John Levene (born John Anthony Woods, 24 December 1941 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England) is an English actor. His most famous role was that of Sergeant Benton of UNIT on the television series Doctor Who.
He was working in a men's clothing store on Regents Street in London when Telly Savalas encouraged him to sign up as an actor for The Dirty Dozen. He failed to get a part, as he was not a union member, but this got him interested in acting. On joining Equity, he adopted the professional name John Levene to avoid confusion with another John Woods who was already registered with the union.
His first acting role was in the television series Adam Adamant Lives!. Other television roles included episodes of Callan (1970), The Adventurer (1972), and the film Go for a Take (1972).
He made an uncredited appearance as a Cyberman in the 1967 Doctor Who serial The Moonbase and as a Yeti in The Web of Fear before making his first appearance as then-Corporal Benton in the Doctor Who serial The Invasion in 1968. The Web of Fear was, incidentally, the serial that introduced Benton's commanding officer Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart, though he was only a colonel at the time. Lethbridge-Stewart and UNIT were featured heavily in early 1970s Doctor Who, and the promoted Sergeant Benton also became a regular.