Ben Foster born October 29, 1980 is an American actor. His film roles include The Laramie Project, Liberty Heights, Get Over It, Hostage, X-Men: The Last Stand, Alpha Dog, 30 Days of Night, The Messenger, Bang Bang You're Dead and Pandorum. He received best supporting actor nominations from both the Saturn and Satellite Awards for his 2007 role in the film 3:10 to Yuma.
Foster was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of restaurant owners Gillian and Steven Foster.He has described his parents as "free-spirited, Vietnam-protesting hippies". He has a younger brother, Jon, who is also an actor. Foster was raised in his father's Jewish religion.His paternal grandmother emigrated from Russia to escape pogroms in 1923.
When Foster was four years old, his family relocated to Fairfield, Iowa, after their Boston home was burglarized while they were present. He has practiced Transcendental Meditation since he was four years old and, while living in Fairfield, attended the Maharishi School of the Age of Enlightenment, which included Transcendental Meditation in its curriculum.
Foster began working as an actor when he was sixteen years old. Foster dropped out of high school and moved to Los Angeles to pursue his career. In 1996 and 1997, he appeared in the television series Flash Forward and had an unsuccessful audition for the lead role in Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko. Over the next three years, Foster obtained small roles in two made-for-TV movies as well as two episodes of the TV series Freaks and Geeks.
In 2001, he acted in the film Get Over It. Foster also had a recurring role as Russell Corwin (22 episodes) in the HBO Original Series, Six Feet Under.After appearing in the films 11:14 and The Punisher, Foster appeared in Hostage with Bruce Willis, Kevin Pollak and Michelle Horn. In 2006, Foster appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand as the comic-book hero Angel/Warren Worthington III. In the crime thriller Alpha Dog, he played the character Jake Mazursky and added glaucoma drops to his eyes to simulate the appearance of a bleary eyed, drug user in the film.In 2007, he played cold-blooded killer Charlie Prince in the critically acclaimed Western 3:10 to Yuma.
Filmography:
- The Mechanic(2011)
- Here (2010)
- Pandorum (2009)
- Blink (2009)
- The Messenger (2009)
- Birds of America (2008)
- 30 Days of Night (2007)
- 3:10 to Yuma (2007)
- 30 Days of Night (2007)
- Alpha Dog (2007)
- X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
- Hostage (2005)
- The Punisher (2004)
- 11:14 (2003)
- Northfork (2003)
- Big Trouble (2002)
- Get Over It (2001)
- Liberty Heights (1999)
- Kounterfeit (1996)