Jimmy Ray Bennett (born June 26) is an American actor. He is best known as the voice of Floyd Hebert in the 2013 video game Grand Theft Auto V[1] and in television for the roles of Nathan Brooks in the Amazon Studios drama Hand of God[2] and as the "White DL" in the Peabody Award-winning documentary DL Hughley: The Endangered List on Comedy Central.[3]
Jimmy Ray Bennett | |
|---|---|
 Jimmy Ray Bennett being interviewed after the premier of Hand of God | |
| Born | June 26 Tallahassee, Florida, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actor |
Early life
editBennett was born in Tallahassee, Florida to Jim and Janie Bennett, who have since divorced. He has two sisters. He graduated high school from the Florida State University School and earned his B.F.A in Musical Theatre from Florida State University in 1998.[4]
Career
editAfter moving to New York City, Bennett co-created the improvised musical The Nuclear Family[5] with Stephen Guarino and John Gregorio. The show was considered a cult hit downtown and moved Off-Broadway[6] in 2003 to the Zipper Theatre and subsequently to Barrow Street Theatre. The show was adapted for television the following year for the Sundance TV LAB.[7] He has also improvised with Dad's garage in Atlanta and at The Groundlings[8] in Los Angeles. In 2006, he won the World Domination Improv Tournament[9] in Atlanta, along with The Nuclear Family.
In video games, he is the voice of Floyd Hebert in Grand Theft Auto V, of which he also provides the likeness and motion capture for the character. Released in 2013, GTA V is the largest grossing video game launch in history, having made over $800 million within the first 24 hours of release.[10] He also voiced numerous characters in Red Dead Redemption. Both were produced by Rockstar Games.
Theatrically, he played Sohovik in Damn Yankees[11] at City Center Encores Summer Stars and was also the understudy for Sean Hayes. In 2008 he performed at The Kennedy Center in the cast of Broadway: Three Generations[12] which opened the newly renovated Eisenhower Theater. Bennett was a member of the original productions of Illyria[13] for Prospect Theatre Company and White's Lies at New World Stages with Betty Buckley. He was in the New York premier cast of Around The World In 80 Days[14] in 2013, Off-Broadway. Bennett also participated in the 75th Sondheim! Birthday Concert with the NY Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. He can be heard on the Cast Recording for The York Theatre Company's SUNDOWN[15] as Morgan Earp, as well as Vincent Youmans' THROUGH THE YEARS and Kay Swift's FINE AND DANDY. Both produced by PS Classics.[16]
Bennett was part of the 2013 CBS diversity showcase[17] which took him to Los Angeles. He has been seen in Hot In Cleveland on TV Land. He was the neighbor in the Qu'osby Show[18] parody on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart and in 2012, he was in the Peabody Award winning documentary DL Hugely: The Endangered List. He played tech billionaire Nathan Brooks on the Amazon Studios original drama Hand Of God.
Bennett recently completed the Fuse production of The Last Breakfast Club[19] at Rockwell Table and Stage in Los Angeles. Directed by Bradley Bredeweg and co-starring Garrett Clayton and Max Ehrich.
Bennett resides in New York City.
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | The Tool | Mayor | Short |
| 2004 | Last Men on Earth | Dan | Short |
| Say You Do | Frederick | Short | |
| 2005 | What Were You Thinking | - | Short |
| 2007 | A Little Silence | Detective Roberts | Short |
| 2013 | Snore (Downton Abbey) | - | Short |
| 2018 | The Last Breakfast Club | Vernon | |
| 2022 | Better Nate Than Ever | Fantasy Audition Greeter |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | The Smoking Gun TV | Actor | Episode: "Year-end Special" |
| 2011 | The Daily Show | Qu'osby Neighbor | Episode: "Ed Gillespie" |
| 2014 | Hot in Cleveland | Real Estate Agent | Episode: "Playmates" |
| 2015–17 | Hand of God | Nathan Brooks | Recurring Cast |
| 2019 | Sorry, Ari | Sal | Episode: "On Broadway" |
| 2020 | AJ and the Queen | Kevin | Episode: "Dallas" |
| 2022 | Billions | Host | Episode: "Hindenburg" |
| The Blacklist | Marshal Rupert Gwynn | Episode: "Andrew Kennison (No. 185)" |
Video games
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Red Dead Redemption | The Local Population | |
| 2013 | Grand Theft Auto V | Floyd Hebert | Also motion capture |
| 2018 | Red Dead Redemption 2 | The Local Pedestrian Population |
References
edit- ^ "Jimmy Ray Bennett". Behind The Voice Actors.
- ^ "Amazon UK TV review: Hand of God Season 2 - VODzilla.co". vodzilla.co.
- ^ "DL Hughley: The Endangered List".
- ^ "jimmyraybennett". jimmyraybennett.
- ^ "The Nuclear Family, a CurtainUp review". Archived from the original on 2020-08-07. Retrieved 2017-08-28.
- ^ "They're Just Making It Up As They Merrily Go Along". The New York Times. 19 September 2003.
- ^ "Artist Detail". www.mccarter.org.
- ^ "The Groundlings". The Groundlings Website.
- ^ BWW News Desk. "World Domination TheatreSports Tournament '09 Comes To Dad's Garage 9/10-12".
- ^ Kain, Erik. "'Grand Theft Auto V' Crosses $1B In Sales, Biggest Entertainment Launch In History". Forbes.
- ^ Isherwood, Charles (11 July 2008). "Faust on Third, Lost Soul at Bat". The New York Times.
- ^ "Side by Side by Side". www.washingtonpost.com.
- ^ "Jimmy Ray Bennett Theatre Credits and Profile". www.abouttheartists.com.
- ^ "Bryce Ryness, Jimmy Ray Bennett, John Gregorio and More Go Around the World, Opening May 30 Off-Broadway - Playbill". Playbill. 30 May 2013.
- ^ "Studio Cast Recording". Sundown.
- ^ "PS Classics - cast recordings and soundtracks". www.psclassics.com.
- ^ "Minority hopefuls perform in CBS diversity showcase". 24 January 2012.
- ^ "Exclusive - The Qu'osby Show - The Pilot - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - Comedy Central". Comedy Central. 18 February 2011. Archived from the original on November 7, 2015.
- ^ "The Fuse Project's Presentation Of "The Last Breakfast Club"".