Ben Esler

Ben Esler is an Australian actor, best known for playing Sean McGinnes in the AMC television series Hell on Wheels, as well as for his role as war hero Chuck Tatum in HBO's The Pacific.

Esler was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia, the son of Rosemary and Murray Esler. He is a graduate of the University of Melbourne, where he obtained a Masters Degree in Applied Ethics as well as a diploma in Professional Ethics.

While a student at university, he wrote and performed sketch comedy for the long running University of Melbourne Law Revue.

Esler has been announced as a cast member in the upcoming ABC pilot The Jury in the role of Ernest. He appears as Charlie Quinn in the SyFy Channel television series The Magicians, based upon the book series by author Lev Grossman.

He was a series regular for the first three seasons of Hell on Wheels, a Western focusing on the construction of the transcontinental railroad, on AMC. Esler appeared in the role of Sean, an Irish immigrant and ruthless businessman, seeking his fortune in the American West.

In 2010 Esler appeared in HBO's Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman and Steven Spielberg-produced and Emmy Award-winning miniseries The Pacific as Private First Class Charles "Chuck" Tatum. After portraying Tatum, he was invited to contribute an afterword to Tatum's World War II memoir, Red Blood, Black Sand, which was used as source material for the series. The book, including Esler's contribution, was re-released by Penguin Publishing in May 2012.

He has appeared in the popular Australian police drama Blue Heelers and the award-winning ABC Australia made-for-TV movie Curtin.