Benson made his film debut in the lead of the middling Western "Jory" (1972) but garnered attention as the star of the teen drama "Jeremy" (1973). He managed to survive the mishmash of the Burt Reynolds-Liza Minnelli vehicle "Lucky Lady" (1975). By this time, Benson had become the ranking wholesome young leading man and he gradually began to attempt slightly more challenging material. "Ode to Billy Joe" (1976) cast him as confused youth who commits suicide. With his father, he co-wrote one of his better screen efforts "One on One" (1977), about a college basketball star who falls for his tutor (Annette O'Toole). Benson went on to add a variety of credits to his resume, including composer (scoring "Walk Proud" 1979) and producer ("Die Laughing" 1980). He also scored in roles ranging from a rebellious hockey player in the schmaltzy "Ice Castles" (1978) to Jack Lemmon's uptight son in "Tribute" (1980) to an Hassidic scholar in "The Chosen" (1981) to Paul Newman's ne'er-do-well offspring in "Harry and Son" (1984).
After undergoing heart surgery in 1984, Benson attempted to find TV stardom, but the sitcom "Tough Cookies" (CBS, 1986) proved unworthy of his talents. He turned to directing with "White Hot" (1988), which failed to achieve national release but is historically notable as the first American film shot directly onto High Definition Video. His second film, "Modern Romance" (1990), bordered on home movies as it featured family and friends, but it also displayed his growing ease behind the camera. He further honed his directorial abilities helming episodes of sitcoms like "Dream On", "Friends", "Ellen" and "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch". Benson continued to act, however, but ironically he did not actually appear in the biggest hit with which he has been associated--Disney's "Beauty and the Beast" (1991) which was greatly enhanced by his surprising voice performance as the Beast. He reprised the role in the 1997 direct-to-video release "Beauty and the Beast: The Enchanted Christmas".