
Acting
Ben Zook
Born 1964-02-05 · Kansas City, Missouri, USA
Ben is best known for his work in the Chicago Improv and Theatre scene, as well as the Los Angeles Alternative Comedy scene. Born and raised in Kansas, he went on to attend Indiana University, where he studied Music and Theatre. After graduation, he moved to Chicago, where he studied improvisation at the famed Second City.
Acting credits
3.0A Topeka, Kansas fun park dance troupe led by a 260 pound dancer (Ben Zook) learns that the park is going to close. Their leader convinces the group, now named "The Stupendous Six", to join him in a painted up bus and to hit the road to find the big time. The Six compete against other dancers to win a chance to compete in the grand finale at the Little Miss Orange County Beauty Pageant. The other members of the Six are Melanie Hutsell as an airhead, Margaret Cho as a oral fixated sex maniac, Brett Paesel as the leader's homosexual lover, Bruce Daniels as the African-American member with a penchant for misuse of black slang, and Michael Irpino as another more stereotypical gay dancer. Lots of cameos from tv stars occur in the various dance numbers. But this comedy does take most of its cues from "The Full Monty" rather than from other major dance films.
Can't Stop Dancing
1999
4.7A film crew in search of a new documentary project determines to find a wrongfully imprisoned death-row inmate. Enter Chauncey Ledbetter, a quirky and potentially gay prisoner convicted of murdering his high school show choir teacher. As filming of the documentary progresses, evidence increases that Chauncey might be guilty after all.
The Thin Pink Line
1998
9.0This hilarious and touching documentary tells the story of how three older, gay, "bears" working in Hollywood, tired of having their gay-themed ideas rejected by the mainstream, decided to self-produce their own web series. Against all odds, the comedy featuring three bear roommates like "The Golden Girls" solving crimes a la "Murder, She Wrote," became a sensation online and one of the most successful web shows of all time. The documentary examines ageism, body-shaming, sex-positivity, the creative process and how friendship and community can ultimately create something beloved all over the world.
A Big Gay Hairy Hit! Where the Bears Are: The Documentary
2023
NRIn this uproarious and suspenseful feature-length cut of the acclaimed web series, Where the Bears Are follows three gay bear roommates living in Los Angeles whose lives are turned upside down when a party guest is found dead in their bathtub. What begins as a wild weekend spirals into a hilarious yet gripping whodunit, as the trio balances dating, friendships, and their quest for justice — all while navigating the bear subculture and their own eccentricities.
Where The Bears Are
2012
Behind the camera
3.0A Topeka, Kansas fun park dance troupe led by a 260 pound dancer (Ben Zook) learns that the park is going to close. Their leader convinces the group, now named "The Stupendous Six", to join him in a painted up bus and to hit the road to find the big time. The Six compete against other dancers to win a chance to compete in the grand finale at the Little Miss Orange County Beauty Pageant. The other members of the Six are Melanie Hutsell as an airhead, Margaret Cho as a oral fixated sex maniac, Brett Paesel as the leader's homosexual lover, Bruce Daniels as the African-American member with a penchant for misuse of black slang, and Michael Irpino as another more stereotypical gay dancer. Lots of cameos from tv stars occur in the various dance numbers. But this comedy does take most of its cues from "The Full Monty" rather than from other major dance films.
Can't Stop Dancing
1999
3.0A Topeka, Kansas fun park dance troupe led by a 260 pound dancer (Ben Zook) learns that the park is going to close. Their leader convinces the group, now named "The Stupendous Six", to join him in a painted up bus and to hit the road to find the big time. The Six compete against other dancers to win a chance to compete in the grand finale at the Little Miss Orange County Beauty Pageant. The other members of the Six are Melanie Hutsell as an airhead, Margaret Cho as a oral fixated sex maniac, Brett Paesel as the leader's homosexual lover, Bruce Daniels as the African-American member with a penchant for misuse of black slang, and Michael Irpino as another more stereotypical gay dancer. Lots of cameos from tv stars occur in the various dance numbers. But this comedy does take most of its cues from "The Full Monty" rather than from other major dance films.
Can't Stop Dancing
1999
9.0This hilarious and touching documentary tells the story of how three older, gay, "bears" working in Hollywood, tired of having their gay-themed ideas rejected by the mainstream, decided to self-produce their own web series. Against all odds, the comedy featuring three bear roommates like "The Golden Girls" solving crimes a la "Murder, She Wrote," became a sensation online and one of the most successful web shows of all time. The documentary examines ageism, body-shaming, sex-positivity, the creative process and how friendship and community can ultimately create something beloved all over the world.
A Big Gay Hairy Hit! Where the Bears Are: The Documentary
2023