Bio
Dirk Benedict is an American actor best known for his roles as Lt. Templeton "The Faceman" Peck in The A-Team television series, and Lieutenant Starbuck in the original Battlestar Galactica movie and television series.
Benedict was also the co-star in Battlestar Galactica (1978).
It was at Whitman College, in Walla Walla, Washington, that Dirk became interested in acting. During his freshman year, he accepted a dare to audition for the Spring musical Showboat. Upon graduation, Benedict began a two-year training program under John Fernald.
He then played repertory theatre in Seattle and in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where he played in King Lear, Misalliance, Mister Roberts and Star-Spangled Girl.
Meanwhile, Benedict maintained an active interest in music and formed a Dixieland Jazz Band in Seattle. He co-starred in Abelard and Heloise, first on Broadway, then in Los Angeles. After the show closed, he was winging across the Atlantic to Sweden for his first movie, Georgia, Georgia (1972).
On his return to New York, he replaced Keir Dullea in Butterflies Are Free on Broadway. When the New York run ended, he received an offer to repeat his performance in Hawaii. While there, he appeared as a guest on Hawaii Five-O (1968).
The producers of a psycho-thriller called Sssssss (1973) saw Benedict's performance in Hawaii Five-O (1968) and promptly cast him as the lead in that movie. He next played in W (1974) and in the same year starred in Chopper One.