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Ben Watkins moved 14 times by the time he graduated high school. As a kid, his experiences ran the gamut from living in a fancy, gated community, to being homeless and sleeping in a 1976 Ford Monarch. He was married and had a family by the time he graduated college.
Before he turned to writing, Ben had worked more than 30 jobs ranging from plastics salesman to paralegal to soap opera stud. With such an eclectic background, it’s no wonder he has emerged as one of the most original storytellers in television.
Ben Watkins began the transition to writing with the award-winning Sundance short film Quest to Ref, which he wrote, co-directed and starred in. Soon after adapting that project into a feature screenplay for Universal, Watkins joined USA Network’s Burn Notice. He rose from staff writer to executive producer, before moving on to create the provocative Amazon Originals series, Hand of God. Watkins recently completed production on season one of Hand of God, which premiered in September.
Ben resides in El Segundo, California, with his wife and four sons.
Follow Ben on Twitter: @_benipedia_
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Didn’t get your questions asked? Make sure you follow Gray on Twitter (@GrayJones) so you can get the scoop on who is being interviewed and how to get your questions in. Also check out our TV Writer Twitter Database to find Twitter addresses for over 1,200 TV writers. Find our previous episodes and other resources at www.tvwriterpodcast.com or on Gray’s YouTube channel.
First published September 30, 2015.
137 - Mickey Fisher (Creator of Extant, Reverie)
136 - Kira Snyder (The Handmaid’s Tale, Pacific Rim: Uprising, The 100, Eureka)
135 - J. Holtham (Handmaid’s Tale, Supergirl, Jessica Jones)
134 - Daria Polatin - Creator / Showrunner of Devil In Ohio
133 - Comedy Writer Rob Sheridan
132 - Creator / Showrunner Brent Piaskoski
131 - Niceole Levy (The Writers’ Room Survival Guide)
130 - Christopher + Kathy Riley (The Defining Moment)
129 - Comedy Guru Steve Kaplan
128 - Writer-Director Amitabh Klemm
127 - TV / Comic Writer Jay Faerber (Supergirl, Zoo, Ringer)
126 - Aaron Vaccaro (Mike & Molly, Superior Donuts, Team Kaylie, Drama Club)
125 - Zach Ayers (American Soul, State of Affairs)
124 - Lee Jessup (Career Coach, Author)
123 - TV Writer & Performer Sasha Feiler (Robot Chicken)
122 - TV Director Dan Attias (The Boys, The Walking Dead, Homeland)
121 - Jim Galasso (Lost, Hawaii Five-0, Beyond)
120-The Executive Chair Author & TV Writer Kelly Edwards (Our Kind of People)
119 - Multi-Hyphenate Actor-Producer-Writer Meg Messmer
118 - Jeff Vlaming (X-Files, Battlestar Galactica, Fringe, The 100)
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