Editing Dirk Benedict

{{Cast Data
| image= Dirkbenedict 2007.jpg
| character= {{TOS|Starbuck}} ([[Original Series]])<br/>{{1980|Starbuck}} (''[[Galactica 1980]]'')
| series=TOS
|series 2=1980| born_month= 03
| born_day= 01
| born_year= 1945
| death_month=
| death_day=
| death_year=
| nationality= US
| imdb= 0070767
| sortkey=Benedict, Dirk
| site=http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com
}}

'''Dirk Benedict''' (born as '''Dirk Niewoehner''' on 1 March 1945) is an American film and television actor.

Benedict is best known for his portrayal of Lieutenant {{TOS|Starbuck}}, the womanizing, cigar-smoking, card playing and incredibly skilled [[Colonial Warrior]] in the [[Battlestar Galactica (TOS)|Original ''Battlestar Galactica'' series]] and its sequel, ''[[Galactica 1980]]''. Incidentally, he also went on to portray Templeton "Faceman" Peck, the womanizing, cigar-smoking, card playing and incredibly skilled supply officer in ''[[w:The A-Team|The A-Team]]''.

==Biography==

Born in [[w:White Sulphur Springs, Montana|White Sulphur Springs, Montana]]<ref group="commentary" name="houston_starlog_benedict_background_mountains">{{cite magazine|quotes=|last=Houston|first=David|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1978|month=December|title=Two Crazy Kind of Guys|magazine=Starlog|volume=|issue=|pages=26|id=|url=|accessdate=6 February 2007}}</ref>, Benedict chose his stage name from a serving of Eggs Benedict he had enjoyed prior to his acting career.<ref group="footnotes" name="benedict_stage_name_origin">{{citation needed}}</ref> His father was a lawyer who shared a love of the outdoors with his son, who spent "hours just going into the mountains for target practice" with firearms and hand-made archery equipment.<ref group="commentary" name="houston_starlog_benedict_youth_outdoors">{{cite magazine|quotes=|last=Houston|first=David|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1978|month=December|title=Two Crazy Kind of Guys|magazine=Starlog|volume=|issue=|pages=26|id=|url=|accessdate=6 February 2007}}</ref>

Benedict was an excellent high school athlete and aspiring musician, who learned to play [[w:trombone|trombone]], [[w:piano|piano]] and [[w:guitar|guitar]]<ref group="commentary" name="houston_starlog_benedict_musical_background">{{cite magazine|quotes=|last=Houston|first=David|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1978|month=December|title=Two Crazy Kind of Guys|magazine=Starlog|volume=|issue=|pages=26|id=|url=|accessdate=6 February 2007}}</ref>. After entering [[w:Whitman College|Whitman College]] in [[w:Walla Walla, Washington|Walla Walla, Washington]] to pursue a major in music, he was dared by members of the Phi Delta fraternity (who were also members of the freshman football team) to audition for the musical ''[[w:Show Boat|Show Boat]]''. Despite no previous experience or exposure to theater, he was given the lead role of Gaylor Ravenal, a part that consisted largely of singing and acting.

Of this experience, Benedict told ''[[w:Starlog|Starlog]]''{{'|s}} David Houston:<blockquote>''I tried to get out of it, but the head of the department wouldn't let me. I was a pledge in a jock fraternity. A couple of my friends came down to help, and in the course of the years that followed, the Phi Delta fraternity became the number one cracker-jack set builders for the theater. The guys loved it. They liked being around all the theater freaks, and I was sorta the bridge between them.''<ref group="commentary" name="houston_starlog_benedict_fraternity_theater_bridge">{{cite magazine|quotes=|last=Houston|first=David|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1978|month=December|title=Two Crazy Kind of Guys|magazine=Starlog|volume=|issue=|pages=26|id=|url=|accessdate=6 February 2007}}</ref></blockquote>The success of this role for Benedict led him to star in additional productions, though he suffered problems with his major:<blockquote>''I didn't get along with the head of the music department. I would write things that didn't adhere to the rules, and he was afraid I was wanting to break rules before I understood them. I was too avant garde, and I wasn't good in the ear-training aspect.''<ref group="commentary" name="houston_starlog_benedict_music_department_conflicts">{{cite magazine|quotes=|last=Houston|first=David|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1978|month=December|title=Two Crazy Kind of Guys|magazine=Starlog|volume=|issue=|pages=26-27|id=|url=|accessdate=6 February 2007}}</ref></blockquote>Graduating from college with a degree in Music, Benedict decided to pursue acting as a career, under the tutelage of John Fernald. Benedict played many roles in summer stock, performing many roles in classic plays by Shakespeare and Ibsen.

Benedict moved to New York and found supporting roles in several Broadway shows, including the leading role in the play, ''[[Wikipedia:Butterflies Are Free|Butterflies Are Free]]'' with the late [[Wikipedia:Gloria Swanson|Gloria Swanson]], who portrayed his mother.

