Claire's father, Mr. Bennet, AKA HRG or Horn Rimmed Glasses is portrayed by actor Jack Coleman. Jack Coleman was born February 21, 1958 in Easton, Pennsylvania. He is the youngest of seven children and is a sixth generation grandchild of American inventor Benjamin Franklin. He attended Duke University, where he decided to pursue acting as a career. After graduating from Duke in 1980, he attended the National Theater Institute. He married actress Beth Toussaint in 1996. Together they have one daughter, Tess.
Coleman's first major role was in the soap opera Days of Our Lives, where he appeared from 1981 to 1982 as the character of Jake Kositchek. In 1982, he joined the cast of Dynasty when he took over portraying one of the first gay characters on television, Steven Carrington. Coleman left Dynasty in 1988 to star in a play. He later became a regular on the short-lived series Nightmare Cafe in 1992 and appeared in the 2004 mini-series Kingdom Hospital. He made guest appearances in CSI: Miami, Nip/Tuck, Without A Trace and Entourage.
He also co-starred as Alyson & Amanda Michalka's father in the Disney Channel Original Movie Cow Belles. He was nominated for his role as Tom Griffin in the play Stand-up Tragedy at the Mark Taper Forum and won a Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award for his performance in Bouncers. He wrote the screenplays for Studio City, which he produced and acted in, and Can't Help Falling, which he hopes to produce.
His role as Mr. Bennet was initially recurring, but became regular as of the 11th episode. At first glance, Mr. Bennet appears to be an ordinary businessman who works at the Primatech Paper Company and lives in Odessa, Texas with his wife and two children, Claire and Lyle. However, he and his associates have actually traveled the world for a number of years investigating superhuman phenomena. Bennet claims that he assists them in learning to use their powers, although there are sometimes unintended consequences. One of Bennet's associates is a mysterious man known only as "The Haitian" with the power of wiping out memories. In the past, he has also worked with Claude, the "Invisible Man".
His true agenda and overall affiliation are still mysterious. In response to Matt Parkman's inquiries as to whether he works for the FBI or the CIA, Bennet said he doesn't work for "any organization that has initials". Bennet is also very protective of his adopted daughter, Claire. This sometimes leads him to use his authority and associates in ways more unsavory than usual. Past, present and future events all indicate that Bennet has lied about Claire's origin multiple times. Mr. Bennet speaks fluent Japanese as a second language.
Mr. Bennet is initially introduced as "Horn-Rimmed Glasses," based on his distinctive eyewear, and Jack Coleman is even credited as such. "Horn-Rimmed Glasses" (or a variant of it) is the more often used name by the characters, albeit indirectly. For example, characters who don't know him personally usually describe him as "the man with horn-rimmed glasses." With regard to Bennet's given name, Coleman has admitted that it's been intentionally avoided. This is evident in "Distractions", where Mrs. Bennet remarked that she was amused that everybody called him "Mister," and almost states his first name before being interrupted. His driver's license, displayed by Sylar in the same episode, did not show a first name. According to Coleman, the character's first name was written out of a draft script because "it stopped the scene cold." Interestingly enough, his glasses are not actually horn-rimmed, but Browline Ronsir style. During a flashback in "Company Man," he tries on a pair of horn-rimmed glasses, but Claire tells him they look like "grandpa glasses".

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