Ben Whishaw

Acting

Ben Whishaw

Born

1980-10-14 (46)

Place of birth

Clifton, Bedfordshire, England, UK

Known for

Acting

Credits

78 titles

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 appe…

Known for

The Graham Norton Show poster
7.2

Each week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.

The Graham Norton Show

2007

Fargo poster
8.3

A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.

Fargo

2014

Bambi poster
9.0

The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.

Bambi

1948

No Time to Die poster
7.3

Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

No Time to Die

2021

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg poster
2.8

The big names behind the big stories. Laura Kuenssberg talks to those making the news, inside and outside politics.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

2022

The Lobster poster
7.0

In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into animals and sent off into The Woods.

The Lobster

2015

Film credits

2020s · 19 titles

No Time to Die poster
7.3

Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology.

No Time to Die

2021

Paddington in Peru poster
6.8

Paddington travels to Peru to visit his beloved Aunt Lucy, who now resides at the Home for Retired Bears. With the Brown Family in tow, a thrilling adventure ensues when a mystery plunges them into an unexpected journey through the Amazon rainforest and up to the mountain peaks of Peru.

Paddington in Peru

2024

Women Talking poster
6.8

A group of women in an isolated religious colony struggle to reconcile their faith with a series of sexual assaults committed by the colony's men.

Women Talking

2022

Peter Hujar's Day poster
5.6

A recently discovered conversation between photographer Peter Hujar and his friend Linda Rosenkrantz in 1974 reveals a glimpse into New York City’s downtown art scene and the personal struggles and epiphanies that define an artist’s life.

Peter Hujar's Day

2025

Passages poster
6.3

Tomas and Martin are a gay couple living in Paris whose marriage is thrown into crisis when Tomas impulsively begins a passionate affair with young schoolteacher Agathe. But when Martin begins an affair of his own, Tomas must confront life decisions he may be unprepared—or unwilling—to deal with.

Passages

2023

Limonov: The Ballad poster
6.4

A revolutionary militant, a thug, an underground writer, a butler to a millionaire in Manhattan. But also a switchblade-waving poet, a lover of beautiful women, a warmonger, a political agitator, and a novelist who wrote of his greatness. Eduard Limonov’s life story is a journey through Russia, America, and Europe during the second half of the 20th century.

Limonov: The Ballad

2024

Bad Behaviour poster
4.7

Lucy, a former child actor, seeks enlightenment at a retreat led by spiritual leader Elon while she navigates her close yet turbulent relationship with her stunt-performer daughter, Dylan.

Bad Behaviour

2023

Elden Ring poster
NR

A live-action adaptation of the dark fantasy video game, set in the war-torn world of the Lands Between, which was once united by the Elden Ring. Plot details TBA.

Elden Ring

2028

Miss Fortunate poster
NR

If luck is a lady, grief is a bitch. A young woman loses her mother and finds herself.

Miss Fortunate

2021

An A to Z of Paddington poster
NR

Dive deep into the lore and influence of Paddington in this feel-good documentary composed of beautiful illustrations and interviews with famous fans.

An A to Z of Paddington

2024

Ungentle poster
6.1

A fictionalised essay read by Ben Wishaw exploring the complicated relationship between British espionage and male homosexuality. An anonymous narrator talks through the various chapters of his life as a spy and a gay man in late 20th-century Britain. His vivid stories of intimacy and surveillance play out over shots of the luscious countryside, busy Central London streets, and nighttime cruising zones.

Ungentle

2022

Surge poster
5.4

A man goes on a bold and reckless journey of self-liberation through London. After he robs a bank he releases a wilder version of himself, ultimately experiencing what it feels like to be alive.

Surge

2020

The Gay Collection | Volume I | Presented by Shortz! poster
NR

Experience a captivating collection of five award-winning gay short films, each celebrated for their brilliance, artistry, and storytelling. These exceptional works represent the very best in gay cinema.

The Gay Collection | Volume I | Presented by Shortz!

2025

In Heat poster
NR

A recovering sex addict sits on the edge of a beach car park, looking to cruise, while talking on an addiction helpline – with a husband patiently waiting at home.

In Heat

2024

Good Boy poster
6.8

Out of money and out of luck, Danny is determined to turn his life around, but the interventions of his anarchic mum and the reappearance of figures from his past threaten to derail him at every turn.

Good Boy

2023

Paddington Meets The Queen poster
7.5

Paddington learns that The Queen also loves marmalade sandwiches. He shows Her Majesty where he hides his sandwiches, and The Queen also shows where she keeps hers.

Paddington Meets The Queen

2022

Forgetting the Many: The Royal Pardon of Alan Turing poster
5.0

Follows the life of Alan Turing and roughly 49,000 other men who were convicted and imprisoned for the "crime" of gross indecency.

