Benjamin Mathes has been an actor for over 25 years.
On film, television, and stage he has worked with artists such as Academy Award-winning director Clint Eastwood, Academy Award-winning actor Alan Arkin, Sam Raimi, Bradley Cooper, Andy Garcia, Chris Rock, and Academy Award-winning producer Brian Grazer. He received his MFA in Acting from the University of California, Irvine.
Benjamin served as Head of Production for Hollywood’s Seine Pictures, overseeing the creative development and production of each film. Recently, he Executive Produced the dark comedy Murder of a Cat (starring Greg Kinnear, J.K. Simmons, and Nikki Reed), and the biopic Pelé: Birth of A Legend (in partnership with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s Imagine Entertainment). Both films premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival and were released internationally. He also produced the documentary Listening is Loving about the power of listening to people with dementia, which was distributed internationally in 2018.
His acting studio, CRASH ACTING, inspires a guerrilla approach to acting driven by the idea that service is the context for artistic greatness. His students have won or been nominated for Tony, Emmy, Grammy, and Ovation Awards, and have appeared on Broadway, as guest stars and series regulars on television, and in major motion pictures. He has served as an acting coach for Warner Brothers, HBO, and currently for Netflix. Internationally, he runs acting retreats in Ireland, and has run Crash Acting workshops in Lima, Dublin, Los Angeles, and Atlanta.
As an acting instructor in universities, Benjamin has taught or been on faculty at Auburn University, Cal State Northridge, University of San Diego, University of Lima, Peru, Catholic University of Lima, Theatre of Arts in Hollywood, UC Irvine, Arizona State University, Western Michigan University, University of Oklahoma, Depauw University, and the Lincoln Center Director’s Lab. He is a certified Associate Teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework® and has served as a vocal and dialect coach for major motion pictures, network television, and theaters around the country.
Benjamin is the author of four books detailing and investigating the creative process, including best-selling book You, The Career: a Holistic Guide to Acting, Life, and the Biz. Upon its release, it was recognized on Amazon as the #1 New Release in the performing arts section. His first book Thought Lozenges for Artists, is a daringly optimistic, “open-where-you-want” look into the creative process, and the second, CRASH {Unstuck Yourself}, is a guided journal designed to directly combat the blocks holding us from our creative potential. Most recently, he released his top-selling book about the transformative power of listening called, Short Paragraphs on Listening. This book offers profound insights gained from nearly 10 years of “Free Listening” around the world, and has sold to countless individuals, companies, and civic organizations.
Benjamin is also the founder of Urban Confessional: A Free Listening Movement. Currently in over 80 countries, their volunteers stand on street corners with signs that say "Free Listening" and provide compassionate, non-judgmental listening for anyone who needs to talk. Their work has been featured in over 40 national publications including the Huffington Post, The Atlantic, Fast Company, and The Big Think, as well as in over 30 international publications across 15 languages. Most recently, his work with Urban Confessional was presented at the 2018 ATHE Conference in Boston, the 2018 Parliament of the World’s Religions in Toronto, the 2019 ILA Conference in Seattle, and in numerous Universities around the world.
