Ben Younger (born 7 October, 1972 in Brooklyn, New York) is a Jewish American screenwriter and film director.
Younger was raised in Brooklyn and educated at Queens College, part of the City University of New York, where he studied political science. While at university, he started performing stand-up comedy. After leaving university, he set his sights on a career in politics, taking on a role as a policy analyst for the New York City comptroller's office, where he served as a legislative aide to Alan Hevesi. After that, he successfully managed the State Assembly campaign for Queens Democrat Melinda Katz, becoming, at 21, the city's youngest ever campaign manager.
Despite his success, Younger became disenchanted with politics, and by 1995 started to seek a creative outlet that would rekindle the excitement he felt as a stand-up comedian. On a friend's advice, he wrote and directed two short films, L & M and Maestro, as well as working on a number of feature films as a grip, and directing music videos and commercials.
In 1995, he attended an interview for a job in a brokerage firm, and immediately conceived the idea that went on to become his first film, Boiler Room. He spent a year researching the underground telemarketing brokerage industry as background for his screenplay.
Boiler Room, which he also directed, was released in 2000. A corporate drama in the mold of Wall Street and Glengarry Glen Ross, with colorful dialogue that some critics compared to David Mamet , the film exposed the shady world of "chop shops" (underground brokerage firms), and starred Giovanni Ribisi, Vin Diesel, Nicky Katt, Jamie Kennedy, and Ben Affleck.
Younger's second film, Prime (2005), is a romantic comedy about the relationship between a young Jewish man and an older gentile woman. The film stars Uma Thurman and Meryl Streep. The movie was prominently featured in the HBO show Unscripted because Bryan Greenberg, star of Unscripted was also the male lead in Prime. Younger appeared as himself in the episodes where the movie was featured.
In addition to his film projects, Younger has been published in The New Yorker, and has sold a TV pilot to NBC. He is currently dating actress Vanessa Marcil. The couple live together in Los Angeles.
