Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film Comments Quotes RSS

Biography

Ben Whishaw (October 14th 1980)
Ben Whishaw is a British actor who appeared in Bond movie 'Skyfall' and voiced the title character in 'Paddington'.

Film career: Ben Whishaw's performance career began in theatre, appearing in Big Spirit's 'If This is a Man' and 'Hamlet'. Among his first film and television ventures were 2004's 'Layer Cake' opposite Daniel Craig and 2005 comedy series 'Nathan Barley'. Whishaw was nominated for a British Academy Film Award for Rising Star for his role in 2006 thriller 'Perfume: The Story of a Murderer', which also starred Alan Rickman. 2007 saw him portray a version of Bob Dylan in 'I'm Not There' which also starred Christian Bale. In 2008, he appeared in five episodes of 'Criminal Justice' and starred in BBC drama 'The Hours' with Dominic West. He also played the title role in the TV adaptation of 'Richard II' in 2012. In 2010, he played Ariel in an adaptation of Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' alongside Helen Mirren. 2012 saw him in Bond film 'Skyfall' as Q, as well as 'Cloud Atlas' in which he played multiple characters alongside Halle Berry and Tom Hanks. The following year he appeared in Terry Gilliam sci-fi 'The Zero Theorem' with Christoph Waltz, and the year after that he voiced the main character in 'Paddington'. His other theatre roles include 'Cock', 'Mercury Fur' and 'Peter and Alice', the latter of which also starred Judi Dench.

Personal life: Ben Whishaw grew up in Clifton, Bedfordshire with his parents Linda, a cosmetics worker, and Jose, an IT consultant. He went to Henlow Middle School, Samuel Whitbread Community College and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. He was also part of the Bancroft Players Youth Theatre. In 2012, he had a civil union with composer Mark Bradshaw.



Biography by Contactmusic.com

Paddington 2 Review

Extraordinary

The first Paddington movie in 2014 is already such a beloved classic that it's hard to believe that this sequel actually tops it. Writer-director Paul King and his cast are back with their whimsical approach, combining silly comedy with surreally deranged touches that bring these people to life in ways that are both hilarious and deeply endearing. And this time, the plot feels more developed and the humour even funnier.

 

We catch up with Paddington (voiced by Ben Whishaw) as he's now a fixture in his Notting Hill neighbourhood. With his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday approaching, he wants to give her the hand-made pop-up book of London landmarks he discovers in Gruber's (Jim Broadbent) second-hand shop and starts working odd jobs to save up to buy it. What he doesn't know is that a neighbour, washed-up actor Phoenix (Hugh Grant), knows that the book is a map to a hidden treasure. When Phoenix steals it and frames him, Paddington's adoptive family (Hugh Bonneville, Sally Hawkins, Madeleine Harris, Samuel Joslin and Julie Walters) launch a plan to clear his name.

Continue reading: Paddington 2 Review

In The Heart Of The Sea Trailer


In The Heart Of The Sea is the true seaman's tale based on the last outing of the Whaling Ship Essex. After setting sale from the port on Nantuckett the 20 man crew expect their journey to be much like the others they've been on, very long and tough but on an old but very trusty ship.

After leaving the port, almost immediately the men are hit by a powerful storm which damages the boat. knowing they must make money and make the trip profitable before returning home, the men continue with their mission. After months of good fishing, the men doc at various ports for supplies. Almost a year into their trip and the Essex is struck by a gigantic whale which causes irreparable damage to the ship's hull.

Stuck with no other choice the surviving men must board one of the incredibly small whaling boats that they have on board. The remaining crew members find themselves stuck in a life-threatening situation, 1000 miles from land, incredibly tight rations and stuck at sea for an unknown amount of time, the crew must find a way to endure - both mentally and physically.