Forgetting the Many: The Royal Pardon of Alan Turing

2024

No artwork available
6.0

Documentary on the making of the 2025 film "Peter Hujar's Day".

Images: Making "Peter Hujar's Day"

2026

No artwork available
5.5

Production designer Mark Tildesley and costume designer Suttirat Anne Larlarb, along with cast and other filmmakers, discuss the inspiration, challenges and trials of conceiving and making the remarkable sets and costumes for the iconic Bond franchise.

Designing Bond

2021

2010s · 24 titles

The Lobster poster
7.0

In a dystopian near future, single people, according to the laws of The City, are taken to The Hotel, where they are obliged to find a romantic partner in forty-five days or are transformed into animals and sent off into The Woods.

The Lobster

2015

Spectre poster
6.6

A cryptic message from Bond’s past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

Spectre

2015

Cloud Atlas poster
6.9

A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.

Cloud Atlas

2012

Skyfall poster
7.3

When Bond's latest assignment goes gravely wrong, agents around the world are exposed and MI6 headquarters is attacked. While M faces challenges to her authority and position from Gareth Mallory, the new Chairman of the Intelligence and Security Committee, it's up to Bond, aided only by field agent Eve, to locate the mastermind behind the attack.

Skyfall

2012

In the Heart of the Sea poster
6.8

In the winter of 1820, the New England whaling ship Essex is assaulted by something no one could believe—a whale of mammoth size and will, and an almost human sense of vengeance.

In the Heart of the Sea

2015

Mary Poppins Returns poster
6.5

Mary Poppins returns to the Banks family and helps them evade grave dangers by taking them on magical, musical adventures.

Mary Poppins Returns

2018

Paddington 2 poster
7.5

Paddington, now happily settled with the Browns, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy, but it is stolen.

Paddington 2

2017

Paddington poster
7.1

A young Peruvian bear travels to London in search of a home. Finding himself lost and alone at Paddington Station, he meets the kindly Brown family, who offer him a temporary haven.

Paddington

2014

The Personal History of David Copperfield poster
6.4

A fresh and distinctive take on Charles Dickens’ semi-autobiographical masterpiece, The Personal History of David Copperfield, set in the 1840s, chronicles the life of its iconic title character as he navigates a chaotic world to find his elusive place within it. From his unhappy childhood to the discovery of his gift as a storyteller and writer, David’s journey is by turns hilarious and tragic, but always full of life, colour and humanity.

The Personal History of David Copperfield

2019

The Danish Girl poster
7.5

When Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to fill in as a portrait model, Einar discovers the person she's meant to be and begins living her life as Lili Elbe. Having realized her true self and with Gerda's love and support, Lili embarks on a groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

The Danish Girl

2015

The Zero Theorem poster
6.1

A computer hacker's goal to discover the reason for human existence continually finds his work interrupted thanks to the Management; this time, they send a teenager and lusty love interest to distract him.

The Zero Theorem

2013

Suffragette poster
7.2

Based on true events about the foot soldiers of the early feminist movement, women who were forced underground to pursue a dangerous game of cat and mouse with an increasingly brutal State.

Suffragette

2015

The Tempest poster
5.3

An adaptation of the play by William Shakespeare. Prospera (a female version of Shakespeare's Prospero) is the usurped ruler of Milan who has been banished to a mysterious island with her daughter. Using her magical powers, she draws her enemies to the island to exact her revenge.

The Tempest

2010

A Hologram for the King poster
5.8

Alan Clay, a struggling American businessman, travels to Saudi Arabia to sell a new technology to the King, only to be challenged by endless Middle Eastern bureaucracy, a perpetually absent monarch, and a suspicious growth on his back.

A Hologram for the King

2016

Little Joe poster
5.7

Alice, a single mother who is more dedicated to her work as a genetic engineer than to her teenage son Joe, develops a new variety of flower that is supposed to have the ability to make its owner happy thanks to its special chemical properties.

Little Joe

2019

Lilting poster
7.0

A young man of Chinese-Cambodian descent dies, leaving behind his isolated mother and his lover of four years. Though the two don't share a language, they grow close through their grief.

Lilting

2014

Days and Nights poster
4.5

Reckless desire wreaks havoc over Memorial Day weekend as a family confronts the volatile and fragile nature of love. A modern retelling of Anton Chekhov's "The Seagull", set in rural New England.

Days and Nights

2014

National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar poster
7.5

Caesar returns in triumph to Rome and the people pour out of their homes to celebrate. Alarmed by the autocrat’s popularity, the educated élite conspire to bring him down. After his assassination, civil war erupts on the streets of the capital. Nicholas Hytner’s production will thrust the audience into the street party that greets Caesar’s return, the congress that witnesses his murder, the rally that assembles for his funeral and the chaos that explodes in its wake.

