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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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First published September 30, 2015.
097 - Dan O'Shannon (Modern Family, Frasier, Cheers)
096 - Keto Shimizu (Co-Showrunner, DC's Legends of Tomorrow)
095 - Michael Narducci (Showrunner of The Originals)
094 - Arika Lisanne Mittman (EP of Paradise Lost, Timeless)
093 - Sarah Watson (Creator of The Bold Type, Author of Most Likely)
092 - Bob Goodman (Creator of The Zeta Project, EP of Elementary)
091 – “How I Wrote That” Podcast Host Khanisha Foster (mp3)
090 – Touched By An Angel, A Prairie Home Companion Writer Ken LaZebnik (mp3)
089 – Kirby Buckets Co-Creator Mike Alber (mp3)
088 – Jimmy Kimmel Writer, 2nd Smartest in the World Rick Rosner (mp3)
086 – Automatic Pilot Author Bill Taub (mp3)
085 – San Diego Comic-Con Panel - How to Write a TV Pilot (mp3)
084 – Unseen Africa Pilot Producer/Host Francis Tapon (mp3)
083 – Bad Teacher Creator/Showrunner Hilary Winston (mp3)
082 – Caper Creator, Eureka Writer/Producer Amy Berg (mp3)
081 – Lost Co-Creator, Tuck Everlasting & Necessary Roughness Writer Jeffrey Lieber (mp3)
080 – UK Writers James Whitehouse & Hannah George (mp3)
079 – The Finder, The Good Guys Writer Aaron Ginsburg (mp3)
078 – The Client List Writer, Script Anatomy Consultant Tawnya Bhattacharya (mp3)
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