Ben Mendelsohn (Paul Benjamin Mendelsohn) is an Australian actor born on April 3, 1969 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is popularly known for his role as Andrew ‘Pope’ Cody in ‘Animal Kingdom’. He starred in the Netflix series Bloodline, for which he won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Ben Mendelsohn is the son of Frederick Arthur Oscar Mendelsohn, a prominent medical researcher who previously headed the Howard Florey Institute in Melbourne, where he maintains the status of Professor Emeritus, and Carole Ann, who was a registered nurse. He has two brothers Tom and David.
They lived in Europe and the United States for long periods of time and returned to Melbourne in high school. He attended Heidelberg Primary School and Eltham and Banyule High Schools. He took the drama because he thought it was an easy lesson.
BEN MENDELSOHN AGE
Ben Mendelsohn was born on April 3, 1969
BEN MENDELSOHN HEIGHT
Ben Mendelsohn is 1.8m tall
BEN MENDELSOHN CAREER
Ben Mendelsohn began his television career with shows including The Henderson Kids and Neighbors. He made his film debut in ‘The Year My Voice Broke’ (1987) which earned him the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actor. His next major role was in The Big Steal and Spotswood (1992) with Anthony Hopkins; this was followed in 1996 by Cosi and Idiot Box. In 2000 he starred in two contrasting films, Australian Mullet and Hollywood Vertical Limit.
In 2007, Ben Mendelsohn starred in the third season of the TV series Love My Way and in 2008 he appeared in Baz Luhrmann’s Australia and shot Melbourne’s 10-part series Tangle, which debuted on Showcase in 2009. In 2009 he appeared in the American science fiction film Knowing directed by Alex Proyas. The same year, Mendelsohn played the role of Ned in Beautiful Kate, directed by Rachel Ward, with Bryan Brown and Rachel Griffiths.
In 2010, Ben Mendelsohn appeared in Animal Kingdom, playing Andrew “Pope” Cody, a criminal on the run from the law who lives in the infamous Melbourne Underworld. This role earned him many awards, including the Best Actor IF Award and the AFI Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He was also named GQ Australia Actor of the Year for 2010.
Ben Mendelsohn was selected as one of the participants in the 2012 edition of Who’s Who in Australia. In 2012, Ben Mendelsohn played the supporting roles of John Daggett in Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises and Robin Van Der Hook in Derek Cianfrance’s The Place Beyond the Pines.
Ben Mendelsohn
In 2012, Ben Mendelsohn appeared in the Florence + the Machine music video for ‘Lover to Lover’. The video was directed by Vincent Haycock. In 2013, he starred in the TV series Girls as Jessa’s father, played by Jemima Kirke.
In 2014, Ben Mendelsohn joined the cast of Bloodline, a Netflix Original from the creators of Damages. The first season premiered on the site on March 20, 2015 and was well received. Ben Mendelsohn’s performance in the series was critically lauded, winning a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe nomination. In September 2016, Netflix announced that the show had been canceled and will end after its third season in 2017.
In the fall of 2016, he appeared on video as a ‘stunt double’ during Australian singer Sia Furler’s Nostalgia For the Present concert tour for her song, ‘Breathe Me’.
In December 2016, Ben Mendelsohn had a supporting role in the Star Wars Rogue One franchise, playing villain director Krennic. He called the opportunity to star in a Star Wars movie ‘a childhood dream come true’. Mendelsohn also narrated the fourth album of the virtual band of Gorillaz, Humanz.
BEN MENDELSOHN BLOODLINE
Ben Mendelsohn played the main antagonist in the Netflix family drama Bloodline,
for which he won an Emmy. He played Danny Rayburn, an unfortunate drifter attempting to reunite with his wealthy family in Florida. Unfortunately, Danny’s return isn’t exactly welcome and instead stirs up long-buried secrets and resentments. Mendelsohn explains the burden of playing such a heavy role and colliding with his main rival brother (Kyle Chandler), most notably their fateful confrontation over the ocean in the penultimate episode of the series.
BEN MENDELSOHN ROGUE ONE
In 2016, Ben Mendelsohn appeared as the main villain, director Orson Krennic, in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story and won the Emmy for Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.
Ben Mendelsohn’s character Director Orson Krennic is an imperial who seems all too happy to fulfill the whims of the Empire. But that doesn’t mean he in any way expects to overstep its boundaries, especially when it comes to Darth Vader.
