Bentley was born in Jonesboro, Arkansas, and raised in Little Rock,[2][3] the third of four sons of Cherie Baker and David Bentley. His father is a minister, and his mother is a chaplain and ordained elder in the Arkansas Conference, both in the United Methodist denomination.[4][5] His grandfather was an evangelical minister.[6] He is of German, Scottish, and English descent.[7]
In March 2012, Bentley had a supporting role in the blockbuster movie The Hunger Games, playing gamemaker Seneca Crane. In 2012, Bentley starred in the indie feature 3 Nights in the Desert, directed by Gabriel Cowan.[17]
Bentley and Scott Speedman starred in a pilot episode for a planned HBO series created by Ryan Murphy, Open,[18] but the series was not picked up. The following year, Bentley guest starred in Murphy's FX series American Horror Story for its fourth season, Freak Show. In 2015, he was promoted to the main cast for the fifth season, Hotel, starring as Detective John Lowe. In 2016, he played a main role in the sixth season, Roanoke. Since 2018, he has played Jamie Dutton on Paramount Network's Yellowstone.[6]
Bentley was married to actress Jennifer Quanz from 2001 to 2009. They divorced in 2009, reportedly due to his substance abuse. He married producer Jacqui Swedberg in 2010, and their son was born in 2010[19] and their daughter in 2014.
In a New York Times article on February 8, 2010,[20] he described his descent into drug addiction that began almost immediately after his success in American Beauty. He said he hid his addiction from his wife; they separated in 2006, and he moved to an apartment where he began doing drugs full-time. During this time, he worked sporadically, just enough to pay bills and buy drugs. His addiction began to cause problems on the sets of the films P2 and Weirdsville. In 2008, he was arrested and ordered into counseling and 12-step programs. He relapsed, however, and "continued using heroin until he was broke".[13]
In July 2009, he said, he confessed to a friend, "I'm a drug addict, and an alcoholic, and I need help. I need help or I'm going to die".[21] He again entered a 12-step program and, while clean since then, considers himself on the path to recovery.[citation needed]
The documentary My Big Break (2009) captures Bentley's early life as an unknown actor, his sudden fame after American Beauty, his subsequent emotional struggle with fame, and his admission years later that he was recovering from an addiction to drugs and alcohol.[13] He began to rebuild his career by starring in the Off-Broadway premiere of the play Venus in Fur by David Ives.
^ abcHealy, Patrick (February 8, 2010). Kahn, Joseph; Dean, Baquet; Monica, Drake; Meghan, Louttit; Philip B., Corbett; Kathleen, Kingsbury; Tracie, Lee; Rebecca, Blumenstein; Steve, Duenes; Matthew, Purdy; Sam, Dolnick; Mara, Gay; Sam, Sifton (eds.). "Back from the depths, rebuilding a career". Arts. New York Times (Online). Vol. CLIX, no. 31. New York City: The New York Times Company. p. C1. ISSN1553-8095. Retrieved February 7, 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
