Benjamin

"Apparently, I'm a hot commodity. It appears I have to win the right to be free."

- Benjamin on his freedom

Benjamin is a member of the Egyptian Coven, created by its leader, Amun. His unique special talent enables him to physically influence the elements: fire, water, earth, and air. Amun chose to create him for this very reason, he knew Benjamin would be gifted. His mate is Tia, another member of the Egyptian coven.

Early life
Benjamin grew up in the slums of Cairo. He lost his mother at a young age and had no knowledge of his father, and so was raised by his mother's extended family. After being passed around between family members who could feed him, his mother's uncle, a street performer, took him in and taught him different things like dancing and singing for money or selling trinkets and picking pockets.

His uncle, after finding out his strange ability of controlling fire, taught Benjamin how to do tricks. Benjamin became the most profitable member of the family, and was therefore very dear to him.

Among the children in his uncle's care was a girl named Tia, a distant relative. They grew very close to each other. His performances on the streets drew attention of both mortal and immortal. Amun wanted to make an immortal of great power while keeping him hidden from the Volturi in hopes of someday conquering them, and did not hesitate to kill his uncle and snatch the boy from the street.

He was kept in Amun's underground, undiscovered temple for five years, where Amun and Kebi brought him "food" and prohibited from leaving the temple. Amun became extremely overprotective of Benjamin, terrified of the idea of him joining another coven. Despite this, Benjamin is very independent of his creator and refuses to be used as a weapon, though he does not show any strong desire to leave Amun.

After five years, he began to think more and more of Tia. After an unsuccessful conversation to persuade Amun to let him go out and find Tia, he escaped the temple and tracked her down. He managed to remain in complete control in human crowd, without drawing too much attention. Eventually he found her in the city of Suez, where she was married to an older man. After seeing her married and safe, he was willing to go away. Tia then decided to become a vampire to keep him company and help him face any potential threat from the Volturi. Benjamin granted her wish, and after her transformation and first hunt brought her back to Amun's temple.

Breaking Dawn
The Egyptian Coven is called upon by the Cullen family to help them against the Volturi. Benjamin, after meeting Renesmee, becomes determined to see that the Cullens survive, which his mate agrees to as well. Amun, however, becomes furious at Carlisle, accusing him of trying to steal Benjamin from him. Benjamin in turn responds to Amun by threatening their partnership if he doesn't stop his accusations.

While Bella practices on improving her power, Benjamin spends the time practicing his powers. When Alistair leaves out of cowardice, Benjamin stills decides to stay loyal to the Cullens against Amun's orders.

During the confrontation with the Volturi, Benjamin sits on the ground next to Bella, Zafrina and Renesmee. Aro tries to use Chelsea's gift to force Benjamin and several of the Cullens' allies to join them, only to see Bella use her shielding ability against her. After the situation ended, Benjamin and Tia are quick to find Amun and Kebi, who left earlier than the others.

Physical description
Benjamin is described as a young boyish-looking vampire with midnight hair, olive pallor, and an oddly cheerful look. Benjamin, like all vampires, possesses supernatural beauty, strength, stamina and speed as well as granite-hard skin that sparkles as if thousands of diamonds are embedded in his skin in sunlight.

Personality
Bella describes him as being confident and careless at the same time, and Edward also tells that Benjamin has a good attitude as well as a clear sense of right and wrong, and he likes him for it. Benjamin is described as having a strong independent spirit, allowing him to decide things for himself and think on his own. He is also generous and caring to those around him.

Powers and abilities
In The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide, Benjamin is mentioned to have enough restraint to keep himself from killing people conspicuously, despite he had only been a vampire for 5 years at that time.

Atmoskinesis
"What can he do?" "Something Eleazar's never seen before. Something I've never heard of. Something that even your shield would do nothing against. He can actually influence the elements- earth, wind, water, and fire. True physical manipulation. no illusion of the mind."

- Bella and Edward on Benjamin's gift

Benjamin's specialty is to physically influence the elements: earth, air, water, and fire, and his gift is extremely strong. This power is magnified by his human incarnation when he showed the ability to control fire. However, Benjamin has not, as of yet, gained full mastery over his powers. Benjamin has been described using his powers on several occasions in Breaking Dawn. His first demonstration was at the Cullens' house while Bella is training; he creates geysers from the nearby river and practices creating gusts of wind. On another occasion before the confrontation with the Volturi, he moves several boulders into an area accessible to him in case he had to fight. On still another occasion, he creates a fissure in the ground and a strong gust of wind, in an attempt to defend against Alec's hazy mist. Because they are afraid Aro would try to take Benjamin for himself if he found out about his powers, the Egyptian Coven kept him hidden from the Volturi. Amun had planned to train Benjamin and use him as a weapon, but Benjamin refuses to be used. His power seems to work by sensing and manipulating the elements in his surroundings.

Benjamin, like Alec and his twin sister Jane, is known to be one of the most powerful vampires in existence and priceless, but his powers have no effect on mental abilities. Although in a tight situation, he would be more than capable of holding his own against a vampire who relied on a mental gift, such as Bella, Alec and Jane. Also his control over fire gives him an edge since all vampires are vulnerable to it.

Benjamin's ability to control the elements intrigues Aro, the leader of the Volturi who "collects" vampires with powerful talents, and offers him a place among his guard. Benjamin, however, finds no interest in joining the Volturi and declines.

Tia
Tia is Benjamin's mate in the Egyptian Coven. They have known each other since they were human children. Tia is in fact a distant relative to Benjamin. Both Benjamin and Tia became very close as humans and saved little bits of money for when they were ready to run away with each other. When Benjamin chooses to stay and help the Cullens, Tia chooses to stay of her own free will, partly because she wants to stay with Benjamin, but also because of her belief in right and wrong. Like most mates after the confrontation, Tia and Benjamin embrace each other for their victory and then depart to find Amun and Kebi.

Amun
Amun is Benjamin's creator. He first brought Benjamin into the Egyptian Coven and turned him after witnessing his gift in the open. He cared for Benjamin like a son, and he thought of him as his father. However, he is oblivious to Amun's fascination of using his powers as a weapon to one day stand against the Volturi.

Film portrayal
On August 31, 2010, it was announced that Benjamin will be portrayed by Rami Malek in Breaking Dawn - Part 2, who is also descended from a family of Egyptians. He was the first to join the cast after the original actors announced their return.

Rami had previously worked with Jackson Rathbone while starring in the sitcom The War At Home, where they played each other's boyfriends.

Appearances

 * Breaking Dawn
 * Breaking Dawn - Part 2