Benjamin Koldyke

Benjamin Koldyke

Benjamin Koldyke (born March 27, 1968) is an American actor. He is best known for playing Don Frank on How I Met Your Mother (2009–2010), Lee Standish in Work It (2012), and Greg Gibbon on Gortimer Gibbon's Life On Normal Street (2014–2016). Koldyke was born in Chicago, Illinois, and grew up in nearby Kenilworth. His father, Martin J. "Mike" Koldyke, is a former investment banker who founded Frontenac Company in Chicago and is a life trustee of Northwestern University; through his mother, Patricia Blunt Koldyke, he is a member of the family that controls Laird Norton Company, an investment company with roots in the timber industry of the Pacific Northwest. After graduating from high school, he did a post-graduate year at Choate Rosemary Hall. He graduated in 1991 from Dartmouth College, where he earned a bachelor's degree in English and was a quarterback for the football team. Koldyke worked as a high school English teacher and football coach in Chicago. His acting career received a jump start after a chance encounter with It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia creator-star, Rob McElhenney. Regulars at the same Venice cafe, he covered Rob's tab with a note that said he "thought his show was fantastic," and this exchange led to Koldyke's first TV pilot, Boldly Going Nowhere for Fox, a few years later. After Boldly was not picked up, Koldyke went on to recur as Dale Tomasson in the HBO series Big Love and as Don Frank in How I Met Your Mother for CBS. n 2012, Koldyke starred as the lead character in the short-lived ABC comedy series Work It and later guest starred in HBO's The Newsroom 2013 saw him star in another ABC sitcom, Back in the Game, opposite James Caan and Maggie Lawson. He had a significant arc on Showtime's Masters of Sex as teacher and football coach Paul Edley, and played male chauvinist Brent throughout the final season of The Good Place. In 2021 he had a recurring role on season 1 of Peacock sitcom Rutherford Falls Koldyke was seen on the big screen in 2016 in a supporting role for Disney's The Finest Hours alongside Chris Pine, Casey Affleck, Eric Bana, and Ben Foster.

More details

Known For

Filmography

2025

Paradise
Paradise
as Jack Barnes
TV - Released: 1/26/2025

2021

Rutherford Falls
Rutherford Falls
as Duz Rutherford
TV - Released: 4/22/2021
Rutherford Falls
Rutherford Falls
as Lawrence 'Duz' Rutherford
TV - Released: 4/22/2021
Rutherford Falls
Rutherford Falls
as Duz
TV - Released: 4/22/2021

2019

Carol's Second Act
Carol's Second Act
as Coach Dean
TV - Released: 9/26/2019

2016

The Finest Hours
The Finest Hours
as Donald Bangs
Movie - Released: 1/27/2016
The Good Place
The Good Place
as Brent Norwalk
TV - Released: 9/19/2016

2015

Mr. Robinson
Mr. Robinson
as Jimmy Hooper
TV - Released: 8/5/2015

2014

Silicon Valley
Silicon Valley
as Ben Burkhardt
TV - Released: 4/6/2014
Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street
Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street
as Greg Gibbon
TV - Released: 2/6/2014

2013

Back in the Game
Back in the Game
as Dick Slingbaugh
TV - Released: 9/25/2013
The Michael J. Fox Show
The Michael J. Fox Show
as Brandon
TV - Released: 9/26/2013
Masters of Sex
Masters of Sex
as Paul Edley
TV - Released: 9/29/2013

2012

Work It
Work It
as Lee Standish
TV - Released: 1/3/2012
The Newsroom
The Newsroom
as Cyrus West
TV - Released: 6/24/2012

2010

Movie
This Little Piggy
as Henry
Movie - Released: 1/1/2010

2008

Boldly Going Nowhere
Boldly Going Nowhere
as Ronald Teague
TV - Released: 10/11/2008

2006

Big Love
Big Love
as Dale Tomasson
TV - Released: 3/12/2006

2005

How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
as Don Frank
TV - Released: 9/19/2005
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia
as Sean
TV - Released: 8/4/2005

2003

Say I Do
Say I Do
as Ben
Movie - Released: 7/25/2003
Stuck on You
Stuck on You
as Officer Johnson
Movie - Released: 12/10/2003

2001

24
24
as LAPD Officer
TV - Released: 11/6/2001

2000

Thirteen Days
Thirteen Days
as RF-8 Pilot
Movie - Released: 12/25/2000
The Next Best Thing
The Next Best Thing
as Kelly's Boyfriend
Movie - Released: 3/3/2000
Curb Your Enthusiasm
Curb Your Enthusiasm
as Dave
TV - Released: 10/15/2000

1999

Jack & Jill
Jack & Jill
as Andrew Bower
TV - Released: 9/26/1999