Contents [hideshow] 1. Biography 2. History BiographyThe character of Ben Bruckner (portrayed by actor/writer/producer Robert Gant) was created for the hit Showtime series, Queer as Folk His character first appeared in the 6th episode of season two, which aired in 2002. It was soon learned that Ben was a Professor of Gay studies at Carnegie Mellon University and the author of a book titled, RU12. He became involved with Michael Novotny, (portrayed by actor/musician Hal Sparks). Michael quickly discovered that Ben was HIV positive and after some soul searching he decided to enter into a committed relationship with him. Through the years, Ben and Michael had their ups and downs but loved each other and worked through their problems. In season 4, surrounded by their friends and family, Ben married Michael in Canada, where gay marriages are legal. They bought a house and adopted a son named Hunter (played by actor Harris Allan). Ben is a Buddhist and sometime vegetarian. He currently lives in Pittsburgh and he hopes to visit Tibet someday.HistoryRobert Gant, whose credits also include the film Save Me, and recurring and guest starring roles on various television series, had this to say about his character, Ben:Robert: I love many things about Ben. I love that he's spiritual. I relate to him in a lot of ways, you know we're both very focused on literature. He's a literature professor. The character description originally said that Ben is just as comfortable on the dance floor as he is in front of the classroom and I definitely relate to that! Robert has stated that his friends have also seen the similarities between himself and the character of Ben. Show less «