Dirk Benedict Dirk Benedict Dirk Benedict (born Dirk Niewoehner on March 1, 1945) is an American movie, television and stage actor and author. He is best known for playing the characters Lieutenant Templeton "Faceman" Peck in "The A-Team" television series and Lieutenant Starbuck in the original "Battlestar Galactica" film and television series. He is the author of "Confessions of a Kamikaze Cowboy" and "And Then We Went Fishing". Benedict was born Dirk Niewoehner in Helena, Montana, the son of Priscilla Mella (née Metzger), an accountant, and George Edward Niewoehner, a lawyer. He grew up in White Sulphur Springs, Montana. He graduated from
Bob Peck Martin - who had previously written the screenplay for the film "The Italian Job" and created the popular police procedural television series "Z-Cars" (in which Peck had appeared during the 1970s) - cast Peck in the starring role of policeman Ronald Craven in his television miniseries "Edge of Darkness". This crime drama/political thriller follows Peck's character as he attempts to unravel the truth behind the brutal murder of his daughter, portrayed in the series by Joanne Whalley. Another of Peck's co-stars in the series was US actor Joe Don Baker, along with fellow UK actors Charles Kay and Ian McNeice.