Ben Foster Movies
Making a name for himself by often taking roles unusually weighty for such a young actor, Ben Foster nevertheless began his career with such made-for-TV efforts as I've Been Waiting for You and Breakfast With Einstein (both 1998). Subsequently gaining positive notice for his portrayal of the mentally handicapped Eli in the short-lived series Freaks and Geeks, it wasn't long before Foster was challenging himself with such dramatic efforts as Liberty Heights and The Laramie Project. Born in Boston in October 1980, he began to realize his passion for acting after attending the Interlochen Theater Arts Summer Program. After writing, directing, and starring in his first play at the age of 12, it wasn't long before the venom of the acting bug had successfully worked its way into the budding thespian's blood. Devoting his life to acting, Foster dropped out of high school at 16 and prepared to face the challenges that accompany such a career. Following his film debut in the 1996 crime thriller Kounterfeit, a series of TV films followed. In 1999, he starred in Liberty Heights. Set in 1950s Baltimore, Foster starred as a Jewish high school student whose socially taboo relationship with an African-American classmate (Rebekah Johnson) finds him facing negative pressure from his family and friends. Following up with the musical comedy Get Over It! in 2001, Foster was next seen in The Laramie Project, a made-for-cable feature documenting small town in Laramie, WY, following the murder of Matthew Shepard. Foster appeared with Tim Allen in the ill-fated comedy Big Trouble in 2002, and his subsequent role in the made-for-TV feature Bang, Bang, You're Dead offered viewers a chilling look into the mind of a disturbed teen. It wasn't long after that Foster became a familiar face to cable viewers with his role in the acclaimed HBO series Six Feet Under. As the love interest of Claire Fisher (Lauren Ambrose), Foster's portrayal of a budding young artist found him essaying a complex character who is attempting to discover his true sexuality while simultaneously tapping his creative potential. Next appearing in director Michael Polish's Northfork, Foster later stepped behind the wheel for the non-linear thriller 11:14. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
Inspired by a play that has been presented dozens of times to middle- and high-school students throughout the United States, Bang, Bang, You're Dead ponders the possible reasons that outwardly "normal" teenagers periodically resort to Columbine-style violence. The focus here is on Trevor Adams (Ben Foster), an intelligent but hypersensitive high schooler whose troubled past has designated him "at risk." Feeling persecuted by those stronger and more popular than himself, Trevor has already run afoul of classmates and teachers alike by making death threats against the school football team. Now he has aligned himself with a group of fellow "outsiders" who call themselves the Trogs. Indulging in prankery that runs the gamut from merely irritating to potentially dangerous, Trevor and the Trogs plan an all-out deadly assault against their so-called enemies. Although the script points out that peer pressure and bullying has gone beyond the point of harmlessness in today's society, it is careful not to blame any one person or group for what ultimately happens to Trevor; even Trevor himself is shown to be comprised of equal parts villain and victim. First screened at the Seattle International Film Festival, Bang, Bang, You're Dead formally premiered October 13, 2002, over the Showtime cable network. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Tom Cavanagh, Ben Foster, (more)
Laramie, WY, is a small town which became infamous overnight in the fall of 1998, when Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was found tied to a fence after being brutally beaten and left to die, setting off a nationwide debate about hate crimes and homophobia. A month after the crime, Moises Kaufman, a writer and director with the New York City theater troupe the Tectonic Theater Project, traveled to Laramie with a handful of actors to interview people who lived in and around Laramie in preparation for an upcoming production; Kaufman's goal was to create a play that focused not on the assault on Matthew Shepard, but on the community where such an attack could happen, and how many of the citizens reacted to the crime. The result was The Laramie Project, which was first performed in early 2000, and was performed in Laramie in the fall of that year, two years after Kaufman and his associates first arrived in the city. The Laramie Project is a film adaptation of Kaufman's play, in which the thoughts and opinions of Laramie residents from all points of the political spectrum are presented alongside re-enacted excerpts from the trials of the two men who attacked Matthew Shepard. Produced for the premium cable network HBO, The Laramie Project was adapted for the screen by Moises Kaufman, who served as both writer and director. The distinguished cast includes Dylan Baker, Steve Buscemi, Peter Fonda, Janeane Garofolo, Laura Linney, Amy Madigan, Camryn Manheim, Christina Ricci, and Frances Sternhagen. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Christina Ricci, Peter Fonda, (more)
