Why .^[10] 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.^[11]

In May 2024, Lawson was named for the Australian-Irish co-commission series Mix Tape.^[12]

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.^{[1] [3]} 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.^{[3] [1] [13] [14]} 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.^[15]

• Ben Lawson at IMDb

• 20th-century Australian male actors
• 21st-century Australian male actors
• Australian male film actors
• Australian male soap opera actors
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