---
name: "Robby Benson"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/robby-benson"
fi1m_id: "robby-benson"
imdb_id: "nm0000913"
tmdb_id: 15048
wikidata_id: "Q777128"
roles: ["Director"]
born: "21 January 1956"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_as: "director"
average_over: 1
updated: "2026-09-23T23:38:06.077429+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."
---

# Robby Benson

## Identity

Robby Benson

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/robby-benson
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** robby-benson
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000913
- **TMDB ID:** 15048
- **Wikidata ID:** Q777128
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robby_Benson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q777128, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000913/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15048

Director. Born 21 January 1956 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Director
- **Born:** 21 January 1956, Dallas, Texas, USA
- **Active:** 1991–1994
- **Also known as:** رابی بنسون, Robin David Segal
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 2: 1 acting, 1 directing
- **Golden Globes:** 1 Golden Globe nomination
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robby_Benson, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q777128, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000913/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/15048

## Streaming the US now

- **Disney+:** [*Beauty and the Beast*](https://film.one/film/beauty-and-the-beast.md) (91)
- **HBO Max:** [*Friends*](https://film.one/tv/friends.md) (78)

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

## Fi1m on Robby Benson

> Robby Benson is most persuasive when he lets a character sound unsure of himself. His Beast makes the romance in *Beauty and the Beast* worth believing, putting the sensitivity of his early leading roles to work in that deep voice.

In *Beauty and the Beast* (1991), Robby Benson lets us hear the Beast’s discomfort with tenderness. His deep bass gives the character weight, but he allows awkwardness to remain in the voice when a smoother performance might have made the romance easier. We were moved by that uncertainty, because the affection seems to cost the character some effort. Benson gives us a reason to care about the romance before the castle’s other occupants get back to entertaining us.

The sensitive young man was familiar territory by then, from *Ode to Billy Joe* (1976) through *One on One* (1977) to *Ice Castles* (1978). Benson also co-wrote *One on One*, a coming-of-age sports drama, so his involvement in those stories extended beyond playing the lead. The weakness of that early screen persona is that it can become ingratiating, leaving too little beneath the wish to be liked. *The Chosen* (1981) gave him a more complex dramatic role as Danny Saunders opposite Rod Steiger.

Kirk Wise and Gary Trousdale surround Benson with accomplished comic voices in *Beauty and the Beast*. Jerry Orbach’s expansive Lumiere and David Ogden Stiers’s exact Cogsworth supply contrasting rhythms, while Angela Lansbury’s Mrs. Potts brings warmth without fuss. Benson is valuable among them because he sounds less at ease, and the romance benefits from that difference. The small frustration is that the comic business occasionally interrupts feelings his performance has earned time to explore. We would happily lose a little bustle to let those feelings last longer.

Later voice work included returns to the Beast, while television directing took him to *Friends* (1995–1997). The teen-idol label describes only one stretch of his work, and misses the performance we would recommend first. Start with *Beauty and the Beast*, and listen for how much Benson does by sounding unsure of himself.

## Biography

Robby Benson (born Robin David Segal) is an American actor, director, singer and educator. He began his career as a child performer, making his Broadway debut in the late 1960s and appearing in early films including an uncredited role in *Wait Until Dark* (1967). He rose to prominence in the 1970s with lead roles in films such as *Ode to Billy Joe* (1976), *One on One* (1977) and *Ice Castles* (1978).

Benson is best known for voicing the Beast in Disney’s *Beauty and the Beast* (1991) and its sequels and spin-offs. He has directed numerous television episodes, including six of the sitcom *Friends* (1995–1997), and has appeared in later roles such as Dr Mauer in *Severance* (2022). He has also written screenplays, composed music and taught film production at several universities.

