Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw was born on 14 October 1980 in Hitchin, Hertfordshire. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, graduating Spring 2003. In 1999, prior to drama school, Ben played important supporting roles in two films, The Trench (Arts Council/Studio Canal dir. William Boyd) and Mauvaise Passé (Pathe/Studio Canal dir Michel Blanc). He also played the title role in My Brother Tom (Film Four dir. Dom Rotheroe). After graduation, he went on to appear in Enduring Love, a film adaptation of Ian McEwan's novel directed by Roger Michel, and Layer Cake, a feature directed by Matthew Vaughan. ln 2003, he starred in the popular comedy-drama The Booze Cruise for ITV.

Ben subsequently made his West End debut at the National Theatre in their stage adaptation of Phillip Pullman's His Dark Materials and starred as Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's electric 'youth' version of the play at the Old Vic, for which he has received tremendous critical acclaim and a Laurence Olivier nomination(2005).

It was during this run that Perfume producer Bernd Eichinger and director Tom Tykwer discovered Ben’s extraordinary talent. Ben played the lead character Grenouille in the highly acclaimed Perfume which debuted in the UK in December 2006. Ben has also shot a feature film called Stoned, in which he plays Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones, which was released in 2006. Ben also appeared on television in Nathan Barley from director Chris Morris for TalkBack Productions. Ben returned to the theatre for Katie Mitchell’s version of The Seagull at the National Theatre in the Autumn of 2006, for which he again received great reviews.

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