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IMDbPro

Ben Whishaw

  • Actor
  • Producer
  • Music Department
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00062
Ben Whishaw at an event for Cloud Atlas (2012)
Jennifer Connelly and Ben Whishaw reveal the "ridiculous" scene that made them sign on to the project and director Alice Englert remembers the unusual way she spent the first day shooting her directorial debut.
Play clip2:34
Stars of 'Bad Behaviour' Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
72 Videos
99+ Photos
Proclaimed by many critics as one of the best young actors of his generation, Benjamin John Whishaw was born in Clifton, Bedfordshire, to Linda (Hope), who works in cosmetics, and Jose Whishaw, who works in information technology. He has a twin brother, James. He is of French, German, Russian (father) and English (mother) descent.

Ben attended Samuel Whitbread Community College where his interest in theatre grew and he became a member of the Bancroft Players Youth Theatre at Hitchin's Queen Mother Theatre. During his time there he rose to prominence in many productions, most notably If This Is a Man, based on the book of the same name by Primo Levi, a survivor of Nazi World War II prisoner of war camp. The play was taken to the Edinburgh Festival in 1995 where it garnered five-star reviews and great critical acclaim with Ben Whishaw getting rave reviews for his portrayal of Levi.

Ben then enrolled in, RADA from where he graduated in 2004 and soon landed the role of Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's 2004 production making him one of the youngest actors to portray Hamlet on-stage. Hamlet opened to rave reviews with many critics hailing Ben as the next Laurence Olivier and applauding his portrayal of Hamlet with leading critics haling the birth of a star. Whishaw's film and TV credits include Layer Cake (2004) and Christopher Morris 2005 sitcom Nathan Barley (2005), in which he played a character called Pingu. He was named "Most Promising Newcomer" at the 2001 British Independent Film Awards (for My Brother Tom (2001)) and, in 2005, nominated as best actor in four award ceremonies for his Hamlet. He also played Keith Richards in the Stephen Woolley biopic Stoned (2005). Whishaw played in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a perfume maker whose craft turns deadly getting raves once again for his stunning portrayal. Whishaw appeared in 2007's I'm Not There (2007) as one of the Bob Dylan reincarnations and in 2008 in Criminal Justice (2008) a TV series. He appears in the forthcoming films The Tempest (2010) and Bright Star (2009).
BornOctober 14, 1980
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    • Resume
BornOctober 14, 1980
IMDbProStarmeter
Top 5,00062
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Won 1 Primetime Emmy

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Photos

Photos231

Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Ben Whishaw, and Lashana Lynch in No Time to Die (2021)
Ben Whishaw in Surge (2020)
Emily Mortimer, Ben Whishaw, Emily Blunt, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Colin Firth, Emily Mortimer, and Ben Whishaw in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Ben Whishaw in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Ben Whishaw in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Emily Mortimer and Ben Whishaw in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Lin-Manuel Miranda, Ben Whishaw, Emily Blunt, Pixie Davies, Nathanael Saleh, and Joel Dawson in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Colin Firth, Emily Mortimer, and Ben Whishaw in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Emily Mortimer, Ben Whishaw, Emily Blunt, and Joel Dawson in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
John C. Reilly, Colin Farrell, and Ben Whishaw in The Lobster (2015)
John C. Reilly, Colin Farrell, and Ben Whishaw in The Lobster (2015)

Known for

Colin Farrell in The Lobster (2015)
The Lobster
7.1
  • Limping Man
  • 2015
Tom Hanks, Susan Sarandon, Hugh Grant, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Bae Doona, Jim Sturgess, and Ben Whishaw in Cloud Atlas (2012)
Cloud Atlas
7.4
  • Cabin Boy
  • Robert Frobisher
  • Store Clerk
  • Georgette
  • Tribesman
  • 2012
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)
Perfume: The Story of a Murderer
7.5
  • Jean-Baptiste Grenouille
  • 2006
Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
Mary Poppins Returns
6.7
  • Michael Banks
  • 2018

Credits

Edit
IMDbPro

Actor

  • Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie
    • Post-production
  • Adèle Exarchopoulos and Franz Rogowski in Passages (2023)
    Passages
  • Alice Englert in Bad Behaviour (2023)
    Bad Behaviour
  • Frances McDormand, Rooney Mara, Claire Foy, and Jessie Buckley in Women Talking (2022)
    Women Talking
  • Queen Elizabeth and Paddington Bear Film (2022)
    Queen Elizabeth and Paddington Bear Film
    • (voice)
  • This Is Going to Hurt (2022)
    This Is Going to Hurt
  • Daniel Craig in No Time to Die (2021)
    No Time to Die
  • Miss Fortunate (2021)
    Miss Fortunate
  • Fargo (2014)
    Fargo
  • The Adventures of Paddington (2019)
    The Adventures of Paddington
    • (voice)
  • Surge (2020)
    Surge
  • O Holy Ghost (2019)
    O Holy Ghost
  • Dev Patel in The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019)
    The Personal History of David Copperfield
  • Ben Whishaw and Emily Beecham in Little Joe (2019)
    Little Joe
  • Emily Blunt in Mary Poppins Returns (2018)
    Mary Poppins Returns
  • Palo Santo (2018)
    Palo Santo

Producer

  • Alice Englert in Bad Behaviour (2023)
    Bad Behaviour
  • This Is Going to Hurt (2022)
    This Is Going to Hurt
  • O Holy Ghost (2019)
    O Holy Ghost

Music Department

  • Abbie Cornish and Ben Whishaw in Bright Star (2009)
    Bright Star

Videos72

Stars of 'Bad Behaviour' Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
Clip 2:34
Stars of 'Bad Behaviour' Get Comfortable With Being Uncomfortable
How Ben Whishaw Makes Madness Believable in 'Surge'
Clip 6:03
How Ben Whishaw Makes Madness Believable in 'Surge'
These Bond Women Are Changing the Spy Game
Clip 6:36
These Bond Women Are Changing the Spy Game
Bond 25 Returns to 007's Origins
Clip 3:39
Bond 25 Returns to 007's Origins
'Bohemian Rhapsody' ... So Far: Fast Facts on the Queen Biopic
Clip 1:20
'Bohemian Rhapsody' ... So Far: Fast Facts on the Queen Biopic
Thats For Today
Clip 0:53
Thats For Today
"Miranda"
Clip 0:47
"Miranda"
"Caliban"
Clip 1:00
"Caliban"
"Letter" from Bright Star
Clip 1:06
"Letter" from Bright Star
"Valentine" from Bright Star
Clip 0:52
"Valentine" from Bright Star
"Sleeping in my bed" from Bright Star
Clip 1:02
"Sleeping in my bed" from Bright Star
Bright Star: Fanny in the Room with Butterflies
Clip 1:24
Bright Star: Fanny in the Room with Butterflies

Personal details

Edit
    • October 14, 1980
    • Clifton, Bedfordshire, England, UK
    • Mark BradshawAugust 2012 - present
    • (Sibling)
  • Other works
    Appearing as the title role in the Old Vic's production of "Hamlet", directed by Trevor Nunn (2004).
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 1 Article
    • 1 Pictorial
    • 2 Magazine Cover Photos

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Beat out Leonardo DiCaprio and Orlando Bloom for the role of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006).
  • Quotes
    I began to feel that he was a character who, left to his own devices, wouldn't really speak at all. I thought about him as being autistic in some way. He simply doesn't understand human beings. Social situations terrify him. On the character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille

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