Benjamin Koldyke

Benjamin Koldyke 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, and Greg Gibbon on Gortimer Gibbon's Life On Normal Street (2014–2016).

Early life and education 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.

Career 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.

In 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.

Personal life On August 8, 2015, Koldyke married actress Maggie Lawson in a ceremony at his family's ranch in Las Vegas, New Mexico. In early 2017, Lawson filed for divorce from Koldyke.

Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 2000 The Next Best Thing Kelly's Boyfriend Thirteen Days RF-8 Pilot 2001 Red Zone Dutch Van Roble Also writer and director 2002 Osama Bin Laden: Behind the Madness Writer and director 2003 Say I Do Ben Stuck on You Officer Tommy Johnson 2008 Jedi Gym Master Flynn Short film, also writer and director 2016 The Finest Hours Sam

Television Year Title Role Notes 2002 24 LAPD Officer Episode: "Day 2: 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m." 2009 Boldly Going Nowhere TV pilot It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia Sean Episode: "The Gang Exploits the Mortgage Crisis" The Big D Will Dupree TV pilot This Little Piggy TV pilot 2010 Big Love Dale Tomasson 5 episodes 2009–2010 How I Met Your Mother Don Frank 6 episodes 2012 Work It Lee Standish Series regular, 11 episodes 2013 The Newsroom Cyrus West Episode: "First Thing We Do, Let's Kill All the Lawyers" Back in the Game Dick SlingbaughSeries regular 2014–2016 Gortimer Gibbon's Life on Normal Street Greg Gibbon Recurring 2015 Mr. Robinson Jimmy Series regular Masters of Sex Paul Edley Recurring 2017 Curb Your Enthusiasm Dave Episode: "The Accidental Text on Purpose" 2018 Silicon Valley Ben Episode: "Chief Operating Officer" 2019 The Good Place Brent Norwalk Recurring (season 4) 2021 Rutherford Falls Dudley "Duz" Rutherford Recurring 2025ParadiseJack BarnesEpisode: "Agent Billy Pace"