Continue: In The Heart Of The Sea Trailer

Ben Whishaw , Brother - Royal film performance of 'Spectre' at Royal Albert Hall - Red Carpet Arrivals at Royal Albert Hall - London, United Kingdom - Monday 26th October 2015

Ben Whishaw and Brother

James Bond - Spectre Review

Excellent

For his latest adventure, James Bond mixes the personal drama of Skyfall with the vintage globe-hopping action of the previous 23 movies. The result is an epic thriller packed with exhilarating set-pieces and dark surprises. Again directed by Sam Mendes, the film has a meaty tone from the astounding pre-titles sequence in Mexico City to the climax in North African. And it takes its time to build the suspense, mystery and drama in ways few blockbusters bother to do.

After the calamitous events at Skyfall, Bond (Daniel Craig) has gone rogue, following a videotaped message from his late boss (Judi Dench) to track a villain to Mexico, then continuing to Rome, where he woos the grieving widow (Monica Bellucci). Pursued by relentless goon Mr Hinx (Dave Bautista), he travels onward to Austria, he confronts an old nemesis (Jesper Christiansen), whose daughter Madeleine (Lea Seydoux) joins Bond to travel to Morocco to face the shady top boss Oberhauser (Christoph Waltz) in his secret lair. Meanwhile in London, the new M (Ralph Fiennes) is fighting to to keep MI6 in operation as new boss C (Andrew Scott) works to restructure British security as part of a global conglomerate.

Mendes stages this on a massive scale, with huge action sequences that are never rushed or choppy, beautifully shot by ace cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema. And it's all underpinned by darker personal drama between the characters, so every sequence features thoughtful conversation, witty banter, more clues to the larger mystery and then thrilling action. And as 007 hops from location to location filling in the bigger picture, the film feels like all of the classic Bond movies rolled into one.

Continue reading: James Bond - Spectre Review

The Lobster Review

Excellent

Throwing a solid Hollywood cast into a surreal arthouse satire, acclaimed Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos (Dogtooth) makes his English-language debut with a bang. This is a blackly comical parable about how it feels to be single in a society that only values couples. With its two-part structure it almost seems like two movies mashed together, exploring the topic in ways that are smart and revelatory, and utterly deranged. And the strikingly gifted actors bring it to life beautifully.

It's set in a remote hotel on the Irish coastline, where the recently divorced David (Colin Farrell) has gone to find a mate. Single people here have 45 days to find their perfect partner, or else they're transformed surgically into an animal of their choosing. David has opted to become a lobster, but is determined to find a wife. He watches as one guy (Ben Whishaw) fakes nosebleeds to appear more like a young woman (Jessica Barden). So David pretends to be something he isn't, but is caught by the hotel's imperious manager (Olivia Colman). He escapes into the woods, where he joins a desperate band of loners led by a fierce warrior (Lea Seydoux). There he falls for a woman (Rachel Weisz) who is short-sighted like he is, but romance is forbidden among the loners.

The filmmakers are inventively exploring some very real issues in society, which makes the story ring eerily true, no matter how relentlessly odd it gets. The script's action sequences sometimes feel a bit contrived, but they add to the characters' nagging sense of desperation as they're stuck in a world that simply won't accept them as they are. And it helps that the actors dive in without hesitation. Farrell has gained weight to play the middle-aged David, who had a happy life before being plunged into this nightmare. He's very easy to identify with, both in his awkward interaction and as he boils over in rage. Weisz adds a lusty, razor-sharp intelligence to her role. And Colman quietly steals the movie with her deadpan performance as the godlike hotel manager.

Sometimes this extreme satire feels rather on-the-nose, but it's also a powerfully provocative exploration of the way society forces people to comply, marginalising anyone who refuses to join the status quo. And Lanthimos is gifted at using comedy and emotion to deepen the characters and themes, digging beneath the surface while telling a story that's simply impossible to predict. So in the end, we're almost taken aback at the way all of this has wormed its way under our skin, revealing things about ourselves we thought we had suppressed. Especially the way we value or dismiss people around us based on factors that are utterly irrelevant.