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

## On Fi1m (2)

### Performed in (1)

- *Beauty and the Beast* (1991), Fi1m 91, as Beast (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/beauty-and-the-beast.md)

### Directed (1) — the average rests on these

- *Friends* (1994), Fi1m 78, Director — [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)

## Complete filmography (92)

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

- *Once Upon a Studio* (2023), as Beast (voice)
- *Severance* (2022), series, as Dr. Mauer — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/severance.md)
- *A Feeling of Home* (2019), as Wes
- *Apple Seed* (2019), as Sirom
- *Straight Outta Tompkins* (2015), Executive Producer, Music
- *Billy: The Early Years* (2008), Director
- *Disney Princess Sing Along Songs, Vol. 2 - Enchanted Tea Party* (2005), as Beast (voice)
- *Complete Savages* (2004), series, Director
- *MXP: Most Xtreme Primate* (2004), as Edward
- *I'm with Her* (2003), series, Director
- *American Dreams* (2002), series, as Prof. Witt
- *8 Simple Rules* (2002), series, Director
- *Baby Bob* (2002), series, Director
- *Just a Dream* (2002), as Dr. Sturbuck
- *Mickey's Magical Christmas: Snowed in at the House of Mouse* (2001), as Beast (voice)
- *Bob Patterson* (2001), series, Director
- *Disney's House of Mouse* (2001), series, as Beast (voice), Beast
- *Disney Through The Decades* (2001), Actor
- *The Life & Adventures of Santa Claus* (2000), as Young Santa Claus (voice)
- *DragonHeart: A New Beginning* (2000), as Drake (voice)
- *The Huntress* (2000), series, Director
- *The Crippled Lamb* (1999), as Asah
- *Jesse* (1998), series, Director
- *Brother's Keeper* (1998), series, Director
- *Two Guys and a Girl* (1998), series, Director
- *Belle's Magical World* (1998), as Beast (voice)
- *Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas* (1997), as Beast (voice)
- *Dharma & Greg* (1997), series, Director
- *Common Law* (1996), series, Director
- *Sabrina, the Teenage Witch* (1996), series, as Edward Spellman · Director
- *Life with Roger* (1996), series, Director
- *O. Henry's Christmas* (1996), Actor
- *Caroline in the City* (1995), series, as Robby Benson
- *The Naked Truth* (1995), series, Director
- *The George Wendt Show* (1995), series, Director
- *Friends* (1994), series, Director — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/friends.md)
- *The Magic School Bus* (1994), series, as Archibald Seedplot (voice)
- *Ellen* (1994), series, Director
- *Thunder Alley* (1994), series, Director
- *Monty* (1994), series, Director
- *Deadly Exposure* (1993), as Max Pierce
- *Precious Victims* (1993), as Robert Sims
- *Family Album* (1993), series, Director
- *Exosquad* (1993), series, as Lt. J.T. Marsh (voice)
- *Betrayal of the Dove* (1993), Story, Screenplay
- *At Home with the Webbers* (1993), as Roger Swade
- *Pinocchio: The Making of a Masterpiece* (1993), as Host
- *Good Advice* (1993), series, Director
- *Invasion of Privacy* (1992), as Alex Pruitt
- *Batman: The Animated Series* (1992), series, as Wilkes (voice)
- *Homewrecker* (1992), as Dr. David Whitson
- *P.J. Sparkles* (1992), as Blaze (voice)
- *Beauty and the Beast* (1991), as Beast (voice) — Fi1m 91, [page](https://film.one/film/beauty-and-the-beast.md)
- *The Legend of Prince Valiant* (1991), series, as Prince Valiant (voice)
- *Evening Shade* (1990), series, as Skeeter Hatfield · Director
- *Dream On* (1990), series, Director
- *Modern Love* (1990), as Greg · Director, Producer, Writer
- *Seinfeld* (1989), series, as Vincent — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/tv/seinfeld.md)
- *White Hot* (1989), as Scott · Director
- *Rent-a-Cop* (1987), as Pitts
- *David and Goliath* (1986), as David (voice)
- *Tough Cookies* (1986), series, as Det. Cliff Brady
- *The New Alfred Hitchcock Presents* (1985), series, as Ed
- *City Limits* (1985), as Carver
- *California Girls* (1985), as Nanthan Bowzer
- *Harry & Son* (1984), as Howard Keach
- *The Hitchhiker* (1983), series, as Bart
- *Running Brave* (1983), as Billy Mills
- *Kids Incorporated* (1983), series, Director
- *Two of a Kind* (1982), as Nollie Minor
- *National Lampoon's Movie Madness* (1982), as Brent Falcone ("Municipalians")
- *The Chosen* (1981), as Danny Saunders
- *Tribute* (1980), as Jud Templeton
- *Die Laughing* (1980), as Pinsky · Writer, Original Music Composer, Producer
- *Walk Proud* (1979), as Emilio Mendez · Original Music Composer
- *Ice Castles* (1978), as Nick Peterson
- *The End* (1978), as Father Dave Benson
- *One on One* (1977), as Henry Steele · Writer
- *Our Town* (1977), as George Gibbs
- *The Death of Richie* (1977), as Richie Werner
- *The Last of Mrs. Lincoln* (1976), as Tad Lincoln
- *Ode to Billy Joe* (1976), as Billy Joe McAllister
- *Lucky Lady* (1975), as Billy Weber
- *One Day at a Time* (1975), series, as Ken
- *Death Be Not Proud* (1975), as Johnny Gunther
- *Virginia Hill* (1974), as Leroy Small
- *All the Kind Strangers* (1974), as John
- *Kodiak* (1974), series, as Tim
- *Remember When* (1974), as Frankie Hodges
- *Jeremy* (1973), as Jeremy Jones
- *Jory* (1973), as Jory Walden
- *Wait Until Dark* (1967), as Boy Tossing Ball (uncredited)

