Sir Benjamin "Ben" Wyatt KBE is a fictional character portrayed by Adam Scott in the NBC comedy series Parks and Recreation.

Initially portrayed as a serious and pragmatic budget specialist, Ben gradually becomes more sympathetic to the town and develops into an integral member of the community.

Despite initially angering series protagonist Leslie Knope with his budget cut recommendations, Ben begins dating her in the season 3 episode "Road Trip."

As a character, Ben is known for his dry wit, affinity for calzones, and deep passion for the fictional board game "Cones of Dunshire."

His role as the humiliated former mayor trying to make a career in government was one of the original concepts for the series, but was abandoned in favor of building the show around Leslie Knope's character.

Originally from Partridge, Minnesota, Ben was elected mayor of the town at age 18 after leading what he describes as an "anti-establishment voter rebellion."

Though he warms to the town and becomes a major member of its community, he remains mystified by some of its quirks, such as Pawnee's universal affection for miniature horse Li'l Sebastian.

"[6][7] During a period between jobs in season 6, Ben creates a board game called The Cones of Dunshire, which is noted for its extremely complex set of rules.

[9] When Ben comes to Pawnee, he immediately clashes with Leslie, who is appalled by his unsentimental attitude towards firing people and his penchant for slashing her department's budget.

[2][10] Their new friendship turns sour when Ben and Chris reveal that the town is virtually out of funds and the government will have to be shut down until further notice.

When Ron accidentally reveals that Leslie was trying to set up an annual children's concert that was supposed to be canceled on Lot 48 behind Ann's house, Ben tries to shut it down.

Ben listens to Leslie's presentation regarding the Pawnee Harvest Festival idea that will allow them to do their jobs properly and bring funds into the department.

After freezing up at the majority of questions asked, he then goes on a furious tirade at a later interview, prompting businesses to pull their sponsorships at the festival and putting the parks department in jeopardy.

At the last interview at Pawnee Today, Ben finally stands his ground, stating that everyone does stupid things when they were teenagers and that he has since saved at least five cities from bankruptcy as an auditor.

Leslie assures him that he is as responsible for the festival's success as she is, and has the local Native American chief Ken Hotate perform a fake ceremony to remove his "curse.

It is implied that he made the decision to be closer to Leslie and that they are mutually attracted to each other,[18] but a new policy of Chris's forbids city employees to date each other, halting a potential relationship between the two.

As the city prepares for the memorial service for Li'l Sebastian, Pawnee's beloved celebrity miniature horse, Leslie and Ben are caught making out by a maintenance worker, so they send him home in exchange for his silence.

Unfortunately, the worker had the propane for Li'l Sebastian's memorial flame, which results in ongoing problems that Leslie and Ben struggle to fix throughout the night.

As that was a possible reason for termination, Leslie was ready to take full responsibility only to find that Ben resigned from his job in order to save hers.

Following his termination, Ben takes some time to "explore his interests" which consists of him remaining in his house and attempting various hobbies like making calzones and stop motion films.

Later, Ben turns down multiple job offers in Pawnee to join Tom Haverford's company, Rent-a-Swag; concurrently, he ends up working for Sweetums, at a division dedicated to improving their public image by funding charities.

Ben and Leslie throw a large event designed to help with fundraising for the Pawnee Commons instead of creating a wedding registry.

After two hours of frantically finishing last minute details, a ceremony ruined by a drunk Councilman Jamm, and bailing Ron out of jail, they hold the wedding in the Parks Department.

During the final episode of The Johnny Karate Super Awesome Musical Explosion Show, Ben is made a Knight of the Order of the British Empire by His Royal Excellence Lord Edgar Darby Covington, 14th Earl of Cornwall-Upon-Thames and 29th Baron of Hertfordshire.

While campaigning, he earns IOW's Woman of the Year award for giving Leslie room to speak her mind instead of reading scripted speeches.

By 2048, it is implied that at least one of them has been elected President of the United States, with Ben wearing a flag lapel pin and being acknowledged first by someone who appeared to be a member of the Secret Service.

[25] Series co-creator Michael Schur said when the Ben Wyatt character was conceived, Scott was considered the "dream scenario" casting choice.

[10][27] Ben's role as a state auditor, and Pawnee's subsequent budget problems, were conceived from global economic crisis and news reports about government services getting shut down around the country.

[31] New York Daily News writer David Hinckley praised Scott's addition to the Parks and Recreation cast, claiming he "gets more of a character here than he does on Starz's entertaining Party Down and makes the best of it".