Ben McDonnell is a 34-year-old actor, podcaster, photographer and competitive barrel racer now competing on The Traitors: New Blood. The cast page sums him up as a Texas barrel racer, but that description only tells part of the story.
Before the cowboy hat and the ranch became his public image, Ben spent years in Los Angeles training in improv and chasing an acting career. He’s since built a life that blends horses, comedy, podcasting and performance, all of which shape how he says he plans to play a game built on deception.
Two episodes in, Ben remains in the competition as a Faithful. Here’s what’s confirmed about his background, his strategy, and how his season has actually gone so far.
Who Is Ben McDonnell?
Ben McDonnell is a 34-year-old actor, podcast host, photographer and competitive barrel racer, and a contestant on NBC’s The Traitors: New Blood. He was born in Maplewood, Minnesota, and now lives in the Granbury, Texas area, near a ranch outside Dallas.
His public identity spans more ground than a typical cast bio suggests. He’s a SAG-AFTRA actor with an active acting website, the host of the weekly podcast It’s Ben a Week, and a competitive barrel racer who owns horses and lives an animal-heavy ranch life.
How Old Is Ben McDonnell?
Ben was born on June 2, 1992, making him 34 as of the show’s September 2026 premiere. That date comes from his own official acting website rather than a public vital record, but it’s consistent with his reported age across cast materials.
Where Is Ben McDonnell From?
Ben was born in Maplewood, Minnesota, and is consistently described as Minnesota-born. Granbury, Texas is not his hometown of origin. It’s where he currently lives, on or near a ranch outside Dallas.
His path to Texas ran through Los Angeles, where he lived while pursuing acting and kept horses even during that period. He later relocated to the Granbury area, in part because it gave him far easier access to barrel racing than Los Angeles did. So Ben’s story involves three distinct places: Minnesota as his birthplace, Los Angeles as the place he built an acting career, and Granbury as his current home and the base for his barrel-racing and ranch life.
What Does Ben McDonnell Do?
Ben’s public profile is genuinely multidisciplinary. He’s an actor with SAG-AFTRA credits and an active acting website, a podcast host, a photographer, and a competitive barrel racer.
Barrel racing is central to his television image, but it isn’t necessarily his primary profession. Promotional materials describe him as a professional barrel racer, while his own site foregrounds his acting career and training. The most accurate description treats all of these as parts of the same identity: an actor, photographer, podcaster and competitive barrel racer, rather than a cowboy who happens to dabble in entertainment.
Ben McDonnell’s Barrel Racing Career
Barrel racing supplies the cowboy-hat image audiences see on The Traitors, but the full picture of Ben’s competitive résumé is thinner than that image suggests. No verified start date, competition record, earnings history or championship results were located for his barrel-racing career.
Some sources reference his participation across circuits including the National Barrel Horse Association, Better Barrel Races, Northern Region Futurity and United Barrel Racing Association, though that comes from his own biography rather than independent confirmation from those organizations. What’s better documented is his lifestyle around the sport: he owns horses, lives on a ranch near Dallas, and by one account keeps roughly 70 animals in total, including dogs, cats, goats, a mini cow and a pig, alongside his horses.
Ben has said the hat that’s become part of his television identity is practical rather than costume, worn for competition and photographs. He’s also said that years spent around horses taught him to read eyes and body language, a skill he’s connected directly to how he approaches people in the game.
Ben McDonnell’s Entertainment Career
Ben moved to Los Angeles to pursue acting and trained under The Groundlings, the well-known improv and sketch-comedy school, as well as with acting coach Lesly Kahn. The exact timeline of when he moved, and whether his acting career or his barrel racing came first, isn’t clearly documented.
His most notable verified credit is an appearance in the 2015 Will Smith feature Concussion, though the scale of that role hasn’t been independently confirmed. He’s also been connected to The Bay, What Would You Do?, Class Act, and a 2024 project called Pillars of Privilege. Ben has directed and produced his own documentary, titled I.
His active acting website, complete with a reel and agent contacts, suggests he continues to market himself as a working actor alongside his other pursuits.
Ben McDonnell’s Podcast
Ben hosts It’s Ben a Week, a weekly podcast that mixes candid personal stories, comedy and interviews. The show describes itself as unfiltered and unpredictable, and it remains active, with new episodes published in 2026 and a presence on Apple and iHeart.
Guests have reportedly ranged widely, and one recent episode featured a guest connected to Hood County Christmas for Children, covering charity work in Granbury. In a birthday and Pride-themed episode, Ben publicly came out as gay and discussed bullying, self-acceptance and LGBTQ+ visibility. That episode adds a layer of personal openness to his public persona that goes well beyond the “Texas barrel racer” shorthand.
Why Did Ben McDonnell Join The Traitors: New Blood?
Ben has described the castle experience as “an adult Disneyland” and called himself an all-or-nothing person when it comes to opportunities like this. He’s spoken enthusiastically about the show and host Alan Cumming, and has said he’d rewatched a season before joining, though there’s no direct quote establishing him as a longtime superfan.
Beyond enthusiasm for the format, his more detailed motivations for applying haven’t been documented in available sourcing.
Ben McDonnell’s Strategy on The Traitors
Ben said he wanted to be a Traitor, calling it the more fun role to play. His broader plan centered on becoming what he called a “social butterfly”: using humor, friendliness and practical usefulness to build broad trust rather than standing out as a threat.
He described his approach with a playful reference to his own “Gemini split personality,” the idea that he could become everyone’s friend while quietly working against them. That’s Ben’s own lighthearted self-description, not a factual account of his psychology.
