Luke Benward

LUKE BENWARD

Date of Birth: May 12, 1995

Born and raised in Tennessee, Luke Benward began acting in commercials at an early age. His actress mother, Kenda, would take him along with her on auditions.

He made his motion picture debut at age five alongside Mel Gibson in We Were Soldiers (2002). Because Luke lives in Nashville and not in Los Angeles, his mother often videotapes his auditions in their kitchen when they're not able to fly to auditions. He played the role of Jody in the pilot for the Family Affair remake, but didn't accept the role in the (short-lived) TV series because it would have meant moving.

Benward then played Angel/Michael in Martina McBride's award-winning music video "Concrete Angel" before taking on a supporting role in Walden Media's Because of Winn-Dixie (2005). He reportedly won the role of Stevie Dewberry, one of two brothers who torment the lead character, because he chose to do his audition with a toothpick in his mouth, which set him apart from the hundreds of other boys trying out.

After auditioning for the role of a bully in Walden Media's How to Eat Fried Worms (2006), he was asked to audition again—this time for the lead role of Billy—and won the part.

Luke then released a pop EP of five songs and went on tour with IShine for two years. Returning to acting, he appeared in the Disney Channel movie Minutemen and played the lead in the DVD movie Dog Gone (both 2008). In 2010, he played a role in the major motion picture Dear John, starring Amanda Seyfried and Channing Tatum.

Next, Luke spent some time playing guest and regular roles on TV series such as Zombies and Cheerleaders and the Disney Channel series Good Luck Charlie, playing Beau Landry. He currently plays a starring role as Dillon on the ABC Family series Ravenswood.

In 2014, Luke co-starred with the new Disney Channel star Dove Cameron in the snowboarding movie Cloud 9 for Disney Channel. He has also filmed the independent Civil War movie Field of Lost Shoes (2014), co-starring alongside Jason Isaacs and Tom Skerritt.

Luke lives with his father (country singer Aaron Benward of the country duo, Blue County), his mother and two younger sisters. A devout Christian, he has turned down auditions that didn't fit in with his family's beliefs, such as a role as a boy who swears nonstop in the remake Bad News Bears.

In his spare time, Luke enjoys singing, playing electric guitar and making scary movies with his best friend and his sisters, using his camcorder.

Filmography:

Field of Lost Shoes (2014)
Cloud 9 (TV) (2014)
Dear John (2010)
Dog Gone (2008)
How to Eat Fried Worms (2006)
Because of Winn-Dixie (2005)
We Were Soldiers (2002)