William Benson (actor)

William Benson
Born	William Benson (1970-03-25) March 25, 1970 (age 55) Lagos
Citizenship	Nigeria
Education	University of Lagos
Occupation	Filmmaking
Known for	Acting
Notable work	To Kill a Monkey Ajoche The Herbert Macaulay Affair The Fire and the Moth Dead Tide

William Benson (born March 25, 1970) is a Nigerian actor, theatre director, playwright and producer. It was said that the series that brought him to the limelight was To Kill a Monkey , which was produced by Kemi Adetiba and was shown on Netflix. ^[1] He played the lead role in the film as Efemini Edewor. ^[2] One of his films, Ajoche, was premiered on Africa Magic Showcase (DStv 151). ^[3]

Early life and education

He had his secondary school education at Apapa Senior High School and obtained West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). ^[4] He is a graduate of English Language and Literature from the University of Lagos. ^[5]

Filmography

William is regarded as a celebrated notable actor. ^{[6] [7]} He was also described as “frequently cast in intense, emotionally charged roles, leaders, anti-heroes, and historical figures, making him a go-to performer for prestige dramas and epics.” He featured in:

• The Fire and the Moth (2025) as Teriba Bello
• Osamede (2025)
• Dead Tide (2025)
• To Kill a Monkey (2025) ^{[8] [9]} as Efe
• All's Fair in Love (2024)
• House of Ga'a (2024) as Gbagi
• A Green Fever (2023) as Colonel Bashiru
• Obara’M (2022)
• Crime and Justice Lagos (2022) as Femi Biboye
• Flawsome (2022) as Inspector Kazeem
• Love Is War (2019) as Tunde Aina
• The Herbert Macaulay Affair (2019) ^[10]

References

1. "'To Kill A Monkey announce me' - William Benson". BBC News Pidgin. 2025-08-05. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
2. Ajayi, Faith (2025-08-15). "To kill a Monkey: William Benson speaks on betrayal, on-screen chemistry". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
3. "William Benson Archives - Chronicle.ng". chronicle.ng. 2025-10-17. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
4. crispng (2025-07-25). "William Benson: 10 things to know about To Kill a Monkey star". CrispNG. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
5. "William Benson - Nollywire". Nollywire. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
6. Telegraph-Admin, New (2024-03-29). "I Love Researching Our Cultural Heritage, Finding The Gaps – William Benson". New Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
7. Telegraph, New (2023-04-20). "I wanted to be recognised as Nigeria's Denzel Washington –Benson". New Telegraph. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
8. "PressReader.com - Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions". www.pressreader.com. Retrieved 2025-10-17.
9. Chukwueke, Johnson (2025-08-17). "WILLIAM BENSON – Owning the Screen - TheWill Downtown". TheWill Downtown. Retrieved 2025-10-18.
10. Adedayo, Adedamola (2025-09-04). "William Benson On Embodying Iyase in "Osamede"". The Culture Custodian (Est. 2014.). Retrieved 2025-10-17.