Parents: Jordan Rydell and Suzanne Rogers

Siblings: Heather Rydell

Relationships: Scott Kelly, Sierra Merteuil

Appearances: Seasons 4 – 6

Who’d Play Him: Darin Brooks

The Boy No One Could Save: The son of powerful producer Jordan Rydell and actress Suzanne Rogers, Benji grew up carrying wounds he never fully understood. At five years old, he witnessed Suzanne kill Jordan’s half brother, Troy, while acting under the hypnotic control of Victor Distefano. Jordan concealed the crime and sent Suzanne to a clinic in Switzerland, allowing Benji to believe his mother had abandoned him. He was then sent away to boarding school, spending most of his childhood separated from both parents.

Benji returned to Los Angeles after being expelled from his Swiss boarding school. Handsome, brooding, and accustomed to using his painful childhood to excuse his behavior, he spent his nights drinking, partying, and provoking scandal. Jordan repeatedly demanded that he accept responsibility for his life, but guilt over sending him away made it difficult for him to enforce consequences. Benji also had a casual affair with actor Scott Kelly and encouraged him to spread a false story about sleeping with Alex Reynolds, demonstrating how easily he could turn intimacy into manipulation.

Benji became infatuated with Sierra Merteuil after meeting her at a polo match. Although Renee warned Sierra about his history, she remained drawn to him. During the earthquake at Hotel Terranova, Benji risked his life to carry an unconscious Sierra from the wreckage, revealing a heroic and tender side beneath his recklessness. Their connection intensified despite Sierra’s relationship with Malcolm Harris and the objections of both families.

His relationship with Sierra became increasingly possessive and unstable. Benji’s jealousy, violent temper, and fear of abandonment repeatedly drove her away. He attacked a homeless man during a fit of rage and secretly arranged for Suzanne’s private manuscript, Valley of Temptation, to be published, hoping to expose her affair with Brett and punish her for judging him. Suzanne responded by throwing him out and cutting him off, while Jordan reluctantly supported her decision.

Benji also moved within a dangerous circle of privileged young people that included Blake Distefano, Duke Summerfield, Jeff Branigan, and Sheldon Novak. At Magnum Rainer’s birthday party, Summer falsely accused Benji of attacking her, leading Blake to punch his best friend. After Jeff drugged Sierra, Benji confronted him, and their fight ended with Jeff being struck and killed by a car as Benji tried to push Sierra out of the way. Later, at Renee’s urging, Benji framed Hunt Roberts as an informant, leading to Hunt’s disappearance and presumed murder.

Despite the danger surrounding them, Benji and Sierra continued returning to one another. They impulsively married in Las Vegas, but the marriage was soon revealed to be invalid. Renee exposed Benji’s worst actions in an effort to separate them, and Sierra began pulling away after becoming frightened by his temper. Jordan finally cut Benji off financially and emotionally, believing that continued indulgence would only enable him.

When Suzanne and members of the New Abbott compound robbed Jordan’s home, Jordan immediately blamed Benji. He contacted the police, hoping an arrest would frighten his son into changing. Benji insisted he was innocent, but even Blake no longer trusted him after learning that he had threatened Sheldon Novak with a gun. With nowhere left to turn, Benji became convinced that Sierra was replacing him with Ashton Childers.

Benji begged Sierra to meet him at the Hollywood Bowl overlook and pleaded for another chance. When she refused, he shot and killed her, believing that ending her life would also end the pain of losing her. He fled but was soon arrested in connection with the robbery. After police connected him to Sierra’s murder, Benji escaped, stole a patrol car, and led authorities on a high-speed chase through Los Angeles.

During the pursuit, Benji called Jordan. Finally understanding the enormity of what he had done, he listened as his father begged him to surrender and come home. Benji believed there was no life left for him and crashed the police car into a support beneath the 101. He died after emergency surgery, leaving Jordan to grieve his son he had loved but repeatedly failed to reach. Jordan’s guilt deepened when he learned that Benji had been innocent of the robbery that prompted him to call the police.

Blake was also devastated by Benji’s death. Best friends since kindergarten, they had shared a bond Blake only fully understood after Benji was gone. In his grief, Blake privately admitted that he had been in love with him, adding another tragic dimension to a life marked by affection that was rarely expressed honestly.

Benji could be charming, brave, and fiercely devoted, but every rejection reopened the abandonment he had carried since childhood. His tragedy was not that no one loved him; it was that love alone could not overcome his violence, jealousy, and refusal to accept responsibility. By the time Benji understood how completely he had destroyed his life, there was no one left who could save him.