Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw
Whishaw in 2018
Born
Benjamin John Whishaw

(1980-10-14) 14 October 1980 (age 44)[1]
Alma materRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art
OccupationActor
Years active1999–present
PartnerMark Bradshaw (2012–2022)

Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in My Brother Tom (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the title role in a 2004 production of Hamlet. This was followed by television roles in Nathan Barley (2005), Criminal Justice (2008) and The Hour (2011–12) and film roles in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Brideshead Revisited (2008), and Bright Star (2009). For Criminal Justice, Whishaw received an International Emmy Award and received his first BAFTA Award nomination.

In 2012, Whishaw played the title role in a BBC Two adaptation of Richard II, broadcast as part of The Hollow Crown series of William Shakespeare adaptations, for which he won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. The same year, he appeared as Q in the James Bond film Skyfall (2012), going on to reprise the role in Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). He has voiced Paddington Bear in Paddington (2014), its sequel Paddington 2 (2017), the follow-up television series, and Paddington in Peru (2024). His other film roles in the 2010s have included Cloud Atlas (2012), The Lobster (2015), Suffragette (2015), The Danish Girl (2015), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). In 2020, he had a leading role as Patrick "Rabbi" Milligan in the fourth season of the black comedy crime drama Fargo. In 2022, he starred in the BBC medical drama series This Is Going to Hurt, and in 2023 led the comedy-drama short film Good Boy, which was shortlisted for Best Live Action Short Film at the 96th Academy Awards.[2]

Whishaw received a third BAFTA Award nomination for the leading role in London Spy (2015) and, for his portrayal of Norman Scott in the miniseries A Very English Scandal (2018), won the British Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actor, the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor – Series, Miniseries or Television Film and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Limited Series or Movie.

  1. ^ "Ben Whishaw". Biography.com. 15 May 2018. Archived from the original on 4 September 2018. Retrieved 3 September 2018.
  2. ^ Hammond, Pete (21 December 2023). "Oscar Shortlists In 10 Categories Announced: 'Barbie', 'Oppenheimer', 'Maestro' & More". Deadline. Retrieved 5 January 2024.