  benjamin bowmar curtis (born november 2, 1980), also known as the dell dude or slacker steve, is an american actor and former promoter for dell computers. curtis was prominently featured in the popular "dell dude" ads from 2000 to 2003. ==early life and education== curtis is the second of two children, and has an older sister named molly. he attended and graduated from the mccallie school, an all-boys school in chattanooga, tennessee, after completing elementary school at saint nicholas school, also in chattanooga. at four years old, curtis met illusionist david copperfield. inspired by copperfield's performance, curtis started his own magic business at the age of thirteen. curtis went on to compete in and win a few national stage contests. curtis later attended tannen's magic school in new york city. while at the school, ben created, produced, directed, and starred in his first full-scale illusion show. the show consisted of his skills in music, acting, magic, and mime. at age 18, ben achieved the rank of eagle scout. curtis attended new york university's tisch school of the arts on an acting scholarship. while at nyu, ben has attended the lee strasberg institute & the atlantic theater company, as well as studying the techniques of grotowski and brecht at tischâs experimental theater wing (both in america and amsterdam). ==the dell dude== as part of a commercial advertising campaign, curtis portrayed the character steven. this advertising campaign popularized the phrase "dude, you're getting a dell." the commercials would usually feature chipper steven informing prospective buyers of all the perks of owning a dell. when the party was sold on the idea he would close with the catchphrase "dude, you're getting a dell". the campaign was a huge success and not only helped bring prominence to dell, but to curtis as well."the mystery of the dell dude."&nbsp;â by rob walker&nbsp;â slate magazine ==arrest== on february 9, 2003, curtis was caught attempting to buy a bag of marijuana on manhattan's lower east side.{{cite web | title = dell dude' released after marijuana arrest | publisher = cnn | date = 2003-02-11 | accessdate = 2008-01-14 | url = http://www.cnn.com/2003/law/02/10/dell.dude.arrest/index.html| archiveurl= http://web.archive.org/web/20080120111820/http://www.cnn.com/2003/law/02/10/dell.d
1980_births American_male_television_actors Eagle_Scouts Living_people Male_actors_from_Tennessee People_from_Chattanooga,_Tennessee Tisch_School_of_the_Arts_alumni