Jack Bender

Jack Bender
Bender at the San Diego Comic-Con International in July 2011.
Born	(1949-09-25) September 25, 1949 (age 67) Los Angeles, California, United States
Occupation	Television director, television producer, film director, television writer, actor
Years active	1971–present
Spouse(s)	Laura Owens
Children	Hannah Owens-Bender

Jack Bender (born September 25, 1949) is an American television and film director, television producer and former actor. Best known for his work as a director on Lost, The Sopranos and Game of Thrones.

Bender grew up in a secular Jewish family in Los Angeles. His father was a furrier to the Hollywood community. He studied art with Los Angeles artist Martin Lubner (spouse of actress Joanna Merlin) and then went into acting "because it seemed like what I could do and make a living." As an actor, Bender guest-starred on All in the Family, The Bob Newhart Show and The Mary Tyler Moore Show. He co-starred in The Million Dollar Duck, Savage and McNaughton's Daughter. He then went into directing, working on a number of television series.

He was an executive producer and lead director on the ABC TV series Lost, directing 38 episodes of the show, including the series finale. Bender has also directed on other popular shows such as The Sopranos,Carnivàle, Alias and Boston Public. In recent years he was an executive producer and lead director on the TV series Under the Dome (2013) and The Last Ship (2014-15). In 2016, Bender directed the fifth and sixth episodes of the sixth season of Game of Thrones, followed by a limited TV series adaptation of Stephen King's novel Mr. Mercedes.