National Theatre Live: Julius Caesar

2018

Unity poster
7.5

Despite the advent of science, literature, technology, philosophy, religion, and so on -- none of these has assuaged humankind from killing one another, the animals, and nature. UNITY is a film about why we can't seem to get along, even after thousands and thousands of years.

Unity

2015

Palo Santo poster
7.3

Palo Santo, a city on a distant planet, on which human beings are a rare commodity, worshipped and idolized by an android society. Olly, along with the final humans, is recruited to perform in a series of bizarre erotic cabarets, for an artificial master known only as The Showman.

Palo Santo

2018

His Picture In Little poster
NR

A portrait of three actors of different generations who have all portrayed Hamlet: David Warner, Stephen Dillane and Ben Whishaw.

His Picture In Little

2018

O Holy Ghost poster
NR

A mixture of rapture and disenchantment, O HOLY GHOST follows the inner experiences of two believers at opposite ends of the spiritual spectrum.

O Holy Ghost

2019

Teenage poster
6.1

Teenagers did not exist before the 20th century. Not until the early 1950s did the term gain widespread recognition, but "Teenage" offers compelling evidence that teenagers had a tumultuous effect on the previous half-decade.

Teenage

2013

Family Happiness poster
7.0

A story about small cruelties, adult bullying, and the power of a brothers unconditional love for his complex little sister.

Family Happiness

2017

2000s · 14 titles

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer poster
7.4

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born in the stench of 18th century Paris, develops a superior olfactory sense, which he uses to create the world's finest perfumes. However, his work takes a dark turn as he tries to preserve scents in the search for the ultimate perfume.

Perfume: The Story of a Murderer

2006

I'm Not There poster
6.5

Six actors portray six personas of music legend Bob Dylan in scenes depicting various stages of his life, chronicling his rise from unknown folksinger to international icon and revealing how Dylan constantly reinvented himself.

I'm Not There

2007

The International poster
6.3

An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.

The International

2009

Layer Cake poster
6.9

When a seemingly straight-forward drug deal goes awry, XXXX has to break his die-hard rules and turn up the heat, not only to outwit the old regime and come out on top, but to save his own skin...

Layer Cake

2004

Bright Star poster
6.6

In 1818, high-spirited young Fanny Brawne finds herself increasingly intrigued by the handsome but aloof poet John Keats, who lives next door to her family friends the Dilkes. After reading a book of his poetry, she finds herself even more drawn to the taciturn Keats. Although he agrees to teach her about poetry, Keats cannot act on his reciprocated feelings for Fanny, since as a struggling poet he has no money to support a wife.

Bright Star

2009

Brideshead Revisited poster
6.3

Befriended by aristocrat Sebastian Flyte, Oxford student Charles Ryder finds that the power and privilege experienced by the family is seductive. On a visit to the ancestral home, Brideshead, he falls in love with his friend's sister, Julia. However, as his ties to the Flytes deepen, Ryder finds himself at odds with their strong Roman Catholicism.

Brideshead Revisited

2008

Enduring Love poster
5.8

Two strangers become dangerously close after witnessing a deadly accident. On a beautiful cloudless day a young couple celebrate their reunion with a picnic. Joe has planned a postcard-perfect afternoon in the English countryside with his partner, Claire. But as Joe and Claire prepare to open a bottle of champagne, their idyll comes to an abrupt end. A hot air balloon drifts into the field, obviously in trouble. The pilot catches his leg in the anchor rope, while the only passenger, a boy, is too scared to jump down. Joe and three other men rush to secure the basket. But fate has other ideas...

Enduring Love

2004

Stoned poster
5.2

A chronicle of the sordid life and suspicious death of Rolling Stones co-founder Brian Jones, who was found in the bottom of his swimming pool weeks after being let go from the band.

Stoned

2005

No artwork available
NR

Two boys go to a park to look for girls. Unusually, one of them is doing it for Lord Krishna.

Spiritual Rampage

2003

77 Beds poster
8.0

One sleepless night Ishmael, a young spacey urban nomad, starts counting back through all the beds he has ever slept in.

77 Beds

2003

My Brother Tom poster
5.8

A teenage girl, Jessica, befriends a teenage boy called Tom, who is bullied by a local gang. She is abused by Jack, who is both her neighbour and school teacher, and Tom is sexually abused by his father. Together they bond in the woods, creating a private reality that no-one else can enter.

My Brother Tom

2001

Love Hate poster
8.0

A sweet-natured charity worker finds his life turned upside down, when he falls in love with a mysterious woman.

