In Night of the Living Dead, who played Ben, the group’s main defender?

Duane Jones played Ben, the group’s main defender in Night of the Living Dead.

George A. Romero’s 1968 film follows Ben after he reaches an isolated farmhouse while mysterious undead attackers begin surrounding it. Jones’s Ben quickly becomes the most practical and decisive survivor, especially during conflicts over whether the group should remain upstairs or hide in the cellar.

Jones was a relatively unknown stage actor when he accepted the role. His casting was significant because the film did not make Ben’s race a central plot point, an unusual choice for a leading character in a major American horror film of that era.

Night of the Living Dead was made on a small budget in Pittsburgh and became a landmark of independent cinema. Ben is sometimes mistakenly associated with later zombie-film heroes played by Ken Foree or Tony Todd, but those actors appeared in different productions.