BEN IS BACK (2018) About The Director and Cast
Director PETER HEDGES and cast JULIA ROBERTS, LUCAS HEDGES, and COURTNEY B. VANCE
PETER HEDGES (Director, Writer, Producer) and cast JULIA ROBERTS (Holly), LUCAS HEDGES (Ben), and COURTNEY B. VANCE (Neal)
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PETER HEDGES (Director, Writer, Producer) is a novelist, playwright, screenwriter and film director. In 2003 Hedges made his feature-film directorial debut with Pieces of April, starring Katie Holmes, Patricia Clarkson and Oliver Platt. The acclaimed film garnered numerous awards, including an Oscar nomination for Clarkson, and Variety named Hedges to its 2003 list of "10 Directors to Watch."
In 2007 Hedges directed and co-wrote Dan in Real Life, starring Steve Carell and Juliette Binoche, and in 2012 he wrote and directed The Odd Life of Timothy Green, with Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton.
Hedges' first novel was the basis for the 1993 film What's Eating Gilbert Grape, which he also wrote. His other novels are An Ocean in Iowa (1998) and The Heights (2010). The three books have been published in 22 languages. Hedges' screenplay adaptations include Jane Hamilton's A Map of the World and Nick Hornby's About a Boy, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay.
A 1984 graduate of the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, Hedges founded the Edge Theatre in 1985, in collaboration with Mary-Louise Parker and Joe Mantello. Over a three year period, he wrote 12 works for the company. His other plays include "Baby Anger" (Playwrights Horizons), "Good as New" (Manhattan Class Company/South Coast Repertory), "Imagining Brad" (Circle Repertory) and "The Girl in Pink" (Atlantic Theater Company).
Hedges has taught at Yale University, Bennington College and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts. He has served as a creative advisor to the Sundance Screenwriters Lab and had residencies at Yaddo, the MacDowell Colony and the Millay Colony.
Hedges grew up in West Des Moines, Iowa. He currently lives in Brooklyn with his wife, the poet Susan Bruce. They have two sons, Simon and Lucas, and two dogs, Willy and Sadie-Goat.
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JULIA ROBERTS (Holly) is an Academy Award winner who has appeared in many of Hollywood's most successful films, worked with some of the industry's most esteemed directors, and starred in films grossing more than $2.5 billion worldwide. Most recently, Roberts starred in Wonder, alongside Jacob Tremblay and Owen Wilson. For the small screen she stars in the Amazon series "Homecoming," which streams in November.
Roberts first came to the attention of audiences with her critically acclaimed role in Mystic Pizza. Then, with Steel Magnolias, she received her first Academy Award nomination. Her next film, Pretty Woman, was the top-grossing film of 1990 and brought Roberts her second Oscar nomination. In 1997 she starred in the box-office smash My Best Friend's Wedding and soon thereafter worked alongside Susan Sarandon and Ed Harris in Stepmom. In 1999 she starred in two box-office hits: Notting Hill and Runaway Bride. Since 2000's Erin Brockovich, for which she won the Oscar for Best Actress, Roberts has starred in three films by director Steven Soderbergh: Ocean's Eleven, Ocean's Twelve and Full Frontal.
In 2010 Roberts starred in Ryan Murphy's Eat, Pray, Love, based on the bestselling memoir by Elizabeth Gilbert. She received Oscar, Golden Globe, SAG and Critics' Choice award nominations for her part in August: Osage County (2013). Roberts earned Emmy Award and SAG nominations for her role in HBO's "The Normal Heart" (2014).
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LUCAS HEDGES (Ben) is an Academy Award nominee and one of Hollywood's most promising young actors. He continues to grow his diverse body of work by collaborating with some of the most respected names in entertainment. Hedges is perhaps best known for his turn opposite Casey Affleck in Kenneth Lonergan's Academy Award winner Manchester by the Sea. Hedges' performance was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor in addition to Gotham, Critics' Choice and Independent Spirit bids in that category. Hedges won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Actor as well as the National Board of Review's Male Breakthrough Performance of the Year.
