Editing Dirk Benedict (section)

==Career==
[[File:Chopper One cast 1974.JPG|thumb|Photo of the cast of the short-lived television program ''[[Chopper One]]''. From left: Dirk Benedict, [[Ted Hartley]], [[Jim McMullan]].]]

Benedict's film debut was in the 1972 film ''[[Georgia, Georgia]]''. When the New York run for ''[[Butterflies Are Free]]'' ended, he received an offer to repeat his performance in Hawaii, opposite [[Barbara Rush]]. While there, he appeared as a guest lead on ''[[Hawaii Five-O (1968 TV series)|Hawaii Five-O]]''. The producers of a horror film called ''[[Sssssss]]'' (1973) saw Benedict's performance in ''Hawaii Five-O'' and promptly cast him as the lead in that movie. He next played the psychotic wife-beating husband of [[Twiggy]] in her American film debut, ''[[W (1974 film)|W]]'' (1974). Benedict starred in the television series ''[[Chopper One]]'', which aired for one season in 1974. He made two appearances in ''[[Charlie's Angels]]''. He also appeared on the ''[[Donny & Marie (1976 TV series)|Donny & Marie]]'' variety show.

Benedict's career break came in 1978 when he appeared as [[Lieutenant Starbuck]] in the movie and television series ''[[Battlestar Galactica (1978 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]''. The same year, Benedict starred in the TV film, ''Cruise into Terror'', and appeared in the ensemble movie, ''[[Scavenger Hunt]]'' the following year.

===1980s and 1990s===
In 1980, Benedict starred alongside [[Linda Blair]] in an action-comedy movie called ''[[Ruckus (film)|Ruckus]]''. In 1983, Dirk gained further popularity as con man Templeton "Faceman" Peck in 1980s action television series ''[[The A-Team]]''. He played "Face" from {{start date|1982}} to {{end date|1986}}, although the series didn't air until January 1983, and the final episode wasn't shown until 1987 rebroadcasts. The [[List of The A-Team episodes#Season 2: 1983–1984|second season]] episode "Steel" includes a scene at [[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] where Face is seen looking bemused as a [[Cylon (1978)|Cylon]] walks by him as an in-joke to his previous role in ''Battlestar Galactica''. The clip is incorporated into the series' opening credit sequence from season 3 onward.

In 1986, Benedict starred as low-life band manager Harry Smilac in the movie ''[[Body Slam (film)|Body Slam]]'' along with [[Lou Albano]], [[Roddy Piper]], and cameo appearances by [[Freddie Blassie]], [[Ric Flair]], and [[Bruno Sammartino]]. His character Smilac ends up managing the pro-wrestler "Quick Rick" Roberts (Piper) and faces opposition by Captain Lou Murano (Albano) and his wrestling tag-team "[[The Wild Samoans|the Cannibals]]".

In 1987, Benedict took the title role of Shakespeare's ''[[Hamlet]]'' at the [[Classic Stage Company|Abbey Theatre]] in Manhattan. Both his performance and the entire production were lambasted by critics.<ref>Brucker, D.J.R. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/09/22/theater/the-stage-hamlet.html "The Stage: Hamlet"], ''The New York Times'', September 22, 1987</ref> Benedict starred in the 1989 TV film ''Trenchcoat in Paradise''.

In 1991, Benedict starred in ''[[Blue Tornado (film)|Blue Tornado]],'' playing Alex, [[call sign]] Fireball, an [[Italian Air Force]] [[fighter pilot]]. Benedict published an autobiography, ''Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy: A True Story of Discovery, Acting, Health, Illness, Recovery, and Life'' ([[Avery Publishing]] {{ISBN|0895294796}}). In 1993, Benedict starred in ''[[Shadow Force (1992 film)|Shadow Force]]''.

Benedict also appeared as Jake Barnes in the 1996 action-adventure film ''[[Alaska (1996 film)|Alaska]]''.

===2000s and 2010s===
In 2000, Benedict wrote and directed his first screenplay, ''Cahoots''.<ref>{{cite news|author=Mark Deming|date=2008|title=Cahoots|work=[[The New York Times]]|publisher=[[Baseline (database)|Baseline]] & [[All Movie Guide]]|department=Movies & TV Dept.|url=https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/244091/Cahoots/overview|url-status=dead|access-date=May 10, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080908015459/https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/244091/Cahoots/overview|archive-date=September 8, 2008}}</ref> Benedict appeared in the 2006 German film ''[[Goldene Zeiten]]'' ("Golden Times") in a dual role, playing an American former TV star as well as a German lookalike who impersonates him.

In 2006, he wrote an online essay criticizing the then-airing ''[[Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica]]'' re-imagined series and, especially, its casting of a woman as his character, Starbuck, writing that "the war against masculinity has been won" and that "a television show based on hope, spiritual faith, and family is unimagined and regurgitated as a show of despair, sexual violence and family dysfunction".<ref>{{cite web|last1=Benedict|first1=Dirk|date=May 2004|title=Lost in Castration|url=http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com/home/articles-readarticle.php?nid=5|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220100737/http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com/home/articles-readarticle.php?nid=5|archive-date=December 20, 2013|access-date=February 7, 2006|website=Dirk Benedict Central}}</ref>

He appeared as a contestant on the 2007 UK series of ''[[Celebrity Big Brother (British series 5)|Celebrity Big Brother 5]]'', in which he placed third. He arrived on launch night in a replica of the [[The A-Team#GMC van|''A-Team'' van]], smoking a cigar and accompanied by the [[The A-Team#Theme song and soundtrack|''A-Team'' theme tune]].

In 2010, Benedict starred in a stage production of ''[[Columbo#Development and character profile|Prescription: Murder]]'' playing [[Columbo (character)|Lieutenant Columbo]] for the [[Middle Ground Theatre Company]] in the UK. Benedict also made a [[cameo appearance]] in the [[The A-Team (film)|2010 film adaptation]] of ''The A-Team'' as Pensacola Prisoner Milt.<ref>{{cite web|date=November 23, 2009|title="Prescription:Murder" and "The A-Team"|url=http://www.dirkbenedictcentral.com/home/headline-readarticle.php?nid=45|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100921002524/http://dirkbenedictcentral.com/home/headline-readarticle.php?nid=45|archive-date=September 21, 2010|access-date=May 22, 2012|website=Dirk Benedict Central}}</ref>

In 2019, Benedict took on the role of Jack Strange in the B movie ''[[Space Ninjas]]'', written and directed by Scott McQuaid. Dirk plays an eccentric TV host of a show called ''Stranger Than Fiction'', which is like a hybrid of ''[[The Twilight Zone (1959 TV series)|The Twilight Zone]]'' and ''[[The X-Files]]''. The movie is a sci-fi comedy horror that follows a bunch of high school students trying to survive the night of a Space Ninja invasion.