--- name: "Wes Bentley" canonical: "https://film.one/person/wes-bentley" fi1m_id: "wes-bentley" imdb_id: "nm0004747" tmdb_id: 8210 wikidata_id: "Q368037" roles: ["Actor"] born: "4 September 1978" reviewed_on_fi1m: 5 average_fi1m_score: 74 average_as: "actor" average_over: 5 updated: "2026-09-24T00:16:42.202431+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." --- # Wes Bentley ## Identity Wes Bentley - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/wes-bentley - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** wes-bentley - **IMDb ID:** nm0004747 - **TMDB ID:** 8210 - **Wikidata ID:** Q368037 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Bentley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q368037, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004747/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8210 Actor. Born 4 September 1978 in Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 4 September 1978, Jonesboro, Arkansas, USA - **Active:** 1999–present - **Also known as:** Wesley Cook Bentley, Wesley Bentley - **Average Fi1m score:** 74, as actor, over 5 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 76 (1), 2010s 79 (3), 2020s 56 (1) - **Fi1m against the critics:** 74 to 74 across 5 titles - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 3 at 60–79, 1 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 5 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Adventure 3, Drama 3, Action 2, Science Fiction 2, Mystery 1, Thriller 1 - **Screen time:** 10 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $2,621m across 4 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wes_Bentley, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q368037, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0004747/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/8210 ## Streaming the US now - **Apple TV:** [*Mission: Impossible - Fallout*](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout.md) (87), [*Interstellar*](https://film.one/film/interstellar.md) (79) - **Netflix:** [*The Hunger Games*](https://film.one/film/the-hunger-games.md) (70) - **Disney+:** [*The Shards*](https://film.one/tv/the-shards.md) (56) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Wes Bentley > Wes Bentley is particularly good at making a difficult man worth caring about without asking us to approve of him. His stillness is expressive, but he needs writing that gives us something beyond a troubled stare. In *American Beauty* (1999), Wes Bentley makes Ricky Fitts's stillness feel intrusive. Ricky is a voyeur with a poetic streak, and Bentley makes watching other people seem to demand his whole attention. We were unsettled by that fixed gaze because the vulnerability behind it did nothing to make the watching less uncomfortable. That is the Bentley performance we would put first. This was his breakthrough, and Sam Mendes found a useful place for that intensity within a suburban satire. Bentley gives us someone to be curious about in a film that can be too pleased with its own observations. We recommend *American Beauty* chiefly for the acting, especially Annette Bening; Alan Ball's familiar complaints about middle-class life do not become discoveries through being stated confidently. It helps that Bentley never asks us to like Ricky. The later supporting roles include Seneca Crane in *The Hunger Games* (2012) and Doyle in *Interstellar* (2014). The latter is a Christopher Nolan film we recommend for its feeling despite the overworked explanations and sometimes overbearing music. Matthew McConaughey and the pain of family separation give it its emotional force. For a viewer choosing where to begin with Bentley, though, Doyle is a less useful introduction than Ricky; the larger film has its attention elsewhere. Television offered a more sustained part in *Yellowstone* (2018–2024), with Bentley playing Jamie Dutton for creator and writer Taylor Sheridan. Jamie's ambition and inner conflict give Bentley room to make an objectionable man's unhappiness understandable. The later writing reduces the character's complexity, a limitation that even a strong performance cannot remove. We want parts that give his restraint a reason, rather than treating a troubled stare as sufficient character development. Start with *American Beauty*, then try *Yellowstone* if that combination of watchfulness and vulnerability interests you enough to follow it for longer. ## Biography Wes Bentley is an American actor. He is best known for playing Ricky Fitts in the 1999 film *American Beauty*, a role that earned him a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. Born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 1978, Bentley attended the Juilliard School's Drama Division but left after one year to pursue his career. He made his screen debut in *Beloved* (1998). His other notable film roles include Seneca Crane in *The Hunger Games* (2012), Doyle in *Interstellar* (2014), and Erik in *Mission: Impossible – Fallout* (2018). On television he has played Jamie Dutton in *Yellowstone* (2018–) and appeared in *American Horror Story*. He was one of the subjects of the 2009 documentary *My Big Break* and starred in the off-Broadway premiere of *Venus in Fur* in 2010. