Tom Pelphrey

Tom Pelphrey (born July 28, 1982) is an American actor. He is best known for playing the roles of Jonathan Randall and Mick Dante in the CBS television series' Guiding Light and As the World Turns respectively, Kurt Bunker in the Cinemax television series Banshee, Ward Meachum in the Netflix original series Iron Fist and Ben Davis in the Netflix original series Ozark.

Born in Howell, New Jersey, Pelphrey graduated from Howell High School in 2000, and from Rutgers University (Mason Gross School of the Arts) in 2004 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree.

Guiding Light

Pelphrey's most notable role has been the role of Jonathan Randall, the son of Reva Shayne and her late former husband, Richard Winslow, on the CBS soap opera Guiding Light. He joined the cast in September 2004 and received critical acclaim for his portrayal of anti-hero Jonathan.

He was nominated for a Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Younger Actor" in 2005 and won the award the following year in April 2006. He received a third consecutive nomination in the same category in 2007 but lost to Bryton McClure. Pelphrey won his second Daytime Emmy Award for "Outstanding Younger Actor" in 2008.

As the World Turns

Pelphrey signed a contract to play "Mick" on As the World Turns beginning in October 2009. His run ended in February 2010 when his character was sent to prison for his misdeeds. Pelphrey earned an Emmy prenomination for Best Supporting Actor for his role as Mick Dante.

Primetime television

On March 30, 2007, he appeared in an episode of Numb3rs, "Pandora's Box". On October 17, 2008 he appeared in an episode of "Ghost Whisperer", and the following season in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. In 2015 Pelphrey landed the recurring role of Kurt Bunker, a former neo-nazi trying to reintegrate into society, on Cinemax's action drama Banshee. To prepare for this role he started lifting weights and did research by reading books on the neo-nazi movement in America. Since 2017, he has appeared in Iron Fist as Ward Meachum. Recently, Pelphrey portrayed Ben Davis on the third season of the Netflix crime drama Ozark which was released on March 27, 2020.

Theatre

From September 6, 2007 to September 30, 2007, Pelphrey performed in Kevin Mandel's A New Television Arrives Finally as the title character, at Theatre 54, in New York. Pelphrey starred in In God's Hat at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater, in New York City, through August 7, 2010. In 2012, he appeared in the Broadway cast of the musical drama End of the Rainbow as Mickey Deans; in 2015, he returned to Broadway in a revival of Fool for Love, playing Martin.