News

Who plays Ben Davis on Ozark?

Tom Pelphrey Ozarks
Ozark fans heap praise on the actor’s performance in the third season as Ben Davis. Pic credit: Netflix.

Netflix has finally released Ozark Season 3 after the series did not premiere in 2019 as expected.

The new-binge worthy installment is worth the wait and added some new characters to the cast.

Ben Davis made quite the entrance as a hot-tempered substitute teacher, who later introduces himself as Wendy’s brother.

Who plays Ben Davis on Ozark Season 3?

Davis is played actor Tom Pelphrey.

The 37-year-old actor joins the cast of the Netflix hit series, playing a pivotal role in the third season.

Pelphrey is also known for his critically acclaimed role in CBS soap opera Guiding Light, in which he portrayed Jonathan Randall. He won the Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actor in a Drama Series twice in 2006 and 2008.

He was also nominated for the award twice. Recently he portrayed Ward Meachum in Netflix Marvel series Iron Fist.

Tom Pelphrey explains why is loved playing Ben Davis

Davis was mentioned only in name in previous seasons, and viewers knew almost nothing about Wendy’s hot-tempered sibling.

In his opening scene, Davis quickly loses his temper when he discovers one of his students is being cyberbullied and responds by throwing all his student’s phones in a woodchipper and attacking the school gardener.

It comes as no surprise that Pelphrey’s Davis becomes a source of trouble in the Ozarks.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Pelphrey describes the role of Ben as an “actor’s dream,” revealing that he binge-watched the first two seasons in about a week.

Tom Pelphrey describes why he loved playing Ben and captures the essence of the Netflix hit series.

“I really loved the world of it, all the anxiety and the violence and the surprises,” Pelphrey said. “And yet, I was laughing the entire time as well. I think that’s a very hard balance to strike.”

The New Jersey native actor also discussed how he prepared to play a character with mental illness, which he was told only a few days before filming.

When asked how he prepared to play a character with bipolar disorder in his interview with ET, he said the following:

“I started looking into it, and the book I found to be most helpful for me — there’s a book called An Unquiet Mind. It’s written by a woman called Kay Jamison, and it was written in the ’70s, and it’s kind of her autobiography about living with bipolar.”

It is unclear whether Tom Pelphrey will reprise his role in Ozark season 4 considering how his story arc ended, but his character is a standout in the hit series.

Subscribe
Notify of
guest

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Anonymous
Anonymous
1 year ago

Ozark is a great series; Ruth and Wade, my favorites, then…. along comes Ben. In my opinion, Tom Pelphrey is an awesome actor, I don’t understand why we don’t see more of him, and the woman who plays Ruth for that matter.