The character arc of Jonny Benjamin
A life drawn by Character Arc from the public record
Born in the United Kingdom, in a year no public source reached publishes; he is recorded as twenty in 2008. Between then and now sit a diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder, a morning in 2008 on Waterloo Bridge in London, a stranger who saw his distress and stopped to talk to him, six years in which he did not know the man's name, a campaign launched in 2014 with a mental health charity to find him, a search followed by hundreds of millions of people, a reunion, a lasting friendship, a documentary, a book and an MBE in 2017. The line below draws the story so far, in order.
Drag along the line to move, pinch or use the buttons to look closer. Tap the line to pluck it, or any mark for its card. Drawn from the public record of his life; the sources are at the foot of the page.
Who is Jonny Benjamin?
Somebody stopped instead of walking past. That is the whole story.
He was diagnosed with schizoaffective disorder, and in 2008, at twenty, he was on Waterloo Bridge in London and did not intend to come off it. A stranger walking past saw that something was wrong, and stopped, and talked to him. That is the entire hinge of his life and of a great many other lives since. The man did not know him. He stopped anyway.
For six years he did not know who the stranger was, and he wanted to say thank you. In 2014, with the charity Rethink Mental Illness, he launched a campaign built around a short video, to find him. The search was followed by hundreds of millions of people around the world and picked up by breakfast television, and the man was identified: Neil Laybourn. They met again, and they have been friends ever since.
A documentary about the search was made and broadcast on national television, and he later wrote a book about the whole thing. What he has done with the rest of it is campaign: on mental health, on suicide prevention, on getting people to understand that the thing that saved his life was one person deciding not to walk past.
He was appointed MBE in 2017 for his work as an activist changing the culture around mental health. The two of them, the man who was on the bridge and the man who stopped, have gone on speaking about it together, which is an unusual and very effective way of making the point.
The moments
Jonny Benjamin's timeline.
The 2000s
A diagnosis
Setback, and it changed everything. A diagnosis, in his early twenties.
Waterloo Bridge
Setback, and it changed everything. Twenty years old, on a bridge in London, in 2008.
A stranger stops
Milestone, and it changed everything. A man walking to work saw him, and stopped, and talked to him.
Six years without a name
Everyday, and it changed everything. Six years knowing somebody had saved him and not knowing who.
The 2010s
Look for him, in public
Crossroads, decided.
The paths laid out: launch the search, taken, or keep it private. The stranger was found within weeks, and the two have been friends and campaigned together ever since.
The search begins
Milestone, and it changed everything. A short video, asking the world to help him find one man.
The world joins in
Milestone, and it changed everything. Hundreds of millions of people looking for a stranger on a bridge.
He finds Neil
Milestone, and it changed everything. They found him. His name was Neil, and they are still friends.
A documentary
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The search, made into a film that other people could watch.
An MBE
Milestone, and it changed everything. An MBE, for changing how a country talks about this.
The book
Milestone, and it changed his direction. The whole thing, written down in his own words.
The 2020s
Speaking together
Everyday, and it changed everything. The man from the bridge and the man who stopped, on stage together.
The two of them still speak together, the man from the bridge and the man who stopped. What he set moving cannot be counted, because it is made of people who stopped and asked somebody if they were all right, having heard a story about a morning in 2008 when somebody did exactly that.
Your turn
Every line draws a unique story.
His turned on a stranger who stopped instead of walking past. Yours is already further along than you think, and drawing it takes about five minutes.
Jonny Benjamin: frequently asked questions
What people ask about his line.
What is Jonny Benjamin's character arc?
What happened to Jonny Benjamin on Waterloo Bridge?
Who is the stranger Jonny Benjamin found?
What is Jonny Benjamin's book?
Did Jonny Benjamin receive an honour?
What does Jonny Benjamin campaign for?
Where does this timeline of Jonny Benjamin's life come from?
More character arcs
Lives that rhyme with his.
Sources
- Published accounts of Jonny Benjamin's life, the 2014 campaign with Rethink Mental Illness and the search that followed.
- The documentary made about the search, and his own book about the bridge, the search and the friendship.
- Honours records for his MBE in 2017.
- His birth date is not published in any source reached; he is recorded as twenty in 2008.
- If you are struggling, this page is not the place to stop. Please tell somebody today.