Benedict found himself in small but interesting roles in some TV series, including work in ''[[Wikipedia:Hawaii Five-O|Hawaii Five-O]]'' and the lead in a one-season show by TV show mogul Aaron Spelling called ''Chopper One''. Benedict left acting for a few years in a lifelong desire to visit every state in the U.S.

Benedict's casting as "Starbuck" in ''Battlestar Galactica'' made him nationally famous. Speaking about the role that would define his career, Benedict described the character in extensive detail to ''Starlog'' magazine: <blockquote>"''Galactica'' is my first opportunity to play an upbeat character with a sense of humor and who enjoys life. He's very excitable, a passionate con man. He'll cheat, but he's never malicious or out to hurt anybody." Benedict further elaborated on Starbuck's appeal: "He knows every gambling casino in the galaxy, and enjoys the women. He's easily distracted in the face of very serious situations; so a large part of him is childlike — even though he smokes cigars. He's always in trouble, nowhere near ready to settle down into any sort of monogamous relationship. I think he's easy for young people to identify with."<ref group="commentary" name="houston_starlog_benedict_starbuck_detailed_description">{{cite magazine|last=Houston|first=David|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1978|month=December|title=Two Crazy Kind of Guys|magazine=Starlog|volume=|issue=|pages=24|id=|url=|accessdate=}}</ref></blockquote>Benedict also reflected on his approach to career decisions with a philosophical outlook that would later characterize many of his life choices: "I live up to commitments, but I'm not a responsible person. I'm not someone who believes one must fit into some sort of system. I have a policy of not making decisions. You don't have to decide what you're going to do till someone comes up and says, 'Hey, you want to do a TV series?' Here I am doing a TV show, and here I'll stay — unless I become an egomaniac and into the me."<ref group="commentary" name="houston_starlog_benedict_career_philosophy">{{cite magazine|last=Houston|first=David|authorlink=|coauthors=|year=1978|month=December|title=Two Crazy Kind of Guys|magazine=Starlog|volume=|issue=|pages=24|id=|url=|accessdate=}}</ref>

He made an appearance on the final episode of ''[[Galactica 1980]]'', entitled "[[The Return of Starbuck]]". This episode is considered by fans of the Original Series as the only significant contribution from ''Galactica 1980'', a show otherwise considered [[canon|noncanonical]] by many, including (and most importantly) creator [[Glen A. Larson|Glen Larson]].

[[File:ATeamCylon.jpg|left|thumb|Dirk's A-Team 'Faceman' meets a Cylon.]]
After these series, Benedict found popularity again as the character of Templeton "Faceman" Peck on the long-running early-1980s TV series, ''[[Wikipedia:The A-Team|The A-Team]]'', produced by ''Galactica'''s owner, Universal. The show's opening credits featured a sequence, taken from an early episode of the series, in which a [[Centurion (TOS)|Cylon Centurion]] is shown walking by Benedict's character, who gives a peculiarly humorous look of recognition of the robot as an in-joke to the actor's past role as Starbuck. (The context of the original episode was that Faceman was visiting the Universal Studios theme park in Hollywood.)

Benedict returned to the stage after ''Galactica'' as well, gaining fame in many popular roles there, and played guest and starring roles in a handful of TV movies and series.

As casting for the [[Tom DeSanto|Singer/DeSanto Continuation Project]] of a new ''Battlestar Galactica'' series in 2001 began, Benedict was slated to play an older Starbuck in the new series. However, the project folded due to Bryan Singer's movie directing commitments and delays on the TV industry caused by the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

Benedict (with fellow Original Series actor [[Richard Hatch]]) loaned his voice talents as the Original Series Starbuck to the [[Video Game|''Battlestar Galactica'' video game]] that appeared in 2003. The characters of Starbuck and Apollo are available as wingmen pilots for the game player, using a game cheat.

== Connection to the Re-imagined Series ==
[[File:Starbucks at starbucks.jpg|thumb|The "Starbucks" meeting over coffee at Starbucks.]]
Benedict has not appeared in the [[Battlestar Galactica (RDM)|Re-imagined Series]], though he was considered for two different roles. The producers initially offered him the role of the [[Armistice Officer]] in the [[Miniseries]], but he passed on the project.<ref group="production" name="bassom_companion_armistice_officer_offer">{{Cite book|author=David Bassom|title=[[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion]]|year=2005|publisher=Titan Books|isbn=1845760972|page=28}}</ref> Later, in a first draft of the Season 1 episode "[[Kobol's Last Gleaming, Part II]]", [[Ronald D. Moore]] wrote a scene where [[Gaius Baltar]] would encounter a cigar-smoking character who introduced himself as God, a role earmarked for Benedict. The idea was ultimately scrapped, with Moore feeling it would be "a step too far."<ref group="production" name="bassom_companion_baltar_god_scene">{{Cite book|author=David Bassom|title=[[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion]]|year=2005|publisher=Titan Books|isbn=1845760972|page=94}}</ref>

