Ben Whishaw: filmography and personal life of the actor (photo)

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Today we offer to get to know a talented British actor named Ben Whishaw. He is best known to audiences around the world for his roles in Perfume: A Assassin's Tale, Cloud Atlas and the HM Special Agent James Bond series.

Actor biography

Benjamin John Whishaw was born on October 14, 1980 in the English town of Clifton, Beardfordshire. His father, Joseph, was a computer scientist, and his mother, Linda, worked as a beautician. Ben Whishaw and his brother James are twins. While studying in high school, the hero of our story became interested in theater. Parents did not resist the son's desire to become an actor and even enrolled him in acting classes. After leaving school, Benjamin entered the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. During his student years, Wishaw also began a theatrical career, in which he quickly achieved significant results. The first fame came to him during the period of cooperation with the theater group "Big Spirit".

Ben Whishaw Filmography: Big Screen Debut

The young actor began to take his first steps in the cinema at the age of 19. These were episodic roles. Benjamin at that time considered screen art only as an additional help, devoting most of his time to work in the theater. So, in 1999, he took part in the filming of such films as "In July 1916: The Battle of the Somme" and "Guard". In addition, during that period, young Wishaw also appeared on television in a British-made series called Other People's Children.

Continuing career

Ben Whishaw played his first major film role in 2000. It was the film "My Brother Tom", where the actor played an unbalanced teenager. For his brilliant performance in the role, Benjamin received the prestigious British Independent Filmmakers Award for the UK's Most Promising Newcomer.

The following year, Wishaw again played the title character in the short film The Child. He got the role of a young erotic dreamer, with which he did an excellent job. This was followed by such film works with the participation of a young actor, such as "Mental Fury" (2002) and "77 Beds" (2004). Also in 2004, Benjamin starred in the melodrama Patient Love, based on the novel Picnic in the Ruins of the Mind by writer Ian McEwan. The project was directed by Roger Michell, and the film was very warmly received by both the audience and critics. During the same period, Wishaw starred in the crime drama Layer Cake directed by Matthew Vaughn. Partners of the youngcelebrities such as Sienna Miller and Daniel Craig became actors on the set. In 2005, Ben was involved in the filming of a popular comedy series about an eccentric creator called Nathan Barley. In the same year, Whishaw took part in the work on a British-made biographical drama dedicated to the life of the founder of the legendary Rolling Stones musical group, Brian Jones. The project was called "In Dope", and its director was Stephen Woolley. In this drama, Whishaw brilliantly played the role of one of the musicians of the famous band - Keith Richards, which earned him a lot of positive feedback from critics and viewers.

Career breakthrough

Ben Whishaw's filmography already included a number of highly notable films when, in 2006, he was offered the lead role in a new project that truly changed his life. We are talking about the drama "Perfumer: the story of a murderer" directed by Tom Tykwer. The film is based on the novel of the same name by writer Patrick Suskind. In this picture, Ben Whishaw brilliantly played the role of Jean-Baptiste Grenouille - a very talented, but cruel and never known the love of an orphan who became an obsessed killer. His shooting partners were such stars as Alan Rickman and Dustin Hoffman. The film was a huge success all over the world, thanks to which Wishaw became famous not only in his native England, but also far beyond its borders.

Further film activities

After his triumph as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille in 2007, the actor was offered another biopicmovie. We are talking about the tape directed by Todd Haynes called "I'm Not There", dedicated to the life of Bob Dylan. Whishaw's partners on the set were such stars as Richard Gere, Cate Blanchett and Christian Bale.

The following year, the actor took part in the drama Brideshead Revisited, directed by Julian Jarrold. This film was an adaptation of one of the most original novels by England's greatest writer, Evelyn Waugh. In the same 2008, Whishaw starred in the popular British television series Criminal Justice on the BBC channel. For this role, he won the award of the Royal Society of Film Critics and Emmy.

In 2009, Ben Whishaw again had the honor of embodying a cult personality on the screen. This time, the famous English poet John Keats became his hero. The film was called "Bright Star" and was directed by Jane Campion. Along with Whishaw, the main roles in this project were played by such famous actors as Paul Schneider and Abbie Cornish.

Recent works

In 2010, Ben Whishaw brilliantly played a character named Ariel in the fantasy-comedy drama called The Tempest, which became a film adaptation of the great Shakespeare's work of the same name. The actor's partners on the set of this project were Russell Brand and Helen Mirren.

2012 was a very eventful year for Wishaw. During this period, he played one of the roles in the popular British BBC series called The Hour. Then he was invited to the television version of Shakespeare's "Richard II". In this project, Benjamin played the main role. And, finally, at the end of 2012, two notable films with Wishaw's participation were released: Cloud Atlas and 007: Skyfall.

Ben Whishaw: personal life

For a long time, the actor tried to keep his romances a secret. However, after the release of the sensational film Perfume: The Story of a Murderer, a rumor appeared that Ben was having an intimate relationship with one of his colleagues on the set. Then the media began to claim that Whishaw was having an affair with Rachel Heod-Wood.

The truth was revealed only a few years ago, when the actor openly declared his non-traditional sexual orientation. So, in 2012, Mark Bradshaw and Ben Whishaw entered into a civil partnership. With his chosen one, who is a composer from Australia, the actor met in 2009 on the set of the film "Bright Star".

Interesting facts

- Ben Whishaw has won all kinds of theater awards and prizes during his career. In addition, he is one of the leading actors of the world famous theater "Old Vic". His list of awards includes British Independent Film Awards, the Verona Film Festival, the Sochi Film Festival and many others.

- Whishaw has a professional voice. He could well have become an opera singer.

- The actor loves cats. So, at different times, up to 13 four-legged furry pets lived with him.

- According to Ben Whishaw, his favorite movie is Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.

- Among his hobbies is an actorhighlights travel, music and dance.

- Despite the fact that Ben and James Whishaw are twins, their personalities are quite different. So, Ben, unlike his brother, was shy and reserved at school, but he always dreamed of an acting career, and in the end he was able to achieve what he wanted. James never saw himself as a public person. He studied at the Faculty of Economics and connected his life with the financial sector, which, in his own words, he does not regret at all.