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (5) - *The Shards* (2026), Fi1m 56, as Terry Schaffer — [page](https://film.one/tv/the-shards.md) - *Mission: Impossible - Fallout* (2018), Fi1m 87, as Erik — [page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout.md) - *Interstellar* (2014), Fi1m 79, as Doyle — [page](https://film.one/film/interstellar.md) - *The Hunger Games* (2012), Fi1m 70, as Seneca Crane — [page](https://film.one/film/the-hunger-games.md) - *American Beauty* (1999), Fi1m 76, as Ricky Fitts — [page](https://film.one/film/american-beauty.md) ## Complete filmography (48) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *The Shards* (2026), series, as Terry Schaffer — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-shards.md) - *Blade Runner: Black Lotus* (2021), series, as Niander Wallace Jr. (voice) - *The Best of Enemies* (2019), as Floyd Kelly - *Mission: Impossible - Fallout* (2018), as Erik — Fi1m 87, [page](https://film.one/film/mission-impossible-fallout.md) - *Yellowstone* (2018), series, as Jamie Dutton - *Pete's Dragon* (2016), as Jack - *Broken Vows* (2016), as Patrick - *Knight of Cups* (2015), as Barry - *We Are Your Friends* (2015), as James - *Amnesiac* (2015), as Man - *Welcome to Me* (2015), as Gabe Ruskin - *Final Girl* (2015), as William - *Interstellar* (2014), as Doyle — Fi1m 79, [page](https://film.one/film/interstellar.md) - *Cesar Chavez* (2014), as Jerry Cohen - *After the Fall* (2014), as Bill - *The Better Angels* (2014), as Mr. Crawford - *3 Nights in the Desert* (2014), as Travis - *Open* (2014), as Evan Foster - *Pioneer* (2013), as Mike - *Lovelace* (2013), as Thomas - Photographer - *Hidden Moon* (2012), as Victor Brighton - *Stars in Shorts* (2012), as Man - *The Time Being* (2012), as Daniel - *Rites of Passage* (2012), as Benny - *Hirokin: The Last Samurai* (2012), as Hirokin - *The Hunger Games* (2012), as Seneca Crane — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/film/the-hunger-games.md) - *Gone* (2012), as Det. Peter Hood - *Underworld: Awakening* (2012), as Antigen Scientist (uncredited) - *American Horror Story* (2011), series, as Det. John Lowe, Dylan, Edward Mordrake - *After-School Special* (2011), as Man - *There Be Dragons* (2011), as Manolo - *Jonah Hex* (2010), as Adleman Lusk - *The Greims* (2009), as Donnie Greims - *The Tomb* (2009), as Jonathan - *Dolan's Cadillac* (2009), as Robinson - *The Last Word* (2008), as Evan - *P2* (2007), as Thomas - *Weirdsville* (2007), as Royce - *Ghost Rider* (2007), as Blackheart / Black King - *The Ungodly* (2007), as Mickey Gravatski - *The Game of Their Lives* (2005), as Walter Bahr - *The Four Feathers* (2002), as Jack Durrance - *Soul Survivors* (2001), as Matt - *The Claim* (2000), as Donald Dalglish - *American Beauty* (1999), as Ricky Fitts — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/film/american-beauty.md) - *The White River Kid* (1999), as White River Kid - *Beloved* (1998), as Schoolteacher's Nephew - *Three Below Zero* (1998), as Julian Fincher ## Gallery - ![Wes Bentley](https://film.one/media/person/88476/gallery-04a17e101bc2.jpg) Wes Bentley — Natasha Baucas, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/01/Wes_Bentley_The_Hunger_Games_premiere.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Principal cast of American Beauty (2016)](https://film.one/media/person/88476/gallery-cb7a65467742.jpg) Principal cast of American Beauty (2016) — Every file contain their respective authors, CC BY 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0b/Principal_cast_of_American_Beauty.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled) - ![Wes Bentley](https://film.one/media/person/88476/gallery-a3d470f8326d.jpg) Wes Bentley — Image via TMDB - ![Wes Bentley](https://film.one/media/person/88476/gallery-e8975b6fedc1.jpg) Wes Bentley — Image via TMDB - ![Wes Bentley](https://film.one/media/person/88476/gallery-d1777f3acdfe.jpg) Wes Bentley — 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/wes-bentley