Benjamin Louis Whalen was born on March 25, 1988 in Oceanside, New York. The youngest of three children, his father, Timothy Whalen, was a high school psychology teacher and football coach, and his mother was an attorney. His ancestry was similar to many New Yorkers of that time and place; Half Irish, Half Italian. Raised in Long Island, he was just a quick train ride away from New York City. It was there that he truly began his career as an actor and producer. Ben played football, basketball and baseball throughout high school and went on to attend the University of Maryland. He started doing stand up comedy and student films. He took several film classes and became fascinated with movies. In 2008 a close friend, Patrick Altema, who is now an Emmy award-winning producer, cast him in his first feature film. After falling in love with acting and filmmaking, Ben dropped out of college after his junior year in order to pursue acting and producing full time. From 2009-2011 Ben studied at the Stella Adler Conservatory of Acting in New York City. During that time he emerged himself in theater, plays, films and television. He loved being on set as often as he could, and in 2011 he produced and starred in Dream, directed by Patrick Altema. After graduating several teachers encouraged him to give Los Angeles a try, expressing their certainty he would be successful in film and television. In 2013, within his first two years in LA, Ben booked a lead role in Anarchy Parlor, filmed in Vilnius, Lithuania, starring alongside veteran actor Robert LaSardo. It felt like all his dreams were coming true. The following years had several ups and downs, successes and disappointments, but by 2017 Ben had racked up over 25 acting credits in film and television. His most notable roles were James Rooker in A Neighbor's Deception on Lifetime, and Dante in Trip, playing the love interest of international music star, Jhene Aiko. Since beginning his professional career in 2011 Ben has worked on shows that have premiered on Lifetime, TLC, BET, Investigation Discovery, LMN and Travel Channel. After a three year hiatus working as VP of Sales and Marketing for a successful start up from 2017-2020, Ben has returned to the entertainment industry with renewed love and respect.