Ben Whishaw
- Actor
- Producer
- Music Department
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).
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).