Paul Benjamin Paul Benjamin has been a succesful author, but since his wife lost her life in a hold-up opposite to Auggie’s cigar shop, he couldn't put one reasonable sentence to paper. That’s why Paul Benjamin, played by William Hurt, has become a very lonely and broken man with a writing inhibition. In the course of the film he becomes more open and has overcome his writing inhibition. Paul Benjamin is no longer lonely and has got his zest of life back.