Eriq La Salle
 (Dr. Peter Benton)

Intense, steady, and slow to show any emotion, Dr. Peter Benton's demands on others are only a shadow of the demands he places on himself. Above all a brilliant surgical resident, Benton is an ardent perfectionist with little tolerance for second-rate work from anyone.

Multiple Emmy and NAACP Image Award nominee for his role as Dr. Peter Benton (1994-), Eriq La Salle has worked extensively in feature films, television and on the stage. He received critical acclaim as the director the HBO telefilm Rebound the story of basketball legend Earl "The Goat" Manigault. He's has appeared in numerous television productions, with a regular role in the series The Human Factor. His other television credits include the telefilms Empty Cradle, Circumstantial Evidence, What Price Victory, Leg Work, War Stories, the after-school special Teen Father and Mind Prey, as well as guest-starring roles in the series Quantum Leap, L.A. Law, A Different World and the daytime dramas One Life to Live and As the World Turns. La Salle has appeared in stage productions of Joe Turner's Come and Gone at Center Stage and Death and the Kings' Horseman at the Lincoln Center Theatre. His film appearances include Jacob's Ladder, Drop Squad, Color of Night, Psalms From the Underground, One Hour Photo and Crazy as Hell.