Ben Foster stars in this teenage comedy as Berke Landers, an average high schooler who has achieved high status by winning over Allison (Melissa Sagemiller), reputed to be the most popular and beautiful girl in his class. After an initially winning time, Allison finds herself drawn to the hot new guy in school, leaving Berke in the lurch. At the risk of ruining his unsteady reputation, Berke concocts a scheme for getting Allison back: he will join the school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and prove his romanticism to her. Realizing he needs an effective acting coach, he turns to Kelly (Kirsten Dunst), who was once the annoying little sister of a best friend and has suddenly blossomed into a grownup -- to whom Berke finds himself drawn. Berke must then decide if getting Allison back is the ultimate priority, as he falls for the more sensible Kelly, all while trying to maintain a credible presence both in school and in his new acting gig. Get Over It also features R&B singer Sisqo, comedian Martin Short, and Shane West in supporting roles. ~ Jason Clark, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Kirsten Dunst, Ben Foster, (more)
In this teen-oriented romantic comedy, Ryan Woodman (Shane West) is a socially inept high school senior whose idea of a good time is practicing his accordion, while Chris Campbell (James Franco) is a BMOC football star (and intellectual lightweight) at the same school. Ryan is hopelessly in love with Ashley Grant (Jodi Lyn O'Keefe), who is beautiful, popular, and entirely out of his league, while Chris has a serious crush on Maggie (Marla Sokoloff), a pretty but bookish friend of Ryan's. Chris and Ryan realize that they're in a position to help each other, and through a complicated arrangement of phone calls, e-mails, and double dates, they try to work out a system by which each guy will be with the girl of his dreams -- though things hardly turn out the way anyone expected. Produced under the title Got to Be You, Whatever It Takes also features Julia Sweeney and Colin Hanks. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Franco, Colin Hanks, (more)
Writer/director Barry Levinson returns to his home town of Baltimore, where he previously set three nostalgic features (Diner, Tin Men, and Avalon) for this story of two brothers growing up in the tumultuous days of 1954, as rock 'n' roll, the atom bomb, and the civil rights movement changed the way teenagers looked at the world. One of the brothers has fallen in love with a beautiful girl who, to the chagrin of his family, is a blonde-haired, blue-eyed Protestant, while the other has an even bigger shock for his folks: his new girlfriend is black. Joe Mantegna and Bebe Neuwirth play the parents, with Adrien Brody, Vincent Guastaferro, Orlando Jones, David Krumholz, and Kiersten Warren also topping the cast. Tom Waits wrote several original songs for the film, while Andrea Morricone (daughter of Ennio Morricone) wrote the score. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Adrien Brody, Ben Foster, (more)
Strange happenings occur when California teenager Sarah (Sarah Chalke) and her mother Rosemary (Markie Post) relocate to the small New England town of Pinecrest. It seems that Sarah shares the same name with a notorious witch who'd been burned at the stake three centuries earlier. Before her death, the "original" Sarah had vowed to get even with all the descendants of the people who persecuted her. A group of snotty high schoolers who've formed The Descendants' Club decide to give the hapless Sarah a very, very hard time -- but the fun is over when, while posing as a fortuneteller at a Halloween party, Sarah discovers that she possesses genuine psychic powers, and foresees a series of disasters that foment a frenzy of mass hysteria in the tiny community. Also tossed into this witches' brew is a mentally challenged serial killer, decked out in a Mike Myers-style mask. Adapted (and heavily laundered) from Lois Duncan's novel Gallows Hill, the made-for-TV I've Been Waiting for You debuted over NBC on March 22, 1998. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sarah Chalke, Markie Post, (more)