Continue reading: The Lobster Review

Suffragette Review

Excellent

Based on real events a century ago that still resonate loudly today, this movie takes a cleverly fictionalised angle to explore the suffrage movement, a story that astonishingly has never been put on film before. Screenwriter Abi Morgan's script brings intelligence and honesty to the characters, avoiding cliches to make the political statements as fresh and important today as they were back then. And it's anchored by another solid performance from Carey Mulligan.

She plays Maud, a young woman in 1912 London who has grown up working in a grim laundry, which is where she met her husband Sonny (Ben Whishaw). Then her best friend Violet (Anne-Marie Duff) introduces her to the women's voting rights movement led by Emmeline Pankhurst (Meryl Streep). And Maud is intrigued, joining with her local chemist's wife Edith (Helena Bonham Carter) for protests and getting involved in civil disobedience. This puts her on the list of offenders followed by a tenacious policeman (Brendan Gleeson), and Sonny finds it very difficult to cope with the embarrassment. So Maud has to make a very tough decision about whether to carry on the fight.

Making the film's main characters working-class heroines was a clever way to draw in modern-day audiences. In real life, the suffragettes were middle-class women who didn't particularly want any of the working class (men or women) to have the vote. But of course, once the movement started, it didn't end there, ultimately extending right through society. And the film cleverly mixes these fictional characters alongside real historical figures to bring the events vividly to life. Mulligan provides the emotional gut punch as an intelligent but uneducated woman who has been abused all her life and is finally standing up for herself. Her scenes with each of the supporting cast have real power, including less sympathetic characters like Whishaw's loving but fearful husband.

Continue reading: Suffragette Review

Ben Whishaw - LFF: Suffragette Premiere held at the Odeon Leicester Square - Arrivals. at Odeon Leicester Square - London, United Kingdom - Wednesday 7th October 2015

Ben Whishaw

Spectre Trailer


James Bond has never played by the rules, but this time he may have gone too far when he responds to a mysterious message by travelling to Mexico on an unauthorised mission to meet Lucia Sciarra, the widow of one of the world's most notorious criminal masterminds. She has information regarding a corrupt underground organisation known as SPECTRE, but he's still managed to seriously anger his boss M. Thus, Bond decides to continue his mission undercover, setting out to find a woman named Madeleine Swann who may be able to help him infiltrate the society, bring it down and save the world. Completion of the mission could also secure MI5's continued work, as the new boss of the Centre for National Security Max Denbigh becomes increasingly sceptical of its necessity. However, little does Bond know that he's also about to uncover some secrets about the SPECTRE head that he may rather have kept hidden.

Continue: Spectre Trailer

The Lobster Trailer


David is a single man having just left a 12 year relationship. As per the rules of living in The City, set in a dystopian future, he is forced to check into The Hotel. The sprawling facility is a place where all singletons must find love within 45 days, or else be turned into a creature of their choice and banished into The Woods, as being alone is highly frowned upon. David's only companion is his loyal dog, who happens to be his unlucky-in-love brother who ran out of time when he was a resident at The Hotel. David's chosen animal is a lobster, but he has no intention of living life as a crustacean and makes his escape into The Woods to join up with The Loners. Soon he meets a short-sighted woman who happens to be extremely adept at catching rabbits. As chance would have it, David finds himself falling for her, but this kind of romance is against the law in The City.

Continue: The Lobster Trailer

The Danish Girl Trailer


Einar Wegener is a Danish artist, apparently happily married to wife of the same occupation Gerda. One day, Gerda persuades her husband to assist her as a female model while she paints, dressing up in a dress and stockings. An unexpected wave of clarity washes over Einar, who readily agrees to continue posing for Gerda. Dubbing the female persona Lili, Gerda takes her out for fun - but when it seems Lili is falling for her childhood friend Hans Axgil, she is heartbroken. She eventually understands that her husband is actually a woman in the wrong body, and stands by her woman as she undertakes groundbreaking gender reassignment surgery; a series of operations that could threaten her very life, let alone her marriage.

