Benjamin ‘Benjie’ McNair was born 25 August 1974, in London, and moved to Australia with his family when he was 18 months old. He later developed an interest in performing and began
studies at the Australian Theatre for Young People and completed a season at the NIDA Summer School in Sydney.
Before his role on Neighbours, Benjie appeared in several television adverts as well as guest roles in television shows such as G.P. and Home and Away. In 1994 he started filming with Neighbours as Malcolm Kennedy,
the eldest son in the family and stayed with the show for 2 and a half years.
Benjie left the soap in 1997, and since leaving Neighbours, he has continued acting on television and stage. He was cast as Joseph in the original The Secret Life of Us tele-movie in 2001 and later played him during the first season of
the television series of the same name. In the UK he appeared in the Christmas pantos of Cinderella and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Benjie has also guest-starred in many Australian television series such as All Saints in 1999, Something in the Air in 2001, and Blue Heelers in 2000, 2002 and 2005. Benjie also appeared in Marshall Law in 2002,
Stingers in 2004, and Last Man Standing in 2005. Also during 2005, Benjie appeared in the children’s series Wicked Science and co-starred in the short film Umbrella Men.
Benjie has also continued to perform on stage, returning to England to play the role of Ferdinand in the Stafford Summer Festival's production of Shakespeare's The Tempestin 1999. He has also appeared in Broken, Blowback,
Next Best Thing, and as seven different characters in the black comedy The Steve Promise Story, as well as Benji doing several voiceover jobs for various radio and television adverts.
Benjie has also returned to Neighbours on five occasions since leaving the regular cast; for short stints in 2002 and 2004, and for a cameo appearance in the show's 2005 20th anniversary celebrations. He returned again in 2011 for
a four-month stint, and in 2014 he came back to celebrate 20 years of the Kennedy family.
Benjie currently lives in Australia, is married and has three children.
Profile by Kyle
Back
