Wesley Cook Bentley was an unknown actor at first before experiencing an explosive career launch with his starring role as Ricky Fitts in the 1999 "American Beauty". His acting in the drama flick was well reviewed and he won National Board of Review Award for Best Male Breakthrough Performance, Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast, and Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. Greater than that, the September 4, 1978 born star was also nominated for an MTV and BAFTA Awards.

Almost immediately after propelling to stardom, Bentley was addicted to drugs and alcohol. This led to his divorce from actress wife Jennifer Quanz in 2009. The couple who wed in 2001 had no children together. The Jonesboro, Arkansas-bred went on marrying producer Jacqui Swedberg in 2010, with whom he has a son, Charles, born later that same year.

During the course of his substance abuse, Bentley went on appearing in such films, as "Soul Survivors", "The Four Feathers", "Ghost Rider", "P2", "The Tomb", and "Dolan's Cadillac". He admitted that at that time he worked sporadically, just enough to pay bills and buy drugs. After an arrest in 2008 and counseling programs, he rebuilt his career by starring in the Off-Broadway premier of the play "Venus in Fur" in 2012. In the same year, he had starring roles in "Gone" and "The Hunger Games". In the following years Bentley continued filming roles in "Cesar Chavez" (2013), "Interstellar" (2014), "We Are Your Friends" (2015), also "Broken Vows" (2015).