Paul Kent is an Italian-American character actor who has starred in film and television for nearly five decades. Kent is perhaps best known for his portrayal of Lieutenant Commander Beach, a Starfleet officer on the USS Reliant, in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan.

Paul Michael Kent (born March 29, 1972 in Auckland) is a former breaststroke swimmer from New Zealand, who competed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, Georgia for his native country. His biggest success came in 1995, at the second edition of the FINA World SC Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where Kent won the gold medal with the Men's 4x100 Medley Relay Team. This was a New Zealand record time and was the 4th fastest time ever recorded. At the same tournament he also won the silver medal in the 100m Breaststroke. He held the Commonwealth Record over 50-metres Breaststroke (long course) for a number of years, and his New Zealand records over 50-metres and 100-metres still stand.

Appears in two different versions of Helter Skelter, both TV films based on the Charles Manson murder case, playing different characters