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Eriq La Salle (Dr Peter Benton)
Two days into the filming of ER, the producers had not yet cast the regular role of the self-assured Dr. Benton. Eriq La Salle decided to seize the moment. "I was surprisingly calm," says Eriq, "When casting waits that long, they're basically waiting for someone to come in and take the role. I was ready and completely focused. I came into the office with a stethoscope and surgical greens I had left over from The Human Factor (a previous medical series in which he played a doctor). When I left, I wanted them to say, 'That's Dr. Benton.'" Three days later, Eriq suited up again—this time on the set of ER as Peter Benton Eriq was born and raised in Hartford, Connecticut, one of four children. He remembers how, in the third grade, his usually boisterous classmates were transfixed while they watched his cousin perform a dance. Eriq decided, "There was something about that experience I wanted to know more about." In 1984, after studying for two years at Juilliard, he received a B.F.A. in theater arts from New York University. Just before his graduation, he was cast in the first of several productions for Joseph Papp's Shakespeare in the Park theater company. Weeks later he landed his first feature-film role, in a low-budget Italian movie shot in Florida. He soon found continuous acting work on Broadway, off-Broadway and in the daytime TV drama One Life to Live as reporter Mike Rivers. In 1991 Eriq moved to Los Angeles star in the drama series The Human Factor. He piled up TV credits by guest-starring on L.A. Law, Quantum Leap and A Different World, as well as in HBO's Vietnam War Stories. Among his TV-movie credits are Empty Cradle, Circumstantial Evidence, What Price Victory? and Leg Work. His feature films include Coming to America, Five Corners, Jacob's Ladder, The Color of Night and D.R.O.P. Squad. Eriq is also making his mark in Hollywood as a director of film and television projects. He wrote and directed Psalms from the Underground, a 35-minute short film in which he also starred. He also directed the HBO movie Rebound, a story about legendary athlete Earl Manigault, whose drug addiction destroyed his promising basketball career. Eriq has written, directed and produced two short films that won awards at the Worldfest Houston film competition and the USA Film Festival. Recently, Eriq co-produced the television movie Mind Prey, in which he stars as Lucas Davenport, the policeman made famous in a series of mystery novels by John Sandford. In his free time, Eriq enjoys shooting pool and working out (he used to compete in martial arts). His birthday is July 23rd.