Career
Benrubi made his acting debut with the brief role of 'Rick' in the 1990 film 'Diving In.' He then played 'Roy "R.J." Biggins Jr.' in two episodes of the ‘NBC’ sitcom 'Wings,' which marked his first TV appearance. Benrubi was also seen in the ‘ABC’ sitcom 'Growing Pains.'
His first prominent TV role was that of 'Francis Lawrence "Larry" Kubiac III' (1990 to 1993) in the 'Fox' teen sitcom 'Parker Lewis Can't Lose.' Also known as ‘Kube,’ Benrubi's longest-running character underwent an arc throughout his run on the show. His character was intelligent and had a giant physical structure. He was introduced as an aggressive and hostile bully but transformed into a benign and friendly person in later episodes.
The character was highly notable for using a simplified form of English. Benrubi also appeared in the TV commercials that promoted both the character and the show.
In between the first and the second seasons of 'Parker Lewis Can't Lose,' Benrubi and the show's co-star Taj Johnson worked as roadies for the debut tour of the rock band 'No Doubt.’
He then made two separate cameo appearances in the 'Fox' sitcom 'Married...With Children.' He simultaneously made appearances in films such as 'Crossing the Bridge' (as 'Rinny'), 'The Program' (as 'Bud Kaminski'), and 'Wagons East' (as 'Abe Ferguson').
After making single-episode appearances in 'Blossom' (as 'Francis'), 'Angel Street,' 'Roseanne,' and 'Grace Under Fire,' he started playing supervising emergency services co-ordinator 'Jerry Markovic' in the ‘NBC’ medical drama 'ER' (1994 to 2009).
Even though 'Jerry' was a supporting character, Benrubi made him noticeable and likable through his convincing acting skills. He kept the audiences entertained with the weird and bizarre things that the character did on the show.
He played 'Duckbone' in the 1995 fantasy adventure–comedy direct-to-video film 'Magic Island,' produced by 'Moonbeam Entertainment.' Following this, he appeared as 'Bubba,' a mobile lab driver, in the 1996 epic disaster film 'Twister.'
Benrubi's next prominent role was that of 'Vince Konfke,' an emotional computer expert and polysomnography technician, in the ‘NBC’ science-fiction series 'Sleepwalkers.' The show was canceled after the first two episodes were aired.
Continue Reading Below
He subsequently made appearances in TV movies such as 'Out There’ (as Roy’), 'Cold Feet,' 'Tempting Fate' (as 'John Bollandine'), and 'A Touch of Hope' (as Dr. Neil Bachman'). He also played 'Big Mike Raskin' in the 'Fox' science-fiction series 'The X-Files.'
Benrubi was seen as 'Mose Harrison' in the 2003 Western feature 'Open Range.' He next made a string of brief appearances in 'Without a Paddle' (as 'Dennis'), 'Miss Congeniality 2: Armed & Fabulous' (as 'Lou Steele'), 'Wristcutters: A Love Story' (As 'Erik'), 'National Lampoon's TV: The Movie' (as 'Max Gottlieb'), 'Calvin Marshall' (as coach 'Dewey'), 'Bounty Killer' (as 'Jimbo'), 'A Country Christmas' (as Santa Claus), 'A Night in Old Mexico' (as 'Big Roscoe Hammil'), 'The Finest Hours' (as 'George "Tiny" Myers'), 'The Belko Experiment' (as 'Chet Valincourt'), 'Like.Share.Follow.' (as detective 'Yarden'), and 'Bliss' (as 'Abe').
He has also been part of some short films, such as for 'War Story' ('Eric'), 'Shoot'er,' 'String Theory' ('Patsy Glen'), 'Noël' ('Tim'), 'My Mother Is Not a Fish' ('Walter'), and 'Aileron' ('Trevon'). He has lent his voice to 'The Rugrats Movie' ('Serge'), 'Charlotte's Web' (‘Uncle the Pig’), 'Big Hero 6' (‘General’), 'Ava & Lala' (‘Mr. Bear’), and 'Olaf's Frozen Adventure.'
