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 think being very thin has had a lot to do with how I've been cast.
I think I have a degree of confidence, but I also have terrible insecurity, like anybody does.
I don't think I am especially interested in celebrities, but I love talking about what is going on with people and why they do what they do.
I don't think anyone can walk through the world in a state of vulnerability all the time, can they?
I don’t think that actors are necessarily any more uncomfortable in their skin than anyone else. I suppose I feel more comfortable in my skin now, but you’re always playing a character, aren’t you? You tell different versions of yourself to different people and vice versa. Here, or in the photo shoot or wherever, it’s a representation of you. It’s not you-you. That’s how you get through it.
I think the sensation of being moved by a piece of art is something that is really good for a person's soul.
I'd like to have a go at directing.
I'm not tortured and neurasthenic - I'm really not.
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.
The thing about acting is that it's fairly random. At the end of the day you take what drifts past you or what's given to you.
Filmmakers tell stories to explore human nature, which is always a flawed thing.
We are so mired in the complexity of our reactions to other people that when you come across someone who is asocial, there is a simplicity that is refreshing.
One of the things I find very difficult about theatre is the repetition - that something can slide away from your original intentions.