Maurice Benard

Film and Television veteran, member of the Actor’s Studio, and Emmy Award winner Maurice Benard most recently starred as John Gotti in Lifetime’s acclaimed “Victoria Gotti: My Father’s Daughter,” the horror film “Nightmare Cinema,” with Mickey Rourke, the indie films “Hold On,” and “Equal Standard,” alongside Ice T; and Lifetime’s “A Lover Betrayed.” Among his other film and television credits are David O’Russell’s critically acclaimed “Joy,” with Robert De Niro and Jennifer Lawrence; “Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter”; “Ruby”; The indie film “The Ghost and the Whale,” produced by Benard’s wife, Paula, in which he starred as a bipolar man losing the battle with his illness after his wife’s death, was a labor of love underscored by his strong commitment to raise awareness about mental health issues.