Peter Benton

Peter Benton
Eriq La Salle as Peter Benton
First appearance	19 September 1994 (1x01, "24 Hours")
Last appearance	02 April 2009 (15x22, "And in the end...")
Portrayed by	Eriq La Salle
Information
Occupation	Surgeon
Title	Resident (1994-1999) Trauma Fellow (1999-2000) Attending (2000-2001)
Family	Cleo Finch (wife) Mae Benton (mother; deceased) Jackie Robbins (sister) Walter Robbins (brother-in-law) Jesse Robbins (nephew; deceased) Joanie Robbins (niece) Steven Robbins (nephew)
Children	Reese Benton
Born	1965

Dr. Peter Benton is a fictional character that was a regular on the television series ER for its first eight seasons and appeared in two episodes of the show's final season. He was played by Eriq La Salle. Benton was often portrayed as arrogant and irritable, but is nevertheless an exceptionally talented surgeon who is passionate about medicine. It is also revealed that he and fellow emergency room physician Mark Greene had attended medical school together. Benton's last appearance as a series regular was in the Season 8 episode "I'll Be Home For Christmas". La Salle's removal from the opening credits as an ongoing regular was in the 11th episode of season 8; however, Benton appeared in the credits of the 15th episode of season 8, in which he is shown talking to Elizabeth Corday, and the 21st episode, in which he appears at Mark Greene's funeral. He also appears later in season 15.

Although Benton was an original character, according to an interview La Salle gave in 1997, he was cast late in the role, after the first season had already started filming. He recalled, "I was surprisingly calm. When casting waits that long, they're basically waiting for someone to come in and take the role. I was ready and completely focused. I came into the office with a stethoscope and surgical greens I had left over from [a previous role in] The Human Factor. When I left, I wanted them to say 'That's Dr. Benton'". Within three days of his audition, La Salle was offered the role of Dr. Benton.

The name of the character was inspired by The Peter Bent Brigham Hospital (now part of the Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts) which was a teaching hospital for Harvard Medical School, where series originator Michael Crichton studied medicine, although (perhaps coincidentally) the birth name of Crichton's wife at the time, Anne-Marie Martin, was also Benton.