Abraham Benrubi
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"I'm an actor because I'm an escapist. No pretenses of 'art'." --Benrubi quoted in PEOPLE, July 21, 1997
". . . Benrubi attributes his good fortune in part to the fact that, in Hollywood, size matters. 'In show business being big is an advantage,' he says estimating that there are no more than 20 similarly oversized actors in Tinseltown. 'The lack of competition is great.'" --From PEOPLE, July 21, 1997
Biography
At 6'7," the broad-shouldered, imposing Abraham Benrubi might be a candidate to play henchmen or gentle giants but his innate intelligence has allowed him to avoid such typecasting. He is perhaps best known for his three season (1994-97) recurring role as the quick with a quip emergency room admissions clerk Jerry Markovic on the hit NBC medical series "ER." In 1997, Benrubi landed the co-starring role as a member of a team of scientists who can enter people's dreams and squelch their demons in the short-lived NBC series "Sleepwalkers."
The Indiana native landed his first professional acting role in the obscure independent film, "Diving In" (lensed 1989; released 1991) which was shot in Indianapolis. By 1990, Benrubi was working in Los Angeles, where he landed his first break came with the Fox sitcom "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" (1990-93), in which he was cast as Larry 'Kube' Kubiak, the high school bully who occasionally could be persuaded to support the wily Parker in an escapade. He also found work making guest appearances on episodic series including "Wings," as the gay son of Roy (David Schramm) and a young Dan Connor in a Halloween flashback on "Roseanne."
Benrubi's feature film work has been limited to supporting parts. He was one of the football players who lie down amidst traffic in a controversial scene in "The Program" (1993). (The scene was later cut from the film after several teens tried the stunt in real life and were killed.) The actor met his own death onscreen in two films, "Wagons East!" (1994), in which he was drawn and quartered by horses, and "The Shadow" (also 1994), as a Marine guard who reaches an untimely end. In "Twister" (1996), he was a member of Cary Elwes' competing team of tornado reseachers, although his role was reduced to one line and a few brief glimpses after editing. Benrubi co-starred with Brendan Fraser in "George of the Jungle" (1997), playing a thug searching for the title character. Benrubi worked steadily in minor features in TV films throughout the late 1990s and early 2000s before landing a plumb role opposite star/director Kevin Costner and Robert Duvall in Costner's Western opus "Open Range" (2003), playing a trio of free-range cattle drivers who run afoul of a harsh lawman.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Life Events
1988
Earned SAG card appearing in "Diving In", an indpendent movie filmed in Indianapolis (film released in 1991)
1989
Moved to Los Angeles
1990
Played campus bully on "Parker Lewis Can't Lose" (Fox)
1992
Played Young Dan Connor on episode of "Roseanne" (ABC)
1994
Had recurring role as admissions clerk Jerry Markovic on the hit NBC drama "ER"
1996
Played small supporting role in "Twister"
1997
Co-starred in "George of the Jungle"
1997
Had regular role on NBC series "Sleepwalker"
1998
Voiced the character Serge in "The Rugrats Movie"
2001
Was cast in the Coen brother's comedy "The Man Who Wasn't There"
2003
Breakout role in the western feature "Open Range," which was directed by Kevin Costner
2004
Cast in the comedy "Without a Paddle"
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"I'm an actor because I'm an escapist. No pretenses of 'art'." --Benrubi quoted in PEOPLE, July 21, 1997
". . . Benrubi attributes his good fortune in part to the fact that, in Hollywood, size matters. 'In show business being big is an advantage,' he says estimating that there are no more than 20 similarly oversized actors in Tinseltown. 'The lack of competition is great.'" --From PEOPLE, July 21, 1997
