---
name: "Richard Beymer"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/richard-beymer"
fi1m_id: "richard-beymer"
imdb_id: "nm0000937"
tmdb_id: 6679
wikidata_id: "Q711561"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "20 February 1938"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 6
average_fi1m_score: 76
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-09-20T03:54:34.913893+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Richard Beymer

## Identity

Richard Beymer

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/richard-beymer
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** richard-beymer
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000937
- **TMDB ID:** 6679
- **Wikidata ID:** Q711561
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Beymer, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q711561, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000937/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6679

Actor. Born 20 February 1938 in Avoca, Iowa, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 20 February 1938, Avoca, Iowa, USA
- **Active:** 1959–1993
- **Also known as:** George Richard Beymer Jr., ریچارد بیمر
- **Average Fi1m score:** 76, as actor, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1950s 58 (1), 1960s 74 (2), 1980s 82 (1), 1990s 85 (2)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 71 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 1 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 3 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Crime 3, Mystery 3, Action 1, Comedy 1, History 1
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $94m across 2 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Beymer, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q711561, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000937/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6679

## Streaming the US now

- **Apple TV:** [*Twin Peaks*](https://film.one/tv/twin-peaks.md) (86)
- **Tubi:** [*West Side Story*](https://film.one/film/west-side-story.md) (80)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Richard Beymer

> Richard Beymer spent his youth playing sincere young men slightly too well brought up for the films around them, then found, decades later, the part that fitted: Benjamin Horne, the scheming hotel owner of *Twin Peaks*. Start there, not with the early films.

There are two Richard Beymers and they barely seem related. The first is a boy in an attic in *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), Peter Van Daan, shy and polite, looking at Anne as though he ought to ask before speaking. The second is Benjamin Horne in *Twin Peaks* (1990), owner of the town's hotel, a schemer who enjoys his own schemes, played loose and for laughs. Thirty years sit between them, and most of another life.

The career runs like this. A child actor on Los Angeles television in the late 1940s, a feature debut for Vittorio De Sica in *Stazione Termini* (1953), then the studio years: Peter Van Daan, Tony in *West Side Story* (1961), a private in the ensemble of *The Longest Day* (1962). Critics found him stiff as Tony, and he agreed with them; he has said he lacked the knowledge to play it and "came out ridiculous." In the mid-1960s he left leading roles for independent film, documentaries and civil-rights work, shooting footage later used in *Eyes on the Prize*. He came back to acting in the 1980s in guest television parts, and then David Lynch cast him.

We are not much kinder about the early work than he is. In *The Diary of Anne Frank* his attic scenes with Millie Perkins are the love story the film promises and, we found, its slowest stretch; we kept waiting for either of them to be quick, or unkind, or anything but careful, and neither ever is. That is not entirely his fault. Studio films of the period wanted earnestness from their young men, and Beymer gave it, and earnestness on screen sits very close to stiffness when the picture around it wants heat. He was cast for sincerity and sincerity was all he was allowed to do.

Lynch wanted something else, and got it. Ben Horne is a character part, eccentric and venal, and Beymer plays him with a looseness the studio years never asked for. Lynch, by Beymer's account, leaves a great deal to the moment, and the actor who had been so measured in 1959 turns out to be good at moments. He returned to the part when the series came back in 2017, after a long stretch away from mainstream acting, and by then the hotel owner had become the role most people mean when they say his name.

He has also painted, sculpted and written novels, and the sense is of a man who found acting narrower than he was. If you know him only as Tony, that is the wrong door. Go in through the hotel.

## Biography

Richard Beymer is an American actor, filmmaker and visual artist. Born George Richard Beymer Jr. on 20 February 1938 in Avoca, Iowa, he began his career as a child actor and made his feature film debut in Vittorio De Sica's *Stazione Termini* (1953).

He rose to prominence with roles including Peter van Daan in *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959) and Tony in the 1961 film adaptation of *West Side Story*. Beymer later played Benjamin Horne in the television series *Twin Peaks* (1990–1991) and reprised the role in 2017. His other credits include *The Longest Day* (1962), appearances in *The X-Files*, *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine* and *Murder, She Wrote*, and work as a director.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (6)

- *The X-Files* (1993), Fi1m 84, as Dr. Jack Franklin — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)
- *Twin Peaks* (1990), Fi1m 86, as Benjamin Horne — [page](https://film.one/tv/twin-peaks.md)
- *Moonlighting* (1985), Fi1m 82, as Ray Adamson — [page](https://film.one/tv/moonlighting.md)
- *The Longest Day* (1962), Fi1m 68, as Pvt. Dutch Schultz — [page](https://film.one/film/the-longest-day.md)
- *West Side Story* (1961), Fi1m 80, as Tony — [page](https://film.one/film/west-side-story.md)
- *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), Fi1m 58, as Peter Van Daan — [page](https://film.one/film/the-diary-of-anne-frank.md)

