Ben Cook

Benjamin Tyler Cook, born December 11, 1997, in Eden, North Carolina, is an American actor, singer, and dancer whose Broadway career spans from 2008 to 2024. He grew up in New York City and Lorton, Virginia, and is the youngest child of Jill and Glenn Cook. His mother serves as executive director of the American School Counselor Association, and his father works as a photographer, blogger, and publishing consultant. Cook attended the Professional Performing Arts School in New York City for both middle school and high school. In his youth, he appeared in several Nerf-themed videos — including Nerf War, Nerf War 2, and Nerf Raider War — made by YouTuber and filmmaker Christopher Cox.

Before reaching Broadway, Cook performed as a child in Washington, D.C., at venues including Ford's Theatre and the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. He made his Broadway debut at age eleven in Ragtime at the Neil Simon Theatre, understudying and performing the role of Edgar, also known as The Little Boy. His next Broadway credit was Tall Boy in Billy Elliot the Musical at the Imperial Theatre. He subsequently joined the North American national tour of the same production, playing the roles of Michael and then Billy, with his final performance as Billy taking place in Las Vegas, Nevada, on May 19, 2013.

Beginning at age sixteen, Cook spent a year and a half on the first national tour of Newsies the Musical, performing the role of Race in over 500 performances and understudying the role of Crutchie. He later reprised the role of Race in the film adaptation of Newsies, which received a limited theatrical release in February 2017 before becoming available on Netflix and subsequently Disney+. In January 2016, Cook departed the Newsies tour and joined the original Broadway cast of Tuck Everlasting, which began previews in March 2016 and closed that same May.

Cook next joined the ensemble of the Broadway musical adaptation of Mean Girls. The production held its pre-Broadway tryout beginning in October 2017 at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., before opening on Broadway in April 2018. He was subsequently cast as Riff, the leader of the Jets, in the 2020 Broadway revival of West Side Story, but left the production after sustaining an injury during a preview performance. His Broadway credits also include Illinoise, which ran in 2024. His performance in Billy Elliot the Musical earned him a Helen Hayes Award nomination.

On screen, Cook appeared as young Jack in the 30 Rock episode "Chain Reaction of Mental Anguish" in 2010, and as Heather Dunbar's son in the House of Cards episode "Chapter 27" in 2013. He played Walt in the Veep episode "The Choice" in 2014, and portrayed Adam Turner in the Law & Order: Special Victims Unit episode "Great Expectations" in 2017. In 2018, he appeared in the HBO film Paterno. Cook played Mouthpiece, a member of the Jets, in Steven Spielberg's 2021 film adaptation of West Side Story. He appeared as Beckett in the 2023 film Happiness for Beginners, an adaptation of the 2015 book of the same name. From 2022 to 2024, he starred as Henry in the HBO Max horror series Pretty Little Liars, a reboot of the original series from the 2010s.