‘Well, I think it’s hard to get past Vader,’ Mendelsohn recently told IndieWire when asked where his new character fits into the ‘Star Wars’ villain hierarchy. ‘I mean, it’s pretty hard to get over it. It’s hard to think of anyone overcoming him, the big guy himself. ‘
BEN MENDELSOHN MOVIES AND TELEVISION PROGRAMS
- 1986: The Still Point come Peter
- 1987: The year my voice broke as Trevor Leishman
- 1989: Lover Boy come Gazza
- 1989: Nirvana Street Murder come Luke
- 1989: Return Home come Gary
- 1989: Quigley Down Under come O’Flynn
- 1992: Spotswood Carey come Mark Joffe
- 1992: Map of the human heart as Farmboy
- 1993: Say a Little Prayer as Nursery Manager
- 1994: Metal Skin come Dazey
- 1996: Idiot Box come Kev
- 1996: As well as Lewis Riley
- 1997: True Love and Chaos come Jerry
- 1997: Amy come Robert Buchanan
- 1999: Love Brokers
- 2000: Vertical Limit come Malcolm Bench
- 2000: Sample People come John
- 2001: Mullet come Eddie ‘Mullet’ Maloney
- 2002: Black and White as Rupert Murdoch
- 2005: The New World come Ben
- 2008: $ 9,99 come Lenny Peck (voice)
- 2008: Australia as Captain Dutton
- 2009: Prime Mover come Johnnie
- 2009: Bella Kate come Ned Kendall
- 2009: Know as Phil Beckman
- 2010: Needle come Detective Meares
- 2010: Animal Kingdom come Andrew “Pope” Cody
- 2011: Killer Elite come Martin
- 2011: Trespass come Elias
- 2012: The Dark Knight Rises come John Daggett
- 2012: Killing Them Softly Like Russell
- 2012: The Place Beyond the Pines come Robin Van Der Hook
- 2013: Played by Neville Love
- 2013: Two mothers like Harold
- 2014: Lost River come Dave
- 2014: Exodus: Gods and Kings come Viceré Hegep
- 2015: Black Sea as Fraser
- 2015: Slow West come Payne
- 2015: Mississippi Grind come Gerry
- 2015: Gun for Hire come Kyle Sullivan
- 2016: One like Ray Brooks
- 2016: Rogue One: A Star Wars Story come regista Orson Krennic
- 2017: Darkest Hour as King George VI
- 2018: Ready Player One come Nolan Sorrento
- 2018: Untogether come Martin
- 2018: Robin Hood as Sheriff of Nottingham
- 2018: The Land of Stable Habits like Anders Hill
- 1984: Special team
- 1985: A Country Practice come Luke Dawson
- 1985: The Henderson Kids come Ted Morgan
- 1986: Prime Time come Bartholomew ‘Bart’ Jones
- 1986-1987: Neighbors like Warren Murphy
- 1987, 1989: The Flying Doctors come Brad Harris / Brian
- 1988: All the Way come Lindsay Seymour
- 1989: This man… This woman like Matthew Clarke
- 1989, 1994: G.P. è Max Fisher / Phillip Barton
- 1994: Roughnecks come Joe 90
- 1995: Snowy River: The McGregor Saga come Dale Banks
- 1995: Police Rescue come Dean Forman
- 1995: Halifax f.p. come Peter Donaldson
- 1996: Close Up come Biz
- 1997: Good guys, bad guys like Brian O’Malley
- 1999: Queen Kat, Carmel & St Jude come Vince McCaffery
- 1999: Secret Men’s Business come Doug Petersen
- 2001: Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story come Alexander Hall
- 2002: Farscape come Sko
- 2005: The Secret Life of Us as Rob
- 2005: Second Chance come Dr. Larry Stewart
- 2006-2007: Love My Way come Lewis Feingold
- 2009: Tangle come Vince Kovac
- 2013: Girls like Salvatore Johansson
- 2015-2017: Bloodline come Danny Rayburn
BEN MENDELSOHN FAMILY; WIFE AND CHILDREN
In June 2012 Ben Mendelsohn married British author Emma Forrest, but they divorced in 2012. He has two daughters, one with Forrest born in 2014 and one from a previous relationship.