Benjamin Wilbanks was born on May 12, 1977, in Cleburne, Texas, to David Wilbanks and Judith Comer Wilbanks. He has a younger sister, Sarah Wilbanks. Benjamin's early interest in theater began at age seven when he played a native in the chorus of Cleburne's local theater company production of South Pacific.
His mother encouraged his aspirations by enrolling him in Casa Mana's acting school in Fort Worth, Texas. Benjamin spent a week with his grandparents in Dallas, where he and his sister Sarah acted as extras in the Steve Martin/Liam Neeson film Leap Of Faith.
In his junior year of high school, Benjamin lied about his age to make himself eligible as an extra on Walker, Texas Ranger starring Chuck Norris. He skipped classes to go to the set and spent more time watching the crew than mugging for the camera.
Benjamin shot videos with his friends, editing them between VCRs, and showing them at Chapel at Chisholm Trail Academy in Keene, Texas. In 1994, he auditioned for and was cast in The Promise, an epic musical drama based on the life of Jesus, produced in Glen Rose, Texas.
Benjamin played the part of Malchus, the servant whose ear is cut off by the Apostle Peter in the garden when Jesus is arrested. He played this part for two seasons in Glen Rose and two seasons at The Promise in Branson, Missouri, as well as a weekend performance in Atlanta, Georgia, and a tour to the Kremlin State Palace theater in Moscow, Russia.
In 1996, Benjamin left The Promise in Branson and moved back to Texas to work in film and television. He worked regularly with Stephen Yake Productions and was the Assistant Art Director for the A/V Squad's production of the Bob Carlisle music video Father's Love.
Benjamin worked with producer Michael B. Seligman on the A Taste of Lexus tour in Dallas and in Washington D.C., where Seligman then moved him to his production office at the Kennedy Center. After about a month in Washington, Benjamin left Washington and returned to Texas via Nashville.
Returning to Texas, Benjamin slowly stepped out of production work and found himself working at the Kimbell Art Museum as the manager of the audio tours, and at the Sundance Square Barnes & Noble Bookstore. In April 2002, Benjamin heard about a turnover in the staff of his old first-love, The Promise in Glen Rose, and felt that there may be an opportunity for him to offer his services and passion to the production that he'd started at.
Benjamin got a job with the company as the marketing manager, a job that turned into more responsibility than he'd expected. Soon Benjamin found that he was the only full-time employee of the entire theater company and unofficially filled the job of general manager, producer, and operations manager.
After a stressful two and a half seasons attempting to keep the production together without his old mentor and director, Mike Meece, and facing the difficulties of keeping a tourist attraction outdoor theater open after 9/11, Benjamin felt that his time had come to get out of the outdoor theater company.
Benjamin left The Promise and worked in television for shows such as It's A Miracle, Biker Buildoff, Rennovate My Family, Design Invasion, and more. In the fall of 2004, Benjamin worked on the independent horror film Bit Parts directed by artist and filmmaker Michael McWillie.
It was on that set that Benjamin formed a friendship with producer Max Steward, and actress Eryn Brooke. This also was the first major collaboration with friend and collaborator Ron Gonzalez. After working on bit parts, Ron, Max, and Benjamin decided to shoot their own digital horror film, and Benjamin presented his script, The Night Crawlers, to them.
In the spring of 2005, Benjamin and Max were working together on developing the fund-raising and production company to make the film when the opportunity came for Benjamin to go to Iraq with his uncle, Tim Comer.
In April 2005, Benjamin and Tim left for the Middle East to shoot create what would eventually become the documentary A Journey To Iraq. The eleven-day trip turned into a twenty-one-day trip, and nothing on the journey took place according to the schedule or to Benjamin's liking. Editing the project took over a year.
