Richard Beymer played Benjamin Horne in the original Twin Peaks series. Ben is the wealthy owner of the Great Northern Hotel and one of the town’s most powerful businessmen. His schemes connect the hotel, the department store Horne’s, the Ghostwood development, and the One-Eyed Jack’s casino and brothel.
Ben begins as an apparently respectable civic leader but is gradually revealed to be involved in numerous secretive and morally compromised dealings. His relationship with his brother Jerry, his family’s business ambitions, and his interactions with Audrey Horne all contribute to the series’ blend of melodrama and mystery.
Beymer had a substantial film career before Twin Peaks, including roles in West Side Story and The Longest Day. He returned as Ben Horne in Twin Peaks: The Return, where the character’s life and behavior had changed considerably.
Ben is sometimes confused with his son Johnny Horne or with hotel employee Jacques Renault. Those characters are separate roles played by different actors.