Instead of students going to places like USC, NYU, AFI, I would love them to start thinking about coming to IU-to learn how to tell their stories.

Robby Benson recently joined the IU faculty as a professor of practice. Now in his fifth decade in show business, on Broadway he starred in Zelda, The Rothschilds, and Joseph Papp's production of The Pirates of Penzance. His more than 30 films include Ice Castles, Ode to Billy Joe, and The Chosen, and he was the voice of the Beast in Disney's Beauty and the Beast. Over the years he has co-starred with Paul Newman, Jack Lemmon, Burt Reynolds, Gene Hackman, George Burns, Maximillan Schell, and Rod Steiger.

Benson also has directed feature films and television, including episodes of Friends and Ellen. He's the author of the novel Who Stole the Funny? and the memoir I'm Not Dead . . . Yet!