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 don't think anyone can walk through the world in a state of vulnerability all the time, can they?
In film, I find it very useful always to do some preparation before you start rehearsals or start shooting, because there's so much that's against you on a film set.
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.
What I notice about people who are gifted in filmmaking is that they're great thinkers. They engage with big ideas and they engage with people.
I was quite a shy child - not chronically, but I tended to blend into the background.
I love films. I love music. I love poetry and stories. All of that I feel I sort of get very excited and fed by.
When you have a character to work with, you carry them around in a strange way - they make you look at the world in a different way.
I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.
I do get stopped on the street, although rarely. And they always have something lovely to say.
Your one certainty in life, your power as a human being, is that you have a choice in every situation about what you do next and about how you take what has happened to you.
I reckon domesticated cats have a pretty good life.
I always feel I am in the dark. You are never finished… it is not as if you can look back and think: ah… I know what I am talking about. You are only as good as your last job and are always struggling and striving and you never quite get to where you want to be…
I find it really hard to say anything coherent or interesting about the work I do.