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Ben Whishaw

Acting

Born October 14, 1980 · Clifton, Bedfordshire, England, UK

Also known as Benjamin John Whishaw · Μπεν Γουίσοου · بن ویشاو

Biography

Benjamin John Whishaw (born 14 October 1980) is an English actor. He has received various accolades, including three British Academy Television Awards, two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe. Beginning his career in the 2000s, he played the title role in a 2004 production of the play Hamlet. Television roles followed this 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). In 2012, Whishaw played the title role in a BBC Two adaptation of Richard II, 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 several projects since Paddington (2014). His other film roles in the 2010s include Cloud Atlas (2012), The Lobster (2015), Suffragette (2015), The Danish Girl (2015), and Mary Poppins Returns (2018). Whishaw had a leading role in London Spy (2015). For his portrayal of Norman Scott in the miniseries A Very English Scandal (2018), he won a BAFTA, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor. In 2020, he had a leading role in the fourth season of the black comedy drama Fargo. He has since starred in the BBC medical drama series This Is Going to Hurt (2022), the short film Good Boy (2023), and the Netflix spy thriller series Black Doves (2024). Description above from the Wikipedia article Ben Whishaw, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Awards & recognition

  • Primetime Emmy AwardOutstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie · 2019
  • Theatre World Award · 2016
  • British Academy Television AwardBest Actor · 2013
  • Broadcasting Press Guild Award · 2012
  • International Emmy AwardBest Actor · 2009
Show all 23 awards →
  • Royal Television Society Awards · 2009
  • Film Independent Spirit Awards · 2008
  • Bambi Award · 2006
  • Ian Charleson Awards · 2005
  • British Independent Film Awards 2002 · 2002
  • Kinotavr · 2001
  • British Academy Television AwardBest Actor · 2016 · nominated
  • British Independent Film AwardBest Supporting Actor · 2015 · nominated
  • Online Film & Television Association Award · 2014 · nominated
  • Broadcasting Press Guild Award · 2013 · nominated
  • WhatsOnStage AwardBest Actor in a Play · 2013 · nominated
  • Broadcasting Press Guild Award · 2012 · nominated
  • British Academy Television AwardBest Actor · 2009 · nominated
  • Crime Thriller Awards · 2008 · nominated
  • BAFTA Rising Star Award · 2007 · nominated
  • European Film AwardBest Actor · 2007 · nominated
  • Online Film & Television Association Award · 2007 · nominated
  • Laurence Olivier AwardBest Actor · 2005 · nominated

Filmography48 titles

Fargo

2014as Patrick 'Rabbi' Milligan

The Adventures of Paddington

2019as Paddington (voice)

This Is Going to Hurt

2022as Adam Kay

Criminal Justice

2008as Ben Coulter

National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar

2018as Marcus Brutus

Paddington 2

2017as Paddington Brown (voice)

Unity

2015as Narrator (voice)

The Danish Girl

2015as Henrik

The Hollow Crown

2012as King Richard

The Hour

2011as Freddie Lyon

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

2006as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille

No Time to Die

2021as Q

Skyfall

2012as Q

Suffragette

2015as Sonny Watts

The Graham Norton Show

2007as Self

Black Doves

2024as Sam Young

A Very English Scandal

2018as Norman Scott

Paddington

2014as Paddington (voice)

The Lobster

2015as Limping Man

London Spy

2015as Danny

Lilting

2014as Richard

Cloud Atlas

2012as Cabin Boy / Robert Frobisher / Store Clerk / Georgette / Tribesman

Layer Cake

2004as Sidney

Paddington in Peru

2024as Paddington Brown (voice)

Women Talking

2022as August

In the Heart of the Sea

2015as Herman Melville

Spectre

2015as Q

Bright Star

2009as John Keats

Mary Poppins Returns

2018as Michael Banks

I'm Not There

2007as Arthur

Limonov: The Ballad of Eddie

2024as Eduard 'Eddie' Limonov

The Personal History of David Copperfield

2019as Uriah Heep

Passages

2023as Martin

Brideshead Revisited

2008as Sebastian Flyte

Teenage

2013as British Boy (voice)

The Zero Theorem

2013as Doctor 3

A Hologram for the King

2016as Dave

Little Joe

2019as Chris

Enduring Love

2004as Spud

Queers.

Surge

2020as Joseph

The Trench

1999as Pte. James Deamis

The Escort

1999as Jay

Peter Hujar's Day

2025as Peter Hujar

The Tempest

2010as Ariel

Stoned

2005as Keith Richards

Bad Behaviour

2023as Elon Bello

Days and Nights

2014as Eric