Julie Benz (born May 1, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Darla on Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel (1997–2004), and as Rita Bennett on Dexter (2006–2010), for which she won the 2006 Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress and the 2009 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Benz had starring roles on Training Day (2017), Defiance (2013–2015), No Ordinary Family (2010–2011) and also had recurring roles in the television series Roswell (1999–2000), A Gifted Man (2011–2012), Hawaii Five-0 (2015–2017), Desperate Housewives, and Love, Victor (2021).
Her film credits include Jawbreaker (1999), The Brothers (2001), Rambo (2008), Saw V (2008), Punisher: War Zone (2008), and The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day (2009).
Early life and education
thumb|left|upright|Benz in 2005
Benz was born in Pittsburgh on May 1, 1972. Her mother, Joanne Marie (née Seemiller), was a figure skater, and her father, George Benz Jr., is a surgeon in Pittsburgh. Benz is of German and Welsh descent.
The family settled in nearby Murrysville, Pennsylvania, when Benz was two, and she started ice skating when she was three. Her older siblings, Jeffrey and Jennifer, were 1987 U.S. junior ice dancing champions who competed at the 1986 World Junior Figure Skating Championships in Sarajevo.
When Benz was 14, she suffered a stress fracture in her right leg and had to take time off from skating.
By 1989, with her figure skating career over, Benz became involved in local theater and was cast in the play Street Law. Her first film role was a small speaking part in "The Black Cat" segment of the Dario Argento/George A. Romero horror film Two Evil Eyes (1990). A year later, she was cast in the TV show Hi Honey, I'm Home! (1991), appearing in every season for at least one episode. Julie was a guest host for the TV show Rendez-View, cast as Ellie Sparks in Glory Days and appeared in the unaired pilot; however, she left the show. Later, she guest-starred on She Spies, was in the featured cast for the miniseries Taken, did various voices for the video game Hot Shots Golf Fore!, appeared in the short film The Midget Stays in the Picture, and took over the role of Ursula for George of the Jungle 2.
thumb|left|Benz in 2009
Benz appeared in Peacemakers, Coupling, NCIS, and Oliver Beene. She landed the lead role of Annie Garrett in the television film The Long Shot She portrayed Danielle in the direct-to-DVD film Bad Girls from Valley High in 2005. She had a small role in the critically acclaimed television film Lackawanna Blues.
In the Sci-Fi Channel original film Locusts: The 8th Plague, she played the lead female role Vicky. She also appeared in the straight-to-DVD film 8mm 2 as Lynn. The film was originally called The Velvet Side of Hell and was not supposed to be a sequel to 8MM. Benz appeared in episodes of Supernatural, CSI: Miami, Law & Order, and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. She had a supporting role in the Swedish independent film Kill Your Darlings (2006), a lead role in the television film Circle of Friends (2006), and joined the cast of the TV show Dexter as Rita Bennett, Dexter Morgan's girlfriend and eventual wife. Benz played a lead role in the fifth film of the popular Saw horror franchise, Saw V, as Brit, a real estate developer who is one of Jigsaw's five victims. Benz had a supporting role in Punisher: War Zone as Angela and co-starred with Sylvester Stallone in Rambo (2008), the fourth film of the series.
She played the title role in the short film Kidnapping Caitlynn, written by her close friend Jenny Mollen, which premiered at the Vail Film Festival 2009 and was released online April 6, 2009. She starred in the television film Held Hostage as Michelle Estey. in July. She also starred in the television film Uncorked (2009) as Johnny Prentiss which premiered in the UK in July 2009. She is the lead female character Special Agent Eunice Bloom in The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day which had a limited release on October 30, 2009, and was released on DVD March 9, 2010. She has been cast in another indie film called Bedrooms as Anna. She played Frankie in the 2011 film Answers to Nothing.
thumb|upright|Benz at the 2012 [[San Diego Comic-Con]]
Benz appeared on The Soup with Joel McHale. Benz next took a recurring role on Desperate Housewives as Robin Gallagher, a stripper with a heart of gold and a master's degree in education who gets offered the chance to transition into a more legitimate career. The character of Robin is further developed when the audience discovers she is a lesbian and begins an affair with housewife Katherine Mayfair (Dana Delany). After the fourth season finale of Dexter, in which her character is murdered, Benz returned for the fifth-season premiere in a flashback scene.
In early 2010, ABC announced that Benz had landed a lead role as Stephanie Powell in the network's drama pilot No Ordinary Family. Production of the series commenced in May and it premiered in September 2010, as part of the 2010–11 season. In May 2011 No Ordinary Family was cancelled after one season with only 20 episodes filmed.