Love Hate

2009

Ready When You Are, Mr McGill poster
7.3

Remake of the 1976 TV drama by Jack Rosenthal. An extra in a TV drama is finally given a line to say. He goes on to cause mounting chaos

Ready When You Are, Mr McGill

2004

The Booze Cruise poster
8.0

A group of men from Kent; Clive (Martin Clunes), Rob (Neil Pearson), Dave (Mark Benton), Maurice (Brian Murphy) and Daniel (Ben Whishaw) - go on a booze cruise to France, with mixed success and many mishaps along the way. Events involving their wives and families back home also form a large part of the plot.

The Booze Cruise

2003

Series credits

The Graham Norton Show poster
7.2

Each week celebrity guests join Irish comedian Graham Norton to discuss what's being going on around the world that week. The guests poke fun and share their opinions on the main news stories. Graham is often joined by a band or artist to play the show out.

The Graham Norton Show

2007

Fargo poster
8.3

A close-knit anthology series dealing with stories involving malice, violence and murder based in and around Minnesota.

Fargo

2014

Bambi poster
9.0

The Bambi, often called the Bambi Award and stylised as BAMBI, is a German award presented annually by Hubert Burda Media to recognize excellence in international media and television to personalities in the media, arts, culture, sports, and other fields "with vision and creativity who affected and inspired the German public that year", both domestic and foreign. First held in 1948, it is the oldest media award in Germany. The trophy is named after Felix Salten's book Bambi, A Life in the Woods and its statuettes are in the shape of the novel's titular fawn character. They were originally made of porcelain until 1958, when the organizers switched to using gold, with the casting done by the art casting workshop of Ernst Strassacker in Süßen.

Bambi

1948

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg poster
2.8

The big names behind the big stories. Laura Kuenssberg talks to those making the news, inside and outside politics.

Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg

2022

The Adventures of Paddington poster
7.7

Journey to London for heart-warming adventures with beloved British bear Paddington in this CG-animated series, which centres on a younger Paddington as he writes letters to Aunt Lucy celebrating the new things he has discovered through the day’s exciting activities.

The Adventures of Paddington

2019

The Hollow Crown poster
7.4

A series of British television films featuring William Shakespeare's History Plays.

The Hollow Crown

2012

Black Doves poster
7.0

When a spy posing as a politician's wife learns her lover has been murdered, an old assassin friend joins her on a quest for truth — and vengeance.

Black Doves

2024

Playhouse Presents poster
6.0

Playhouse Presents is a series of self-contained TV plays, made by British broadcaster Sky Arts. The series started airing on 12 April 2012, on Sky Arts 1. Each episode is written by a different writer with a different cast.

Playhouse Presents

2012

This Is Going to Hurt poster
7.6

The unvarnished truth of life as a doctor working in obstetrics and gynaecology.

This Is Going to Hurt

2022

A Very English Scandal poster
7.1

It's the late 1960s, homosexuality has only just been legalised and Jeremy Thorpe, the leader of the Liberal party, has a secret he's desperate to hide.

A Very English Scandal

2018

Criminal Justice poster
7.6

Thriller by Peter Moffat about the challenges and politics of the criminal justice system seen through the eyes of the accused.

Criminal Justice

2008

London Spy poster
7.0

A chance romance between two men from very different worlds, one from the headquarters of the Secret Intelligence Service, the other from a world of clubbing and youthful excess, leads into mystery after one of them suddenly disappears.

London Spy

2015

The Hour poster
7.5

A behind-the-scenes drama and espionage thriller in Cold War-era England that centers on a journalist, a producer, and an anchorman for an investigative news programme.

The Hour

2011

Nathan Barley poster
7.3

Nathan Barley is a Channel 4 sitcom written by Charlie Brooker and Chris Morris, starring Nicholas Burns, Julian Barratt, Charlie Condou and Claire Keelan. The series of six weekly episodes began broadcasting on 11 February 2005 on Channel 4. Described by his creator as a "meaningless strutting cadaver-in-waiting", the character originated on Brooker's TVGoHome – a website parodying television listings – as the focus of a fly-on-the-wall documentary called Cunt.

Nathan Barley

2005

Queers. poster
5.9

A series of eight monologues set in the same pub over many years of gay history in response to the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act.

Queers.

2017

Queers. poster
5.9

A series of eight monologues set in the same pub over many years of gay history in response to the 50th anniversary of the Sexual Offences Act.

Queers.

2017

Black Cab poster
8.0

A series of ten 10-minute films – some humorous, some dramatic – capturing key in the lives of taxi drivers and their passengers. Among these journeys, a man visits his lover, a gay prostitute goes to work, two girls party on Christmas Eve, an American tourist sees 'real' London, and a cabbie helps a woman in distress.

Black Cab

2000

No artwork available
8.0

Other People's Children is a four-episode 2000 British television drama, adapted by Leigh Jackson from Joanna Trollope's 1998 novel of the same name. The series tells the story of how three women and two men deal with new marriages and the consequences of the new spouses or partners having to deal with their partner's children of different ages from previous marriages.

Other People's Children

2000