Julie M. Benz is an American actress, known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel and Rita Bennett on Dexter, for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television (2009), Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film (20060
Nominations
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
Movies
“Step by Step”, “Boy Meets World”, “Sliders”, “Darkdrive”, “Dexter”, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”, “Angel”, “Hawaii Five-0”, “Rambo”, “Punisher: War Zone”, “Saw V”
TV Shows
“NCIS”, “Supernatural”, “CSI: Crime Scene Investigation”
Star Sign
Taurus
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Trademark
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Often plays women who have suffered traumas or losses
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Quote
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[About her role on Dexter (2006)] I read the pilot script and I loved it. I was like what do I have to do to get on this show? Who do I have to kill? It's the type of programming I like to watch, provocative and edgy. It raises so many questions but doesn't force-feed you any answers and it really calls into question your own moral code. I mean, you find yourself falling in love and rooting for this guy who's a serial killer. You go back and forth on, is what he's doing right or is it wrong, is it right or is it wrong. And I love that kind of show, that challenges your mind [2009 interview].
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[about her role in Saw V (2008)] Yeah, I actually threw up on set, I was freaked out. I knew it was fake, but I couldn't even go near the saw machine during rehearsal. I mean, I was shaking. The challenge for me in that film was, you know - because I'm the perfect moviegoer, I buy into everything. Like, I go on the journey and I totally buy into the whole world that's created and the whole imagination of it all. The challenge for me in that film was like, can I act in something like this. And I had nightmares from it. I didn't sleep very well when I was up there filming, and it was a really interesting process for me, because I've never had a movie affect me in that level, like where I would go home and have dreams about the actual film, and not like your typical actor dreams about showing up naked on set or forgetting your lines, but the actual saw and Jigsaw and all of the elements to it and the traps. I remember doing the first trap where we're attached to - you know, around the neck with the chain? ... It had to be choreographed because we were on pulleys and it had to be very well choreographed so we wouldn't get hurt. But I freaked out and I said to the director "What's going to happen if I don't get the key?" and he was like, "We'll cut." And I was like, "Oh, okay." It feels very real. I mean, there were no safety saws behind us, you know, the things that chopped off your head, they were sharp! ... It's fun but it's very intense. [2009 interview]
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[on playing the vampire "Darla"] I think I've died four or five times. I honestly believe that they like seeing me covered in blood [laughs]. I just think they have a thing with me and blood. I've died a lot! ... Every time I died, they would give me this big party on the set because I honestly thought it was my last time. I would sob and hug everybody goodbye and say, "It's over!" [laughs] And then a couple of months later, I'd get a phone call to come back. Everybody's now gotten pretty jaded about me dying on the show. I don't get the big party anymore. I don't get the gifts anymore. It's like, "Yeah, we'll see you in a few months." [29 November 2008, The Hollywood Interview.com]
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(On filming Rambo (2008)] We spent two months in the jungle without the luxuries of filming in Los Angeles. My trailer looked like a 1952 bomb shelter with what appeared to be the original bedding - it looked like it had never been washed. The heat was extreme and we all lost a lot of weight. I got too thin on that movie. Also, I had to have like 27 vaccinations before I could even get on the plane to go there, I was taking malaria pills, there were poisonous snakes; one day an elephant crashed through the set after escaping from a nearby camp! You never knew what was going to happen next, but as tough as it was - being away from friends and family, the lack of luxury, the language barrier - it was also really exciting. Moviemaking shouldn't be on a comfy soundstage in L.A., it should be out there in the field.
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I actually find the fans are always supportive and respectful. A couple times I've been approached when I'm buying underwear. That's more embarrassing for me rather than for them because it's like, "Oh hello. I'm just buying some panties."
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[About the pilot for Dexter (2006)] When we did the pilot, I was very nervous. I was beginning to work with my favorite actor and I had to do a lot of relaxation to be on set with Michael. I was such a huge fan of his and just couldn't believe I was cast to play opposite him. I was really waiting for someone to come up to me and say it's all a joke.
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[Her favorite scenes from Dexter (2006)] I loved the episodes where Rita dressed up as Lara Croft... and gave Dexter things. It was such a fun scene to play and it's the first time you really saw a little bit of her strength and her playfulness, and it was so nice to do after playing so much of this vulnerable, beaten-down woman, to have this fun moment with Dexter. I also love the scene towards the end where she confronts Paul [Rita's ex-husband] in prison and basically lays it on the line from a place of great strength, where she finally just tells him how it's going to be and how he needs to explain to the kids why he's in prison.
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[About Darla's departure from Angel (1999)] She was such a wonderful character to begin with. To have such a beautiful ending. For me, it felt like they gave me a gift, a really special gift. After playing her for so long, it was such a beautiful way for her to go. The last 20 minutes redeemed her in the eyes of the fans as well. She was able to finally do something good after 400 years of evil and terror.
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[on her character "Darla" on Angel (1999)] I didn't expect them to write such a beautiful ending. I really think it was one of the most beautiful gifts I've ever received as an actor. The last three episodes of her life are so wonderful. They were such a gift to play. It was really amazing. They sent me the script and I was on lunch. I was in my trailer crying. Everybody was asking me if I was okay, and what was wrong, and I had to say it was nothing, and that I was fine. You don't want to tell anyone anything - and, of course, we're not allowed to tell anybody anything. I think she truly is one of the most amazing characters on television.
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Fact
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At the 50th Monte-Carlo Television Festival, Monaco, Monte-Carlo [June 2010]
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Her cousin, Tim Benz, is a sports radio/TV personality in Pittsburgh, PA.
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Often mistaken for Julie Bowen and, when asked for her autograph, would sign Bowen's name.
Has been in a relationship with producer Rich Orosco since 2008. They got engaged in June 2011 and later married on May 5, 2012 in the Los Feliz neighborhood in Los Angeles, California. Because their wedding was on Cinco De Mayo, they chose to have a Mexican themed wedding, to honor the holiday as well as Orosco's heritage.
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She collects antique things from every country she visits. Her favorite is a emerald ring she found in Knoxville, Tennessee.
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Has a dog called Bamboo.
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She dyed her natural blonde hair to brunette for the film Punisher: War Zone (2008).
Attended Franklin Regional Sr. High School in Murrysville, Pennsylvania
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She was originally cast to play the character "Ellie Sparks" in the un-aired pilot of the TV show Glory Days (2002).
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Was once ranked the number 12 ice skater in the United States. Julie has lost two roles to Sarah Michelle Gellar. The first was the role of Kendall Hart on All My Children (1970). The second was the role of Buffy on TV's Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1997).
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Auditioned for a role in Eyes Wide Shut (1999). She was called back to audition for the role again, but decided against it when she was going to have to do the scene topless.
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She competed in the 1988 U.S. Championships in junior ice dancing with David Schilling, placing 13th. Her older sister and brother, Jennifer and Jeffrey, were the 1987 U.S. Junior Champions in ice dancing and competed internationally.
$6 Million
