Ben Sinclair

Ben Sinclair was an actor and writer who helped to prove that the internet is a viable path to wider, mainstream success. Sinclair began acting in 2010, making cameo appearances on the medical drama "Mercy" (NBC, 2009-2010) and the beloved police procedural "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (NBC, 1999-). That same year, he married casting director Katja Blichfeld, who would also become his closest artistic collaborator. Thanks to Blichfeld's day job as a casting agent on "30 Rock" (NBC, 2006-2013), Sinclair landed a small role on the show's 100th episode, playing a character known only as "Brooklyn Idiot." In 2012, Sinclair and Blichfeld co-created the sitcom "High Maintenance," in which Sinclair played "The Guy," a bike currier for a weed dealing service, with each episode focusing around one customer that The Guy delivers weed to, usually in the Brooklyn area. After being unable to attract the attention of the major networks, Sinclair and Blichfeld decided to distribute the series themselves on the web, through the platform Vimeo. Meanwhile, Sinclair continued to act in other projects, including the TV shows "The Big C" (Showtime, 2010-2013) and "Delocated" (Adult Swim, 2008-2013), as well as films like "Safe" (2012), "The Happy Sad" (2013), and "All Over It" (2015). By 2015, "High Maintenance" had been running for six seasons on Vimeo, and was becoming something of a cult hit. The show was written up in blogs and magazines, and attracted a number of celebrity fans, including Dan Stevens, Jenji Kohan, and Lena Dunham, the star/creator of "Girls" (HBO, 2012-17), who helped convince HBO to pick up the series. The revamped "High Maintenance" (HBO, 2016-), premiered on HBO in 2016, with Sinclair and Blichfeld as show runners, and Sinclair once again reprising the role of "The Guy."