Luke Aaron Benward (born May 12, 1995) is an American actor and singer. He is known for his role as Will in the Disney film Cloud 9 (2014). His first starring role was Billy Forrester in How to Eat Fried Worms (2006), and as Charlie Tuttle in Minutemen (2008). He played the role of Dillon in Ravenswood and Bo in the Netflix film Dumplin'. He recurred as Teddy's boyfriend, Beau, on the final season of the Disney Channel series Good Luck Charlie.

Luke Benward
Luke Benward in 2010
Born
Luke Aaron Benward

(1995-05-12) May 12, 1995 (age 29)
Occupations
  • Actor
  • singer
Years active2002–present
PartnerAriel Winter (2020–present)
FatherAaron Benward
RelativesJeoffrey Benward (grandfather)
Musical career
InstrumentVocals
LabelsShine Records

Early life

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Benward was born in Franklin, Tennessee,[citation needed] the son of Kenda (née Wilkerson) and Aaron Benward.[1] His father is in the country duo Blue County, his mother is a part-time actress, model, and acting coach, and his grandfather is Contemporary Christian music artist Jeoffrey Benward. He has two younger sisters.

Career

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Benward's acting career started when he landed a role in the film We Were Soldiers as David Moore in 2002. His success grew in 2006, when he played Billy Forrester in the movie How to Eat Fried Worms, which he won a Young Artist Award for in the category of Best Young Ensemble in a Feature Film.[citation needed]

He also played 14-year-old Charlie Tuttle in the Disney Channel movie Minutemen, the 14-year-old Alan in Dear John, and the little boy who helps the abused girl in the music video "Concrete Angel" by Martina McBride. Benward's first release, a 5-song EP titled Let Your Love Out, came out on January 5, 2009.[citation needed]

He also toured with the Christian group iShine LIVE for a short time, where he would sing his music in concert. The record label that signed him is called In Crowd Productions, whose collective credits include Hilary Duff, India.Arie, the Backstreet Boys, Mat Kearney, Death Cab for Cutie, and the Jonas Brothers.[citation needed]

He has also been in various commercials, including Nintendo, McDonald's, Willy Wonka, American Express, and Hamburger Helper. He also played the role of Nicky in Mostly Ghostly and played Stevie Dewberry in the film Because of Winn-Dixie. He also played in the Disney Channel Original Movie Girl vs. Monster as Ryan Dean, the love interest of Skylar Lewis (Olivia Holt).[citation needed]

Benward also had a recurring role as Matthew Pearson, the ex-boyfriend of Emily Hobbs (Ryan Newman) on See Dad Run. He was in the movie Cloud 9 from Disney Channel with Liv and Maddie star Dove Cameron and appeared as Beau, Teddy's love interest, on six episodes of Good Luck Charlie, reuniting him with his Minutemen costar Jason Dolley. He appeared as Thor in the third-season premiere of the Disney Channel series Girl Meets World.[2]

Personal life

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Benward dated Olivia Holt after meeting her on the set for Disney Channel’s Girl vs. Monster. The couple split in 2017.[3] Since 2020, he has been in a relationship with actress Ariel Winter.[4]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 We Were Soldiers David Moore
2005 Because of Winn-Dixie Steven "Stevie" Dewberry
2006 How to Eat Fried Worms Billy Forrester
2008 Mostly Ghostly Nicholas "Nicky" Roland
Dog Gone Owen
2010 Dear John Alan Wheddon (age 14)
2012 Girl vs. Monster Ryan Dean
2014 Field of Lost Shoes John Wise
2018 Life of the Party Jack Strong
Dumplin' Bo Larson
Measure of a Man Pete Marino
2019 Grand Isle Buddy
2021 Wildcat Luke
2021 Playing God Micah

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2002 Family Affair Jody Davis Episode: "Pilot: Parts 1 & 2"
2008 Minutemen Charles "Charlie" Tuttle Television film
2012–13 See Dad Run Matthew Pearson 3 episodes
2013 Good Luck Charlie Beau Landry Recurring role (Season 4, six episodes)
2013–14 Ravenswood Dillon Sanders Main role (8 episodes)
2014 Cloud 9 Will Cloud Television film
2014 The Goldbergs Bruce Episode: "The Age of Darkness"
2014 R.L. Stine's The Haunting Hour Ted Episode: "Near Mint Condition" (Season 4)
2015 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Axel Vargas Episode: "Under My Skin"
2016 Girl Meets World Thor Episodes: "Girl Meets High School: Parts One and Two"
2016 Pitch Episodes: "The Interim"
2017 Still the King Lloy Danderson Recurring role (Season 2)
2022 Criminal Minds: Evolution Benjamin Reeves Episodes: "Oedipus Wrecks"

Discography

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Extended play

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Title Details
Let Your Love Out
  • Released: January 5, 2009
  • Formats: Digital download
  • Label: iShine Records

Promotional singles

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Title Year Album
"Cloud 9"
(with Dove Cameron)
2014 Disney Channel Play It Loud

Other appearances

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Title Year Album
"Had Me @ Hello" 2012 Make Your Mark: Ultimate Playlist

Music videos

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List of music videos, showing and director
Title Year Director(s) Notes
"Concrete Angel" 2002 Martina McBride's music video; guest appearance
"That's Cool" 2004 Blue County's music video; guest appearance
"Everyday Hero" 2009 Kenda Benward and Bart Conover[5]
"Make You Stay" 2016 The Girl and the Dreamcatcher music video; guest appearance
"You Make It Easy" 2018 Jason Aldean's music video;

References

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  1. ^ "Still the Garlic Queen". Gilroy Dispatch. July 27, 2007. Archived from the original on September 29, 2011.
  2. ^ Linda Ge (February 1, 2016). "'Girl Meets World' Casts Luke Benward, Ashley Argota, Claudia Lee for Season 3 (Exclusive)". The Wrap. Retrieved June 4, 2016.
  3. ^ "Ariel Winter and Luke Benward's relationship timeline". www.yahoo.com. August 6, 2021. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  4. ^ "Ariel Winter Calls Luke Benward Relationship 'Really Beautiful'". Entertainment Tonight. Retrieved March 23, 2023.
  5. ^ "Luke Benward "Everyday Hero"". Bart Conover Channel. August 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2014.
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