# Jimmy Bennett

James Michael Bennett (born February 9, 1996) is an American actor. He is known for his roles as a child actor in Daddy Day Care, Hostage, The Amityville Horror, Poseidon, Evan Almighty, Orphan, Shorts, and as young James T. Kirk in the 2009 film Star Trek. He also starred on the ABC series No Ordinary Family as JJ Powell, a teenager gifted with vast intelligence after a plane crash.

## Life and career

Bennett was born on February 9, 1996, in Seal Beach, California, and lives with his parents and sister in Huntington Beach, California, where the family ran a hard rock–themed crêpe restaurant. Bennett also plays guitar and sings on his official YouTube channel. He also wrote and performed the song "Summer Never Ends", which can be heard at the end of Shorts.
Bennett appeared in nearly 30 television advertisements, as well as in episodes of the television series The Guardian and Strong Medicine, before being cast in the role of "Tony", the boy who wants to be the Flash, in the Eddie Murphy comedy Daddy Day Care. He had smaller roles in the films Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy and Arthur Hailey's Detective, and also appeared in Judging Amy, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and Everwood, and lent his voice to characters in the animated films The Polar Express, The Jungle Book 2, Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo, Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie and I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown. He has been nominated for Young Artist Awards five times.
In August 2011, Bennett released his debut single "Over Again" and the accompanying music video.

## Personal life
### Sexual assault allegations against Asia Argento

According to documents obtained by The New York Times, a $380,000 settlement was made between Bennett and actress Asia Argento after Bennett claimed that Argento sexually assaulted him in a California hotel room in 2013, when he was 17 and Argento was 37. Bennett said that after the encounter he began to feel "extremely confused, mortified, and disgusted".
Bennett's lawyer wrote that in the years after the incident, Bennett was so traumatized that his job performance, income, and mental health declined. They first met when Bennett played Argento's son in the 2004 film The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things when Bennett was seven years old. He notified Argento that he intended to sue in November 2017, shortly after she went public with rape accusations against Harvey Weinstein. Argento countered that Bennett "sexually attacked" her, and that her partner Anthony Bourdain had arranged to pay $380,000 as part of the settlement.
Following Argento's denials, a photograph of her topless in bed with Bennett was published, as well as her alleged admission of sex with him in text messages to model Rain Dove. In the screenshots, Argento reputedly stated: "I had sex with him it felt weird. I didn't know he was a minor until the shakedown letter." Dove confirmed in a statement that they had provided the texts to police in response to Argento's apparent admission to "sexual engagement with a minor ... which is an illegal act that can qualify as statutory rape," as well as "receiving continued nude images without reporting/blocking the account/written rejection/or action."
In a letter published online in September 2018, Argento's attorney admitted there was a sexual encounter, but claimed Bennett "sexually attacked" Argento.
As of September 2018, Bennett and his lawyer Gordon Sattro were working with a Los Angeles County Sheriff's investigation regarding the claims of sexual assault against Argento.

## Filmography

Film roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | The Jungle Book 2 | Hathi Jr. | Voice |
| 2003 | Daddy Day Care | The Flash/Tony | |
| 2004 | Winnie the Pooh: Springtime with Roo | Roo | Voice |
| 2004 | The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things | Young Jeremiah | |
| 2004 | Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy | Tommy | |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | Billy the Lonely Boy | Voice |
| 2005 | Hostage | Tommy Smith | |
| 2005 | The Amityville Horror | Michael Lutz | |
| 2005 | Pooh's Heffalump Halloween Movie | Roo | Voice |
| 2006 | Firewall | Andy Stanfield | |
| 2006 | Poseidon | Conor James | |
| 2006 | Shark Bait | Young Pi | Voice |
| 2007 | Evan Almighty | Ryan Baxter | |
| 2007 | South of Pico | Mark Weston | |
| 2008 | Diminished Capacity | Dillon | |
| 2008 | Snow Buddies | Buddha | Voice |
| 2008 | Trucker | Peter | |
| 2009 | Star Trek | Young James T. Kirk | |
| 2009 | Orphan | Daniel "Danny" Coleman | |
| 2009 | Shorts | Toby Thompson | |
| 2009 | Alabama Moon | Moon Blake | |
| 2009 | Stolen | John Wakefield | |
| 2010 | Bones | Bones White | |
| 2011 | Ghild | Ralph Gullivan | Short film |
| 2013 | Movie 43 | Nathan | Segment: "Middleschool Date" |
| 2014 | Camouflage | Kevin | |
| 2015 | Bad Asses on the Bayou | Ronald | |
| 2015 | A Girl Like Her | Brian Slater | |
| 2017 | Heartthrob | Dustin | |
Television roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2002 | Strong Medicine | Willy | Episode: "Admissions" |
| 2002 | The Guardian | Matty Butler | Episode: "Monster" |
| 2003 | Judging Amy | Cory Sinkler | Episode: "Just Say Oops" |
| 2003 | I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown | Rerun Van Pelt | Voice, television special |
| 2004 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Henry Turner | Episode: "Paper or Plastic?" |
| 2004–05 | Everwood | Sam Feeney | 3 episodes |
| 2005 | Detective | Ivan Tempone | Television film |
| 2006 | He's a Bully, Charlie Brown | Rerun van Pelt | Voice, television special |
| 2007 | Gilmore Girls | Macon | Episode: "Santa's Secret Stuff" |
| 2010–11 | No Ordinary Family | James "JJ" Powell, Jr. | Main cast; 20 episodes |
| 2011 | Breaking In | | Episode: "21.0 Jump Street" |
| 2012 | Perception | Alex Willingham | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Garfunkel and Oates | Braden | Episode: "Maturity" |
| 2015 | Murder in the First | Alfie Rentman | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | From Dusk till Dawn: The Series | Fanglorious Bandmate | 1 episode |
| 2017 | Bosch | Mojo | 4 episodes |
| 2022 | Pachinko | Andrew Holmes | Episode: "Chapter Seven" |
Video game roles :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2004 | The Polar Express | Billy the Lonely Boy | |
| 2005 | Winnie the Pooh's Rumbly Tumbly Adventure | Roo | |
| 2006 | Kingdom Hearts II | Roo | English dub |
| 2007 | Kingdom Hearts II: Final Mix+ | Roo | English dub |
Music Video Appearance :
| Title | Year | Performer | Album | Ref. |
| "Stingray Affliction" | 2014 | Issues | Issues | |
| "Downfalls High" | 2021 | Machine Gun Kelly | Tickets To My Downfall | |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 2004 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actor Age Ten or Younger | Daddy Day Care | Nominated |
| 2004 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast | Daddy Day Care | Nominated |
| 2005 | Young Artist Award | Outstanding Young Ensemble in a New Medium | The Polar Express | Won |
| 2007 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Actor Age Ten or Younger | Firewall | Nominated |
| 2008 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Supporting Young Actor (Comedy or Musical) | Evan Almighty | Nominated |
| 2010 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actor | Alabama Moon | Nominated |
| 2010 | Young Artist Award | Best Performance in a Feature Film – Young Ensemble Cast | Shorts | Won |
| 2014 | Golden Raspberry Award | Worst Screen Combo (shared with the entire cast) | Movie 43 | Nominated |