His stated plan involved being “a little bit of comedic relief,” acting as a supportive presence for other contestants, and making himself valuable in physical challenges, given his size. He expected people to see him as a useful, easygoing presence rather than a strategic threat, which he hoped would work in his favor if he ended up in the Traitor role.
Does Ben’s Humor Help Him on The Traitors?
Humor is central to how Ben describes his approach to the game: a way to defuse tension, build relationships, and avoid drawing suspicion. That’s a clear part of his stated strategy.
What hasn’t yet been documented is a specific instance from the aired episodes where his humor demonstrably changed a vote, secured an alliance, or helped him escape suspicion. Through two episodes, Ben has stayed out of the season’s central conflicts, which is consistent with a low-profile, socially agreeable approach, but it isn’t strong enough evidence to credit humor specifically for that outcome.
Ben McDonnell’s “Social Butterfly” Personality
Ben’s self-declared superlative is “The Social Butterfly.” In his own words, his plan was to use humor, broad friendliness and physical usefulness to make himself an asset in the game rather than an early target.
He’s also said he considers himself “a great liar,” pointing to an elaborate story from after college: he told his parents he’d landed a major Los Angeles advertising internship, had them fund an apartment and an allowance, staged photos outside an office and photoshopped a badge, all while actually pursuing his life in Los Angeles on his own terms. He’s said his parents still didn’t know the truth at the time of that interview.
That story demonstrates Ben is comfortable sustaining an elaborate deception over time. It’s a revealing pre-show anecdote, but it isn’t proof of how he’s actually playing the game inside the castle.
Is Ben McDonnell a Traitor or Faithful?
Ben is a Faithful. He was not selected as one of the season’s original Traitors, a role that went to Joe Vanella and Tomica Adams, and he wasn’t named one of the two Accomplice Traitors either. This will be updated if his role changes later in the season.
Ben McDonnell on The Traitors: New Blood
Spoilers through Episode 2 of The Traitors: New Blood follow.
Episode 1
Ben entered the castle with the full 22-person civilian cast and took part in the season’s opening mission, which banked $50,000 for the group. He wasn’t selected as one of the original Traitors. No source identifies him as a standout decision-maker in the mission, and no significant suspicion attached to him in the premiere.
Episode 2
Ben remained in the game through the season’s first murder and first Roundtable. Kim Daily was murdered, and Madeline Kostopulos, a Faithful, was banished, with the decisive shift in that vote attributed to Kriste Lewis’s interpretation of a comment Madeline made. Ben wasn’t a central figure in that conflict, and his individual vote hasn’t been confirmed in available recaps.
Through two episodes, Ben’s clearest storyline is simply surviving without becoming a target, consistent with a socially agreeable, behind-the-scenes approach, though not yet a dramatic arc of his own.
Ben McDonnell’s Pre-Season Strategy vs. Actual Gameplay
Ben’s stated plan and his documented gameplay overlap in a limited but consistent way. He said he wanted to build broad social trust and avoid becoming a target, and through two episodes he hasn’t been a focus of suspicion or conflict.
Beyond that, several parts of his plan remain unconfirmed. No specific alliance has been named, no moment has shown his humor directly shifting a vote or defusing a confrontation, and no evidence yet shows his claimed skill at reading eyes and body language producing a documented read on another contestant. His survival so far is real, but it’s too early to say his social strategy is the reason for it.
Ben McDonnell’s Relationships and Alliances
No specific alliances, trusted contestants, or suspects tied to Ben have been reliably documented through Episode 2. He also hasn’t been identified as a major suspect or target by other contestants in available coverage.
This section will be updated as his relationships and strategic connections become clearer in later episodes.
Ben McDonnell’s Social Media
Ben’s Instagram account, referenced in local coverage as @mcdonnellben, includes a post reading “Yee-Haw! Let the rodeo begin” announcing his appearance on The Traitors. A verification badge hasn’t been independently confirmed for the account.
His podcast, It’s Ben a Week, maintains its own presence as @itsbenaweek on Instagram and TikTok. His professional content generally centers on acting, ranch and barrel-racing life, photography, podcasting and personal storytelling, including the Pride episode in which he came out publicly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is Ben McDonnell? Ben McDonnell is 34 years old, born June 2, 1992, according to his own official website.
Where is Ben McDonnell from? He was born in Maplewood, Minnesota, and now lives in the Granbury, Texas area, near a ranch outside Dallas.
What does Ben McDonnell do for a living? He’s an actor, podcast host, photographer and competitive barrel racer, a combination that goes well beyond his “Texas cowboy” cast-page description.
Is Ben McDonnell a professional barrel racer? He’s described as a competitive barrel racer in promotional materials, though a full competition record hasn’t been independently verified, and it isn’t clear that racing is his primary income source.
Is Ben McDonnell an actor? Yes. He trained at The Groundlings and with acting coach Lesly Kahn, and has verified credits including an appearance in the 2015 film Concussion.
Does Ben McDonnell have a podcast? Yes, he hosts It’s Ben a Week, an active weekly podcast mixing comedy, candid stories and interviews.
Is Ben McDonnell a Traitor or Faithful? Ben is a Faithful. He wasn’t selected as one of the season’s original Traitors or Accomplices.
Is Ben McDonnell still on The Traitors? Yes, he remains in the competition through Episode 2, having survived the first murder and Roundtable.
What is Ben McDonnell’s strategy on The Traitors? He planned to use humor and broad social friendliness to make himself valuable and unthreatening, aiming to become what he calls a “social butterfly” while quietly working against others if given the chance.
Why does Ben McDonnell want to be a Traitor? He’s said he considers the Traitor role more fun and preferred it over playing as a Faithful heading into the season.