## Gallery

- ![Peter with The Beast. (2007)](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-f7fd77dab282.jpg) Peter with The Beast. (2007) — Melody Joy Kramer from philadelphia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/20/Robby_Benson_%282036244417%29.jpg/1280px-Robby_Benson_%282036244417%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Peter with The Beast. (2007)](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-5367dd16ed68.jpg) Peter with The Beast. (2007) — Melody Joy Kramer from philadelphia, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/84/Robby_Benson_%282036244417%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Robby Benson at GalaxyCon Minneapolis in 2019](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-7f8862c29c68.jpg) Robby Benson at GalaxyCon Minneapolis in 2019 — Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/68/Robby_Benson_%2849082092828%29.jpg/1280px-Robby_Benson_%2849082092828%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Robby Benson](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-3205d34b3f25.jpg) Robby Benson — Super Festivals from Ft. Lauderdale, USA, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/Robby_Benson_Photo_Op_GalaxyCon_Minneapolis_2019.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Robby Benson](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-e8b9570d0012.jpg) Robby Benson — Image via TMDB
- ![Robby Benson](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-b38a916e1f74.jpg) Robby Benson — Image via TMDB
- ![Robby Benson](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-f18cf97eaf41.jpg) Robby Benson — Image via TMDB
- ![Robby Benson (2023)](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-bc5bcacb527b.jpg) Robby Benson (2023) — Robineeeooo, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/63/Robby_Benson_headshot.jpg/1280px-Robby_Benson_headshot.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail)
- ![Robby Benson](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-fdef44e33e9e.jpg) Robby Benson — Image via TMDB
- ![Robby Benson](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-73d3e33f55af.jpg) Robby Benson — Image via TMDB
- ![Robby Benson](https://film.one/media/person/78772/gallery-baa0177dea11.jpg) Robby Benson — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Golden Globes — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1973: New Star of the Year – Actor (nominated), for *Jeremy*

### Other awards — 0 won, 1 nominated

- Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award 1985: Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actor - Razzie Award (nominated), for *Harry & Son*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/robby-benson