Jimmy Bennett
Quick Facts
Biography
James Michael "Jimmy" Bennett (born February 9, 1996) is an American actor and musician. He is known for his roles as a child actor in Daddy Day Care, Hostage, Poseidon, Evan Almighty, Orphan, "Shorts and as young "James T. Kirk in the 2009 film Star Trek. He also starred on the ABC series No Ordinary Family as JJ Powell, a teenager gifted with vast intelligence after a plane crash.
Life and career
Bennett was born in Seal Beach, California, and now lives with his parents and sister in Huntington Beach, California, where the family runs a hard rock-themed crepe restaurant. When not acting, Bennett plays guitar and sings on his official YouTube channel. He also wrote and performed the song Summer Never Ends which can be heard at the end of Shorts.
Bennett appeared in nearly 30 adverts, as well as in episodes of the television series The Guardian and Strong Medicine, before being cast in the role "Tony", the boy who wants to be The Flash, in the Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care. He had smaller roles in the films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Arthur Hailey's Detective. He has also appeared in Judging Amy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Everwood, and lent his voice to characters in the animated films The Polar Express, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo and I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown. He has been nominated for Young Artist Awards five times.
In 2005, Bennett appeared in the film Hostage, where he starred with Bruce Willis, and The Amityville Horror remake, where he played the role of the middle child of a family moving into a haunted house. The films were released in March and April, respectively. He was called "Jimmy Two-Takes" on the set of "Hostage", because of his ability to deliver his lines perfectly.
In February 2006, Bennett appeared in the thriller Firewall, where he played the son of Harrison Ford's character. He also played an abused boy named Jeremiah (aged 7) sharing the role with Dylan and Cole Sprouse playing the older Jeremiah (aged 11) in The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, an independent film that was released a month after Firewall. Also in 2006, he voiced Roo in the Disney/Square-Enix video game Kingdom Hearts II and appeared in Poseidon, a remake of the 1972 film The Poseidon Adventure. His 2007 roles included South of Pico, an independent film, and Evan Almighty, a sequel to the 2003 film Bruce Almighty. He appeared as a young James T. Kirk in the 2009 film Star Trek. He also starred in the 2009 film Orphan and the TV series No Ordinary Family.
Bennett also starred in the film Bones, featuring him alongside famed Ozzy Osbourne guitarist and Black Label Society frontman Zakk Wylde. Bones is described as a "heartbreaking coming-of-age story of four teens growing up in 1989 blue-collar Long Island, New York, and the bond that would tie them together for life." It is noteworthy that in 2009, Jimmy Bennett starred in the leading role of the film Alabama Moon.
In August 2011, Bennett released his debut single "Over Again" and the accompanying music video.
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2003 | Jungle Book 2, TheThe Jungle Book 2 | Hathi Jr. (voice) | |
2003 | Daddy Day Care | The Flash/Tony | |
2004 | Springtime with Roo | Roo (voice) | |
2004 | Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things, TheThe Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things | Young Jeremiah | |
2004 | Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | Tommy | |
2004 | Polar Express, TheThe Polar Express | Billy the Lonely Boy (voice) | |
2005 | Hostage | Tommy Smith | |
2005 | Amityville Horror, TheThe Amityville Horror | Michael Lutz | |
2005 | Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie | Roo (voice) | replaced Nikita Hopkins |
2006 | Firewall | Andy Stanfield | |
2006 | Poseidon | Conor James | |
2006 | Shark Bait | Junior (voice) | |
2007 | Evan Almighty | Ryan Baxter | |
2007 | South of Pico | Mark Weston | |
2008 | Diminished Capacity | Dillon | |
2008 | Snow Buddies | Buddha (voice) | |
2008 | Trucker | Peter | |
2009 | Star Trek | Young James T. Kirk | |
2009 | Orphan | Daniel "Danny" Coleman | |
2009 | Shorts | Toby "Toe" Thompson | |
2009 | Alabama Moon | Moon Blake | |
2009 | Stolen | John Wakefield | |
2010 | Bones | Bones White | |
2011 | Ghild | Ralph Gullivan | Short film |
2013 | Movie 43 | Nathan | Segment: "Middleschool Date" |
2014 | Camouflage | Kevin | |
2015 | Bad Asses on the Bayou | Ronald | |
2015 | A Girl Like Her | Brian Slater |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2002 | Strong Medicine | Willy | Episode: "Admissions" |
2002 | Guardian, TheThe Guardian | Matty Butler | Episode: "Monster" |
2003 | Judging Amy | Cory Sinkler | Episode: "Just Say Oops" |
2003 | I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown | Rerun van Pelt (voice) | Television special |
2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Henry Turner | Episode: "Paper or Plastic?" |
2004–05 | Everwood | Sam Feeney | 3 episodes |
2005 | Detective | Ivan Tempone | Television film |
2006 | He's a Bully, Charlie Brown | Rerun van Pelt (voice) | Television special |
2007 | Gilmore Girls | Macon | Episode: "Santa's Secret Stuff" |
2010–11 | No Ordinary Family | James "JJ" Powell, Jr. | Main cast; 20 episodes |
2011 | Breaking In | N/A | Episode: "21.0 Jump Street" |
2012 | Perception | Alex Willingham | 2 episodes |
2014 | Garfunkel and Oates | Braden | Episode: "Maturity" |
2015 | Murder in the First | Alfie Rentman | 2 episodes |
2016 | From Dusk till Dawn: The Series | 1 episode |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2004 | Polar Express, TheThe Polar Express | Billy the Lonely Boy | Voice |
2006 | Kingdom Hearts II | Roo | Voice (English version) |
2007 | Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ | Roo | Voice (English version) |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2004 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actor Age Ten or Younger | Daddy Day Care | Nominated |
2004 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast | Daddy Day Care | Nominated |
2005 | Young Artist Award | Outstanding Young Ensemble in a New Medium | Polar Express, TheThe Polar Express | Won |
2007 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actor Age Ten or Younger | Firewall | Nominated |
2008 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor (Comedy or Musical) | Evan Almighty | Nominated |
2010 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | Alabama Moon | Nominated |
2010 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast | Shorts | Won |