Continue: The Danish Girl Trailer

Spectre Trailer


It seems James Bond's flighty career has all boiled down to this moment. He's in deep trouble when MI5 boss M finds out that he has set up his own secret mission to Mexico City, but it was a trip he couldn't afford to miss after discovering a message in regards to a top secret criminal organisation. With a new car and a new lover, now he just needs every trace of his existence erased as he sets out to Rome to uncover this sinister mystery, while on the way meeting the only person with inside knowledge of this group; Lucia Sciarra, the widow of a notorious crime boss who informs Bond about SPECTRE. It soon becomes clear that Bond has a new enemy to face off against, though with every member of SPECTRE having some sort of link to 007, maybe this time the enemy's not such a new face after all.

Continue: Spectre Trailer

Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux and John C. Reilly - A variety of stars were photographed as they attended a photo call for 'The Lobster' at the 68th Annual Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France - Friday 15th May 2015

Ben Whishaw, Lea Seydoux and John C. Reilly

Suffragette - Teaser Trailer


Throughout the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, a secret war took place on the streets of England. For years, women of all ages and classes had fought for their right to vote, although they used politics and reason as their biggest weapon. When no clear results were seen, a specialist group formed a more radical idea - to take the political campaign out of the shadows and into the streets, with protests and fighting to gain what was theirs by right. But as the government fights back even harder, desperate times call for desperate measures. 

Continue: Suffragette - Teaser Trailer

Ben Whishaw - Shots from the set of 'London Spy' as Ben Whishaw and Edward Holcroft filmed night scenes in London, United Kingdom - Tuesday 25th November 2014

Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish - Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish Friday 15th May 2009 at Cannes Film Festival Cannes, France

Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish
Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw Quick Links

News Pictures Video Film Comments Quotes RSS

Ben Whishaw

Date of birth

14th October, 1980

Occupation

Actor

Sex

Male

Height

1.75


Advertisement
Advertisement

Ben Whishaw Movies

Paddington 2 Movie Review

Paddington 2 Movie Review

The first Paddington movie in 2014 is already such a beloved classic that it's hard...

A Hologram For The King Trailer

A Hologram For The King Trailer

Alan Clay is a middle aged American businessman who's life has recently derailed. With nothing...

The Danish Girl Movie Review

The Danish Girl Movie Review

Director Tom Hooper deploys the same style he used in The King's Speech for this...

In the Heart of the Sea Movie Review

In the Heart of the Sea Movie Review

With a huge budget and a relatively small story, this is an intriguingly offbeat blockbuster...

In The Heart Of The Sea Trailer

In The Heart Of The Sea Trailer

In The Heart Of The Sea is the true seaman's tale based on the last...

James Bond - Spectre Movie Review

James Bond - Spectre Movie Review

For his latest adventure, James Bond mixes the personal drama of Skyfall with the vintage...

The Lobster Movie Review

The Lobster Movie Review

Throwing a solid Hollywood cast into a surreal arthouse satire, acclaimed Greek filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos...

Advertisement
Suffragette Movie Review

Suffragette Movie Review

Based on real events a century ago that still resonate loudly today, this movie takes...

Spectre Trailer

Spectre Trailer

James Bond has never played by the rules, but this time he may have gone...

The Lobster Trailer

The Lobster Trailer

David is a single man having just left a 12 year relationship. As per the...

The Danish Girl Trailer

The Danish Girl Trailer

Einar Wegener is a Danish artist, apparently happily married to wife of the same occupation...

Spectre Trailer

Spectre Trailer

It seems James Bond's flighty career has all boiled down to this moment. He's in...

Suffragette - Teaser Trailer

Suffragette - Teaser Trailer

Throughout the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, a secret war took place on...

Spectre - Teaser Trailer

Spectre - Teaser Trailer

Picking up after the climactic battle at his childhood home of Skyfall Lodge and the...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews