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'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 have any ambition to make lots of money or win an Oscar or anything like that. It's not about that for me.
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.
As an actor, you have total rights to privacy and mystery, whatever your sexuality, whatever you do. I don't see why that has to be something you discuss openly because you do something in the public eye. I have no understanding of why we turn actors into celebrities.
I think the sensation of being moved by a piece of art is something that is really good for a person's soul.