In 2011, she was cast in the new CBS TV show A Gifted Man. Originally a co-star, she was later downgraded to a recurring role. A Gifted Man was cancelled by CBS in May 2012 after one season of 16 episodes. She was cast in the television film Ricochet as Elise Laird. Benz played the lead female role, Mayor Amanda Rosewater, in the science fiction series Defiance and also starred in the film Supremacy and the unaired TV pilot Middle Ages.
In 2015, Benz landed a recurring role in the CBS series Hawaii Five-O, playing the latest team member and Chin Ho's girlfriend, Abby Dunn. She also starred in the television film Charming Christmas.
In 2021, she guest-starred in the TV series Love, Victor.
Personal life
Benz married actor John Kassir on May 30, 1998. She filed for divorce in December 2007.
In 2011, she became engaged to Rich Orosco. They married on May 5, 2012.
Filmography
Film
thumb|upright|Benz in 2010
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1990
| Two Evil Eyes
| Betty
| Segment: "The Black Cat"
|-
| 1996
| Darkdrive
| Julie Falcon
|
|-
| 1997
|As Good as It Gets
| Receptionist
|
|-
| 1997
| Inventing the Abbotts
| Co-ed
|
|-
| 1999
| Dirt Merchant
| Angie
|
|-
| 1999
|Jawbreaker
| Marcie Fox
|
|-
| 2000
|Bad Girls from Valley High
| Danielle
|
|-
| 2000
| Shriek If You Know What I Did Last Friday the 13th
| Barbara
| Direct-to-video film
|-
| 2001
| data-sort-value="Brothers, The" | The Brothers
| Jesse Caldwell
|
|-
| 2003
|George of the Jungle 2
| Ursula Stanhope, Queen of the Jungle
| Direct-to-video film
|-
|2004
| data-sort-value="Long Shot, The" | The Long Shot
| Annie Garrett
|
|-
| 2005
| data-sort-value="Eight Millimeter 2" | 8mm 2
| Lynn
| Direct-to-video film
|-
| 2006
| Kill Your Darlings
| Katherine
|
|-
| 2008
|Punisher: War Zone
| Angela Donatelli
|
|-
| 2008
| Rambo
| Sarah Miller
|
|-
| 2008
| Saw V
| Brit
|
|-
| 2009
| data-sort-value="Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day, The" | The Boondock Saints II: All Saints Day
| Special Agent Eunice Bloom
|
|-
| 2010
| Bedrooms
| Anna
|
|-
| 2011
|Answers to Nothing
| Frankie
|
|-
| 2011
| Ricochet
| Elise Laird
|
|-
| 2014
| Supremacy
| Kristen
|
|-
| 2015
| Circle
| Wife
|
|-
| 2015
| Life on the Line
| Carline
|
|-
| 2016
| Havenhurst
| Jackie
|
|-
|2019
|Foster Boy
|Pamela Dupree
|
|-
|2020
|Nocturne
|Cassie Lowe
|
|}
Television
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1991–1992
| Hi Honey, I'm Home!
| Babs Nielson
| Main role
|-
| 1991–1992
| All My Children
| Linda Connor
| Guest appearances: December 31, 1991 – January 2, 1992
|-
| 1994
| Married... with Children
| Sascha
| Episode: "Field of Screams"
|-
| 1995
| data-sort-value="Barefoot Executive, The" | The Barefoot Executive
| Sexy woman
| Television film
|-
| 1995
| Hang Time
| Linda Cantrell
| Episode: "Earl Makes the Grade"
|-
| 1995
| High Tide
| Joanna Craig
| Episode: "Sea No Evil"
|-
| 1995
| Step by Step
| Tawny
| Episode: "The Wall"
|-
| 1996
| Boy Meets World
| Bianca
| Episode: "City Slackers"
|-
| 1996
|Diagnosis: Murder
| Julie Miller
| Episode: "Murder on Thin Ice"
|-
| 1996
| Hearts Adrift
| Christy
| Television film
|-
| 1996
| data-sort-value="Single Guy, The" | The Single Guy
| Cranberries girl
| Episode: "Love Train"
|-
| 1996
|Sliders
| Jenny Michener
| Episode: "The Electric Twister Acid Test"
|-
| 1997
| data-sort-value="Big Easy, The" |The Big Easy
| Roxanne
| Episode: "BeGirled"
|-
| 1997
|Fame L.A.
