Ben Whishaw
Ben Whishaw
Benjamin John "Ben" Whishawis an English actor. He is known for his stage role as Hamlet; his roles in the television series Nathan Barley, Criminal Justice, The Hour and London Spy; and film roles including Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, I'm Not There, Bright Star, Brideshead Revisited, Cloud Atlas, The Lobster, Suffragetteand The Danish Girl. He has also played the role of Q in the James Bond films starting with Skyfall, and was the voice of Paddington Bear in...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth14 October 1980
CityClifton, England
I don't have any ambition to make lots of money or win an Oscar or anything like that. It's not about that for me.
I'd like to have a go at directing.
Keats himself spoke about how Shakespeare was capable of erasing himself completely from the characters he had created. As an actor, that is what I'm trying to do.
When I finished my A-levels, I assumed I'd be able to get work as an actor. But I couldn't. I didn't get an audition. Nothing. So I thought I'd better train and then the parts would come.
One of the things I find very difficult about theatre is the repetition - that something can slide away from your original intentions.
I've gone on workout regimes, but I seem to have a system that is very resistant to changing.
I am a typical Libran. I tend to see two sides of everything.
I don't think anyone can walk through the world in a state of vulnerability all the time, can they?
I wish that the arts were better supported, and you can't say that enough times, but I also believe that whatever happens, artists will keep going.
I was quite a shy child - not chronically, but I tended to blend into the background.
I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.
I find it really hard to say anything coherent or interesting about the work I do.
I've been out to LA a couple of times but, over there, the Grenouille in me always comes to the surface. I feel completely terrified, totally flummoxed, like I don't understand what the hell is going on. I've no desire at all to go back there.
The criminal justice system, like any system designed by human beings, clearly has its flaws.