## Complete filmography (58)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Howard* (2018), as Tony (archive footage)
- *I Had Bad Milk in Dehradun* (2017), Director
- *Behind the Red Curtain* (2017), Director
- *It's a Beautiful World* (2014), Director
- *Freedom Summer* (2014), Director of Photography
- *Playing Patti* (2006), Actor
- *Home: The Horror Story* (2000), as Bob Parkinson
- *Family Law* (1999), series, as Richard Collins
- *Elvis Meets Nixon* (1997), as Bob Haldeman
- *The Disappearance of Kevin Johnson* (1997), as Chad Leary
- *Profiler* (1996), series, as Martin Fizer
- *Foxfire* (1996), as Mr. Parks
- *The Little Death* (1996), as Prosecutor
- *A Face to Die For* (1996), as Dr. Matthew Sheridan
- *State of Emergency* (1994), as Dr. Ronald Frames
- *My Girl 2* (1994), as Peter Webb
- *Under Investigation* (1993), as Dr. Jerry Parsons
- *The X-Files* (1993), series, as Dr. Jack Franklin — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md)
- *Star Trek: Deep Space Nine* (1993), series, as Li Nalas — Fi1m 85, [page](https://film.one/tv/star-trek-deep-space-nine.md)
- *The Presence* (1992), as Ben
- *Blackbelt* (1992), as Eddie Deangelo
- *Twin Peaks* (1990), series, as Benjamin Horne — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/twin-peaks.md)
- *Twin Peaks* (1989), as Benjamin Horne
- *Silent Night, Deadly Night III: Better Watch Out!* (1989), as Dr. Newbury
- *The Bronx Zoo* (1987), series, Actor
- *Generation* (1985), as Allan Breed
- *Moonlighting* (1985), series, as Ray Adamson — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/moonlighting.md)
- *Murder, She Wrote* (1984), series, as Sydney Jarvis, Rick Lefko, Dirk Mathison, Morgan McCormack, Charles Lawton Standish, Lou Keramides
- *Paper Dolls* (1984), series, as David Fenton
- *Cross Country* (1983), as Evan Bley
- *High Powder* (1982), Second Unit Director of Photography
- *Dallas* (1978), series, as Jeff Larkin
- *The Innerview* (1973), Director
- *Scream Free!* (1969), as Dean
- *The Man from U.N.C.L.E.* (1964), series, as Harry Williams
- *A Regular Bouquet: Mississippi Summer* (1964), Director
- *Kraft Suspense Theatre* (1963), series, as Werner Schiff
- *The Stripper* (1963), as Kenny Baird
- *The Longest Day* (1962), as Pvt. Dutch Schultz — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/film/the-longest-day.md)
- *The Virginian* (1962), series, as Mark Shannon, Frank Colter
- *Hemingway’s Adventures of a Young Man* (1962), as Nick Adams
- *Five Finger Exercise* (1962), as Philip Harrington
- *West Side Story* (1961), as Tony — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/film/west-side-story.md)
- *Bachelor Flat* (1961), as Mike Pulaski
- *Dr. Kildare* (1961), series, as Rev. Jack Elder
- *High Time* (1960), as Bob Bannerman
- *The Diary of Anne Frank* (1959), as Peter Van Daan — Fi1m 58, [page](https://film.one/film/the-diary-of-anne-frank.md)
- *26 Men* (1957), series, Actor
- *Johnny Tremain* (1957), as Rab Silsbee
- *Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre* (1956), series, as Shep Jolland
- *Navy Log* (1955), series, Actor
- *So Big* (1953), as Roelf, Age 12-16
- *The Danny Thomas Show* (1953), series, as The Boyfriend, Freddie Baxter
- *Indiscretion of an American Wife* (1953), as Paul
- *Death Valley Days* (1952), series, as John Owens (as Dick Beymer)
- *Cavalcade of America* (1952), series, Actor
- *Schlitz Playhouse of Stars* (1951), series, Actor
- *Fourteen Hours* (1951), as (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Dick Beymer photographed by Frank Bez, 1961](https://film.one/media/person/61416/gallery-c7a5488b5ebd.jpg) Dick Beymer photographed by Frank Bez, 1961 — Frank Bez [1], Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c5/Dick_Beymer_by_Frank_Bez%2C_1961.jpg/1280px-Dick_Beymer_by_Frank_Bez%2C_1961.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Richard Beymer](https://film.one/media/person/61416/gallery-b29f5ed9623f.jpg) Richard Beymer — Image via TMDB
- ![Richard Beymer](https://film.one/media/person/61416/gallery-82078b7e9f2d.jpg) Richard Beymer — Image via TMDB
- ![Richard Beymer](https://film.one/media/person/61416/gallery-e1de4d6b413f.jpg) Richard Beymer — Image via TMDB
- ![Richard Beymer](https://film.one/media/person/61416/gallery-4897a54216ed.jpg) Richard Beymer — Image via TMDB
- ![Richard Beymer](https://film.one/media/person/61416/gallery-341870e98722.jpg) Richard Beymer — Image via TMDB
- ![Richard Beymer](https://film.one/media/person/61416/gallery-3a89d67be3e2.jpg) Richard Beymer — Image via TMDB

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/richard-beymer