In 2002, Benrubi appeared as 'Harvey' in the 'Showtime' dramedy 'Going to California.' He was cast in a pilot for the show, which was pitched to 'The WB.' However, he was removed from the show as soon as 'Showtime' took over the project.
From 2005 to 2018, he lent his voice to various characters in the 'Adult Swim' stop-motion sketch comedy 'Robot Chicken.' Some such characters voiced by him were 'Darth Vader,' 'Optimus Prime,' 'The Great Pumpkin,' 'Ving Rhames,' 'Fidel Castro,' 'Dominic Toretto,' 'Cyborg,' and 'Bowser.'
He continued to voice characters for the show's spin-offs, such as 'Robot Chicken: Star Wars,' 'Robot Chicken: Star Wars Episode II' ('Darth Vader' and 'Owen Lars'), 'Robot Chicken: Star Wars III,' and 'Robot Chicken DC Comics Special.'
He has also lent his voice to video games such as 'Myth III: The Wolf Age,' 'World of Warcraft,' 'ER,' 'Skylanders: Giants,' 'Diablo III: Reaper of Souls,' 'World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor,' 'Heroes of the Storm,' 'StarCraft II: Legacy of the Void,' and 'World of Warcraft: Battle for Azeroth.'
Benrubi appeared as 'Bruno' in the 2006 TV movie 'Pizza Time.'
From 2006 to 2008, Benrubi starred as one of the main characters in the ‘ABC’ romantic comedy–drama 'Men in Trees.' The movie featured him as 'Ben Thomasson,' a millionaire bartender; the owner of the town bar, ''The Chieftain''; and the owner of the local hockey team, the ''Huskies.''
Continue Reading Below
The character became highly popular with the audiences. TV critic David Bianculli had once stated that Ben was "the cuddliest TV character since Jorge Garcia's Hurley on Lost."
After 'Men in Trees' was canceled on May 4, 2008, Benrubi returned for the final season of 'ER.' In 2008, he appeared in a TV commercial for 'Sudafed.'
Benrubi was cast as 'Big Dave Duncan' (April 2010 to June 2010) in six episodes of the short-lived ‘ABC’ series 'Happy Town.' Soon after the show was canceled, he began his 10-episode stint as 'Sgt. Jody "JC" Lightfoot' in the ‘TNT’ drama 'Memphis Beat.'
In May 2011, Benrubi became part of the cast of the 3D psychological thriller 'Glutton,' directed by David Arquette. He played 'Jethro,' a giant man forced to save his sister, played by Patricia Arquette.
He has appeared in several TV projects, including 'Team Unicorn,' 'Orderly,' 'Bones' (as 'Willis McCullum'), 'Pair of Kings' (as 'Silver Fox'), and 'Once Upon a Time' (as 'Arlo'). He has lent his voice to 'Star Wars Detours.' He has also been part of the TV movies 'The Garcias Have Landed' (as 'Admiral Lomax') and 'Chance at Romance' (as 'Jackson').
Benrubi was associated with the 'Sacred Fools Theater Company' production 'Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?' (as an understudy), which ran from September 13 to October 19, 2013. He did the stage reading for 'August: Osage County,' performed at the 'Culver City Garden Theatre' on August 25, 2013.
His stage productions include 'Bill & Joan,' which had its world premiere at the 'Sacred Fools Theater' in Los Angeles and ran from January 24 to March 1, 2014.
That year, he also appeared in a TV commercial titled “My Two Cents - Meat Dreams,” for the 'Food Lion' grocery chain.
In 2014, Benrubi was seen as 'Rodney Belk' in the 'Amazon Prime' police-procedural drama 'Bosch.' He played 'DEA Agent Joe McKenzie' in 10 episodes of the ‘FX’ crime drama 'The Bridge.' He lent his voice to the animation series 'Beware the Batman' (as ‘Street Thug’) and 'TripTank.'
His recent appearances were as 'Caleb' in three episodes of the 'Cinemax' horror–drama 'Outcast' and as 'Pete McCann' in 11 episodes of the 'Fox' police-procedural series 'APB.'