Despite not appearing, Benedict did meet with [[Katee Sackhoff]], the new Starbuck, for the special ''[[Battlestar Galactica: The Lowdown (Mini-Series)|Battlestar Galactica: The Lowdown]]''. Of the meeting, Sackhoff recalled, "I really enjoyed Dirk's company... I know there was a lot of footage they couldn't show because he and I were just joking around and being stupid! He seemed like a cool guy."<ref group="production" name="bassom_companion_sackhoff_benedict_meeting">{{Cite book|author=David Bassom|title=[[Battlestar Galactica: The Official Companion]]|year=2005|publisher=Titan Books|isbn=1845760972|page=113}}</ref>

In a May 2004 article from [[Wikipedia:Dreamwatch|''Dreamwatch'' magazine]] entitled "Starbuck: Lost in Castration" <ref group="external" name="benedict_dreamwatch_starbuck_lost_castration">{{cite web|url=http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com/home/articles-readarticle.php?nid=5|title=Starbuck: Lost in Castration|author=Dirk Benedict|publisher=Dreamwatch|date=May 2004|accessdate=|archive=Y}}</ref>, Benedict harshly criticized the Re-imagined Series, citing its dark tone and supposed moral relativism:
:''"Re-imagining," they call it. "Un-imagining" is more accurate. To take what once was and twist it into what never was intended. So that a television show based on hope, spiritual faith, and family is unimagined and regurgitated as a show of despair, sexual violence and family dysfunction.''

Benedict devoted the greatest part of the article to criticizing the producers' decision to turn Starbuck into a female character, [[Kara Thrace]] (whom Benedict derisively calls "Stardoe" throughout his commentary), tying it in to what he perceived as a general anti-masculinity agenda:

:''One thing is certain. In the new un-imagined, re-imagined world of Battlestar Galactica everything is female driven. The male characters, from Adama on down, are confused, weak, and wracked with indecision while the female characters are decisive, bold, angry as hell, puffing cigars (gasp) and not about to take it any more.''

The final passage reads:

:''And if you don't enjoy the show <nowiki>[...]</nowiki>, it's not the fault of those re-imaginative technocrats that brought them to you. It is your fault. You and your individual instincts, tastes, judgement. Your refusal to let go of the memory of the show that once was. You just don't know what is good for you. But stay tuned. After another 13 episodes (and millions of dollar of marketing), you will see the light. You, your instincts, your judgement, are wrong. McDonald's is the best hamburger on the planet, Coca-Cola the best drink. Stardoe is the best Viper Pilot in the Galaxy. And Battlestar Galactica, contrary to what your memory tells you, never existed before the Re-imagination of 2003.''

:''I disagree. But perhaps, you had to be there.''

==Personal life==

Benedict married actress Toni Hudson in 1986 but they divorced nine years later. He lives in Montana with his sons, George and Roland. At ''Galacticon'', the 25th anniversary convention, Benedict revealed that he has a third son named John. Unknown to Dirk, John was born in 1968 and given up for adoption. They connected for the first time when John was an adult.

==''Celebrity Big Brother'' 2007==
On January 3, 2007, Benedict was the eleventh housemate to participate in the United Kingdom version of ''[[w:Celebrity Big Brother 2007 (UK)|Celebrity Big Brother]]''. He arrived, accompanied by the ''A-Team'' TV theme in a replica ''A-Team'' van, smoking a cigar as he entered and claiming of a whole stock of cigars in his bag.

Benedict says on his ''Big Brother'' experience:
:''Well, this is my coming out party - and probably my 'going back in hiding again' party! I expect 25 days of absolute hell, I can't find one thing that I'll like about it. I don't like celebrities, I don't hang out with actors, I hate being in front of the camera.''<ref group="external" name="channel4_benedict_big_brother_entry">{{cite news|first=|last=|url=http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother/index.jsp|publisher=Channel 4|title=Battlestar Galactica's Dirk Benedict enters the Celebrity Big Brother House 2007|date=2007-01-03|accessdate=2007-01-03|language=English|archive=Y}}</ref>

Benedict came 3rd in the final day of ''Big Brother'' on 28th January 2007 winning 16% of the public vote. "I need to think of my funny, witty things to say!" he said on his way out of the house. He left the house in cheering applause, saluting the public as they chanted the ''A-Team'' theme tune. <ref group="external" name="channel4_benedict_big_brother_finale">{{cite news|first=|last=|url=http://www.channel4.com/bigbrother/index.jsp|publisher=Channel 4|title=Ian and Dirk Are Out! - Celebrity Big Brother 2007|date=2007-01-28|accessdate=2007-01-29|language=English|archive=Y}}</ref>

==See also==

* [http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com Official website]
* [[w:Dirk_Benedict|Dirk Benedict]] at Wikipedia
* [http://movies.groups.yahoo.com/group/DirkBenedict/ DirkBenedict Chat & News] a Yahoo! mailing list about Dirk

== References ==

=== Commentary and Interviews ===
{{reflist|group=commentary}}

=== Production History ===
{{reflist|group=production}}

=== External Sources and Reviews ===
{{reflist|group=external}}

=== Footnotes ===
{{reflist|group=footnotes}}

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