The actor will next be seen opposite Katherine Waterston in Jonah Hill's directorial debut, Mid90s, the story of a boy growing up in Los Angeles during that point in time. This fall Hedges stars in Joel Edgerton's Boy Erased, which the filmmaker adapted from Garrard Conley's memoir. The film concerns the son of a Baptist preacher who is forced to participate in a church-supported gay conversion therapy program. Hedges stars alongside Edgerton, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman. Hedges was recently seen in two of last year's Best Picture nominees:
Greta Gerwig's directorial debut Lady Bird, with Saoirse Ronan, and Martin McDonagh's Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, opposite Frances McDormand and Sam Rockwell. Previously, Hedges appeared in two films for Wes Anderson: Moonrise Kingdom, co-starring Edward Norton, Bill Murray and Frances McDormand; and The Grand Budapest Hotel, with Ralph Fiennes. In 2013 he worked with Josh Brolin and Kate Winslet in Jason Reitman's Labor Day and starred opposite Christoph Waltz in Terry Gilliam's The Zero Theorem. Hedges has also appeared in such films as Michael Cuesta's Kill the Messenger, opposite Jeremy Renner, and Dante Ariola's Arthur Newman, alongside Colin Firth and Emily Blunt.
Hedges is making his Broadway debut alongside Elaine May, Joan Allen and Michael Cera in Kenneth Lonergan's "The Waverly Gallery," at the John Golden Theatre. In 2017 he made his stage debut as the lead in MCC Theater's Off Broadway production of "Yen," written by Anna Jordan and directed by Trip Cullman. The actor currently resides in New York City.
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COURTNEY B. VANCE (Neal) has carefully cultivated an exceptional career that showcases his passion, talent and intellect. From studying history at Harvard to making history in Hollywood, Vance has shown his penchant for successfully finding the dignity and honor in each character exploration he undertakes, making this Tony Award- and Emmy-winning actor a powerful presence from the theatrical boards to the silver screen. For his stunning portrayal of Johnnie Cochran in the FX series "The People vs. OJ Simpson: American Crime Story," Vance won Best Actor honors at the Emmys, the Critics' Choice Awards and NAACP Image Awards. His critically acclaimed performance also earned SAG and Golden Globe nominations. In 2013 Vance won a Tony for his stellar performance as Hap Hairston in Nora Ephron's "Lucky Guy," a role that also garnered him a Drama League nomination.
This season Vance is in production on the new HBO series "Lovecraft Country" and the FX telefilms "Heist 88," directed by Anthony Hemingway, and "Compliance," with Mary-Louise Parker. Vance recently joined an all-star cast as the narrator in Wes Anderson's animated film Isle of Dogs. He also appeared opposite Tom Cruise in The Mummy and co-starred in Office Christmas Party alongside Jennifer Aniston, Olivia Munn, Kate McKinnon, T.J. Miller and Jason Bateman. He also appeared with Oprah Winfrey in HBO's telefilm "The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks."
Since his debut in the Vietnam War tale Hamburger Hill launched his prolific cinematic career, Vance has been seen in such films as The Hunt for Red October, The Preacher's Wife, Space Cowboys, The Adventures of Huck Finn, Cookie's Fortune, The Last Supper, Hurricane Season, Extraordinary Measures, Joyful Noise, Final Destination 5, The Divide and Terminator Genisys.
The actor's television credits include Showtime's "Twelve Angry Men" and "Masters of Sex"; NBC's "State of Affairs," "ER" and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent"; ABC's "Scandal," "Revenge" and "Flash Forward"; Hallmark's "The Piano Lesson"; HBO's "The Tuskegee Airmen" and TNT's "The Closer." His small-screen work has yielded a total of three NAACP Image Award nominations.
Vance walked into his first theater rehearsal while a student at Harvard University and found "home" for the first time. He began to hone his craft by appearing with the Boston Shakespeare Company and Shakespeare and Company. During his tenure at the Yale School of Drama, Vance appeared with Yale Repertory Theatre and the Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center. He then headed to New York and quickly established himself on Broadway. The actor was honored with a Tony nomination and Theater World and Clarence Derwent awards for his debut performance in August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play "Fences," starring James Earl Jones.
Vance received his second Tony bid when he starred in John Guare's "Six Degrees of Separation," with Stockard Channing. He received an Obie Award for his inspired work in South African playwright Athol Fugard's "My Children! My Africa!" and starred in Vaclav Havel's "Temptation," with David Strathairn, before playing Mercutio in "Romeo and Juliet" at the Public Theater. Additionally, Vance performed to rave reviews with his wife, Angela Bassett, in John Guare's "His Girl Friday" at Minneapolis' renowned Guthrie Theater.
Vance and Bassett co-wrote the book Friends: A Love Story, an inspirational book that chronicles their personal story and delves into the nature of healthy relationships. A native of Detroit, Vance currently resides in Southern California with his wife and their twins, Bronwyn Golden and Slater Josiah. He is a proud ambassador for the Boys and Girls Clubs of America.
