RICHARD BEYMER

Richard Beymer was a child actor who first appeared in Sandy Dreams, a Los Angeles TV sitcom that ran for three seasons. He would bag a few roles in movies and television shows before he clinched his first-ever major role that gave his career a push. In 1959, he starred as Peter Van Daan in The Diary of Anne Frank. He would later get more iconic roles such as Tony in West Side Story and Ben Horne from Twin Peaks. In his West Side Story role, Beymer once revealed that he lacked the knowledge in acting.

He also regarded some of his acting works as mere classroom work. Instead of grabbing leading roles, the actor revealed that he is not after the money and fame that comes with being a star. Beymer decided to retire from acting and focused on filmmaking. He made investments in learning the ins and outs of directing before going back to acting once in 1980. He balanced this with his filmmaking work, producing documentaries and self-publishing his own books. Some of his books talked about his struggles as an actor. Beymer is now living in Iowa where he does scripts, sculpting, and painting.