Biography
Ben Z. Heyman was born in West Hempstead, NY on January 1st. His mother, Joyce, is a loving and caring nurse. His father, Adam, is an amazing culinary artist. Ben's first major accomplishment was graduating second in his middle school class, though many viewed this as a lacking merit, seeing as the class only consisted of two children.
Before Ben dedicated his life to acting, he was on the path to becoming a "righteous man." After high school, he spent a year and a half in Beit Shemesh, Israel learning religious philosophies, laws and practices. Upon returning to the States, he enrolled in a religious college in New York City to continue his studies. After a year of this schooling, Ben realized something was missing from his life, primarily good grades, so he made the difficult, yet necessary decision to transfer to Brooklyn College.
Upon entering Brooklyn College, several new opportunities presented themselves to him. Both acting and broadcasting, which before were only minor hobbies, became the focuses of his life. He began to study and craft his own unique style, primarily from trial and error, and was also heavily influenced by Uta Hagen's writing. In addition, Ben ran the Brooklyn College Hillel's theater department for four years, and in 2011 wrote his first play, 'Through the Fire', based on his cousin's story of surviving a death camp during the Holocaust.
Throughout his college education, Ben acted in several shows, namely 'Journey's End', 'Newsies', 'Play On', 'I Never Saw Another Butterfly', and 'Angel in the Night'. However, during this time, Ben struggled with deciding what career path he should ultimately take, since he knew that the path to acting was a decision his family and friends would not fully support. While working at a home for adults with intellectual disabilities, Ben worked with Max, an individual who was severely handicapped. Max couldn't speak and could barely walk, yet nothing made him happier than watching Ben act out different scenes from his favorite movies. It was Ben's time working with Max that convinced him to pursue acting, so after graduating from Brooklyn College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in TV and Radio Production, he decided to work toward his dream and took acting classes at The Neighborhood Playhouse, before moving to Los Angeles in July 2014.
While in Los Angeles, Ben worked in multiple productions, including 'Attack of the Killer Donuts'. After a year of living in Los Angeles, Ben moved back to New York to use what he had learned and experienced in Los Angeles to build upon and further his budding career.