| Vanessa
| Episode: "The Beat Goes On"
|-
| 1997–2000
| Buffy the Vampire Slayer
| Darla
| Recurring role (5 episodes)
|-
| 1998
| Ask Harriet
| Joplin Russell
| Recurring role
|-
| 1998
| Conrad Bloom
| Julie
| Episode: "The Rebound Guy"
|-
| 1999
| data-sort-value="King of Queens, The" |The King of Queens
| Julie Patterson
| Episode: "Train Wreck"
|-
| 1999
| Payne
| Breeze O'Rourke
| Main role
|-
| 1999–2000
| Roswell
| Kathleen Topolsky
| Recurring role (season 1)
|-
| 2000
| Satan's School for Girls
| Alison Kingsley
| Television film
|-
| 2000–2004
| Angel
| Darla
| Recurring role (seasons 1–3); guest role (seasons 4–5)
|-
| 2002
|Coupling
| Amanda
| Episode: "Decatur Guy"
|-
| 2002
|Peacemakers
| Miranda Blanchard
| Episode: "The Witness"
|-
| 2002
|She Spies
| Elaine
| Episode: "Spies vs. Spy"
|-
| 2002
| Taken
| Kate Keyes
| Miniseries
|-
| 2004
| data-sort-value="Long Shot: Believe in Courage, The" | The Long Shot: Believe in Courage
| Annie Garrett
| Television film
|-
| 2004
| NCIS
| Denise Johnson
| Episode: "A Weak Link"
|-
| 2004
| Oliver Beene
| Cigarette girl
| Episode: "Idol Chatter"
|-
| 2005
|Lackawanna Blues
| Laura
| Television film
|-
| 2005
| Locusts: The 8th Plague
| Vicky
| Television film
|-
| 2006
| Circle of Friends
| Maggie
| Television film
|-
| 2006
|CSI: Crime Scene Investigation
| Heidi Wolff
| Episode: "Time of Your Death"
|-
| 2006
|CSI: Miami
| Hayley Gordon
| Episode: "Deviant"
|-
| 2006
|Supernatural
| Layla Rourke
| Episode: "Faith"
|-
| 2006–2010
| Dexter
| Rita Bennett
| Main role (season 1–4); guest role (season 5)
|-
| 2007
| Law & Order
| Dawn Sterling
| Episode: "Church"
|-
| 2009
| Held Hostage
| Michelle Estey
| Television film
|-
| 2009
| Uncorked
| Johnny Prentiss
| Television film
|-
| 2010
| Desperate Housewives
| Robin Gallagher
| Recurring role (season 6)
|-
| 2010–2011
| No Ordinary Family
| Stephanie Powell
| Main role
|-
| 2011
| Royal Pains
| Elyse
| Episode: "An Apple a Day"
|-
| 2011–2012
| data-sort-value="Gifted Man, A" | A Gifted Man
| Christina Holt
| Recurring role (season 1)
|-
| 2013
| Sole Custody
| Zoe
| Television film
|-
| 2013
| Taken: The Search for Sophie Parker
| Stevie Parker
| Television film
|-
| 2013–2015
| Defiance
| Amanda Rosewater
| Main role
|-
| 2015
| Charming Christmas
| Meredith Rossman
| Television film
|-
| 2015–2017
| Hawaii Five-0
| Abby Dunn
| Recurring role (season 6–7)
|-
| 2017
|Christmas Homecoming
| Amanda
| Television film
|-
| 2017
| Training Day
| Holly Butler
| Main role
|-
| 2019
| Dark/Web
| Rideshare
| Episode: "Rideshare"
|-
| 2019
| Light as a Feather
| Skye Karras
| Episode: "...Guilty as Sin"
|-
| 2019
|On Becoming a God in Central Florida
| Carole Wilkes
| Recurring role
|-
| 2019
| V. C. Andrews' Heaven
| Kitty Dennison
| Television film
|-
| 2021
|Love, Victor
| Shelby
| Guest role
|-
|2021
|Secrets of a Gold Digger Killer
|Celeste Beard
|Television film
|-
| 2022
|9-1-1: Lone Star
| Sadie
| Guest role
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! scope="col" | Year
! scope="col" | Title
! scope="col" | Role
! scope="col" | Notes
|-
| 2004
| Hot Shots Golf Fore!
| Phoebe and Amy
|
|-
| 2004
| Halo 2
| Miranda Keyes
|
|-
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Nominated work
! class="wikitable unsortable" | Result
|-
| 2006
| 11th Satellite Awards
| Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film
| Dexter
|
|-
| rowspan="2" | 2008
| Eyegore Awards
| Eyegore Award
|
|
|-
| 2008 Scream Awards
| Best Horror Actress
| rowspan="6" | Dexter
|
|-
| 2009
| 16th Screen Actors Guild Awards
| rowspan="2" | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
|
|-
| rowspan="4" | 2010
| 17th Screen Actors Guild Awards
|
|-
| 36th Saturn Awards
| Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television
|
|-
| Monte Carlo Television Festival
| Outstanding Actress - Drama Series
|
|-
| 2010 Scream Awards
| Best Horror Actress
|
|}