Jack Coleman stars on NBC’s hit show “Heroes” as Mr. Noah Bennett, father of cheerleader Claire Bennett, and one-time operative for the mysterious Primatech paper company. Read on to discover ten fun facts about the actor Jack Coleman, including his surprising family tree, his soap-opera past, and the origins of his “Heroes” character.
1. The actor Jack Coleman is a direct descendant of a major American historical figure. Coleman’s ancestor is statesman, inventor, and iconic founding father Benjamin Franklin. Coleman is Franklin’s sixth-generation grandchild.
2. The role that first won Jack Coleman a substantial fan base was his part as the second Steven Carrington on “Dynasty,” a part in which he appeared on over 150 episodes of the hit show between 1982 and 1988. He replaced the actor Al Corley in the part. Carrington was one of the first openly gay characters to appear on prime-time network television.
3. Jack Coleman graduated with a B.A. from prestigious Duke University in 1980.
4. Over two decades before landing the role as Noah Bennet on “Heroes,” but just one year before the start of his career-making stint on “Dynasty,” Coleman made his television debut on the daytime Soap Opera “Days Of Our Lives” as the character Jake Kositchek.
5. Since 1996, Jack Coleman has been married to a fellow television personality with her own substantial Soap Opera background. His wife is the actress Beth Toussaint, who played the character Tracy Lawton on the 1980s series “Dallas.” Toussaint has appeared on a number of series, with roles including a 2006 recurring part on “The Young And The Restless” as Hope Adams Wilson.
6. Jack Coleman says that his mild-mannered but powerful “Heroes” character Mr. Noah Bennett was inspired by a character played by Max von Sydow the 1974 film “Three Days Of The Condor.” Coleman also says that “Heroes” creator Tim Kring had Bennett’s trademark horn-rimmed glasses written into the script from day one.
7. Coleman grew up in large family in Pennsylvania: the “Heroes” star is the youngest of seven children.
8. The part of the man with the horn-rimmed glasses was originally intended to be merely a bit player on “Heroes.” When Jack Coleman auditioned for the role, only the pilot had been written, and the character was planned to appear in a single scene. After seeing Coleman’s performance, the “Heroes” writing staff expanded the part from a bit part to a guest star, and decided that Mr. Bennett would appear in all five of the first episodes. After those five, the creative team behind the show was so pleased with how Coleman was doing, and with how much potential the character had, that they brought Coleman on as a series regular, and made Bennett a leading role.
9. Multi-talented Jack Coleman wrote and acted in the 2003 short film “Studio City,” a comedy about a man who owes a debt to the mafia. Coleman has also written a full-length screenplay, which he hopes to self-produce in the future.
10. In 2004, Coleman appeared in the thriller series “Stephen King’s Kingdom Hospital.” According to imdb.com, the part of Peter Rickman in that show was Coleman’s first multiple-episode television part since “Dynasty,” and helped revitalize his small-screen career.
