Originally from Dayton, Ohio, Ben is a New York based actor, musician, and writer. In 2005, Ben played his cello and the role of Anthony in the Tony Award winning Broadway revival of Stephen Sondheim’s Sweeney Todd. He performed on the Grammy nominated original cast recording and performed the entire run at the Eugene O'Neill Theatre. He recreated his role on the road in the subsequent national tour; earning the IRNE award for Best Supporting Actor.
Favorite credits include Des McAnuff’s 2009 Broadway revival of Guys & Dolls at the Nederlander Theatre and Cameron Mackintosh’s reimagined 25th Anniversary National Tour of Les Misérables. Ben spent two years playing the Bank Manager (and several musical instruments) in the 1st National Tour and Broadway productions of Once, the musical. Favorite credits include John Doyle's recent off-Broadway revival of Assassins at Classic Stage Company, Lemml in Paula Vogel's Indecent at Victory Gardens Theater, and Tateh in the Jeff Award-Winning production of Ragtime in Chicago. Other regional credits include Sunday In The Park With George at Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The Man of La Mancha at Long Wharf, ACT, Cape Playhouse, Drury Lane, Geva Theatre Center, and Paper Mill Playhouse. On screen, you may have seen Ben as Paul Revere on NBC's 30 Rock, pouring shots for Paul Giamatti in Showtime's Billions, demonizing the highway in CBS's Evil, or singing with Will Ferrell in The Other Guys.
His theater work also includes multiple projects with the immersive NYC dance company, Third Rail Productions. He served as a collaborating musician on their productions of Then She Fell, The Grand Paradise, and Lincoln Center’s Ghost Light. Ben served as co-composer for their most recent Drama-Desk Nominated production of Midsummer: A Banquet.
As a singer and musician, he has played in venues as varied as San Francisco’s Plush Room to New York’s Bowery Ballroom and Sin-é; from The Boston Opera House to The Pantages in Los Angeles. He has contributed string arrangements, cello, and various other instruments on dozens of indie albums, including Old Songs with The Fret Knots that was released 10" on vinyl. Most recently, Ben released his album Safe In Tomorrow in January, 2021. It is currently available on all streaming platforms.
Mr. Magnuson is a graduate of The University of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music. He is a member of Actors’ Equity Association, Screen Actors’ Guild and the American Federation of Musicians.
