Ben Whishaw (14 October 1980, Clifton, Bedfordshire, England, UK) movies list and roles

I began to feel that he was a character who, left to his own devices, wouldn't really speak at all. I thought about him as being autistic in...Show more »

I began to feel that he was a character who, left to his own devices, wouldn't really speak at all. I thought about him as being autistic in some way. He simply doesn't understand human beings. Social situations terrify him. On the character Jean-Baptiste Grenouille Show less «

It's difficult, it's a bit like acting in a silent movie. That's what Dustin Hoffman said to me, anyway. We did the scenes with him in the f...Show more »

It's difficult, it's a bit like acting in a silent movie. That's what Dustin Hoffman said to me, anyway. We did the scenes with him in the first two weeks, and as he was leaving he said, 'Well now you're making a silent film, Ben; good luck!".- On making Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) Show less «

I've been out to LA a couple of times but, over there, the Grenouille in me always comes to the surface. I feel completely terrified, totall...Show more »

I've been out to LA a couple of times but, over there, the Grenouille in me always comes to the surface. I feel completely terrified, totally flummoxed, like I don't understand what the hell is going on. I've no desire at all to go back there. Show less «

I do think Dylan's incredible.I sort of fell in love with him. I became obsessed. But I've moved on now. I always do.

There are certainly other things I'd like to have a go at one day.I'd like to have a go at directing. Or maybe I'll go back to painting. Or ...Show more »

There are certainly other things I'd like to have a go at one day.I'd like to have a go at directing. Or maybe I'll go back to painting. Or maybe thinking about those things is just my way of protecting myself if it all goes wrong. Show less «

I don't have any ambition to make lots of money or win an Oscar or anything like that. It's not about that for me. I'm very lucky to have fo...Show more »

I don't have any ambition to make lots of money or win an Oscar or anything like that. It's not about that for me. I'm very lucky to have found the thing that makes me tick. Show less «

I didn't really get much. I was with all these beautiful girls who I've murdered, all looking gorgeous, and I was the spare prick at the wed...Show more »

I didn't really get much. I was with all these beautiful girls who I've murdered, all looking gorgeous, and I was the spare prick at the wedding. - About Berlin Film Festival's paparazzi. Show less «

I'm so lucky to be able to do what I do, and it would be abusing it just to make money. I don't need lots of money, I'm not motivated by tha...Show more »

I'm so lucky to be able to do what I do, and it would be abusing it just to make money. I don't need lots of money, I'm not motivated by that. I would feel really dirty I think. Show less «

The criminal justice system, like any system designed by human beings, clearly has its flaws.

The thing I love most about acting is that your capacity evolves as you evolve as a human being.

The most amazing thing is when you find yourself watching someone in the café or something doing something weird. It's amazing what people ...Show more »

The most amazing thing is when you find yourself watching someone in the café or something doing something weird. It's amazing what people do, isn't it, when you just look at them, when you take the time to look. Show less «

I think I have a degree of confidence, but I also have terrible insecurity, like anybody does.

When you have a character to work with, you carry them around in a strange way - they make you look at the world in a different way.

I used to collect knick-knacks, like wizards, trolls and little Buddhas, and arrange them like precious things on a shelf.

Filmmakers tell stories to explore human nature, which is always a flawed thing.

I don't think anyone can walk through the world in a state of vulnerability all the time, can they?

I'm really hopeless with technology - I don't even have a computer.

I love films. I love music. I love poetry and stories. All of that I feel... I sort of get very excited and fed by.

I love taking on other people's words. They are much more interesting to me than my own.

Your one certainty in life, your power as a human being, is that you have a choice in every situation about what you do next and about how y...Show more »

Your one certainty in life, your power as a human being, is that you have a choice in every situation about what you do next and about how you take what has happened to you. Show less «

We are so mired in the complexity of our reactions to other people that when you come across someone who is asocial, there is a simplicity t...Show more »

We are so mired in the complexity of our reactions to other people that when you come across someone who is asocial, there is a simplicity that is refreshing. Show less «

I think the sensation of being moved by a piece of art is something that is really good for a person's soul.

I reckon domesticated cats have a pretty good life.

The thing about acting is that it's fairly random. At the end of the day you take what drifts past you or what's given to you.

I wish that the arts were better supported, and you can't say that enough times, but I also believe that whatever happens, artists will keep...Show more »

I wish that the arts were better supported, and you can't say that enough times, but I also believe that whatever happens, artists will keep going. Show less «

It's fun to pretend you're good at something you know you wouldn't be good at in real life.

My intuition comes up with better stuff than my head, I think.

I'm not tortured and neurasthenic - I'm really not.

What I notice about people who are gifted in filmmaking is that they're great thinkers. They engage with big ideas and they engage with peop...Show more »

What I notice about people who are gifted in filmmaking is that they're great thinkers. They engage with big ideas and they engage with people. Show less «

I think that sometimes in theater, I don't prepare much beyond going to the rehearsals.

In film, I find it very useful always to do some preparation before you start rehearsals or start shooting, because there's so much that's a...Show more »

In film, I find it very useful always to do some preparation before you start rehearsals or start shooting, because there's so much that's against you on a film set. Show less «

One of the things I find very difficult about theatre is the repetition - that something can slide away from your original intentions.

I've gone on workout regimes, but I seem to have a system that is very resistant to changing.

Even today, England is a very repressed, repressive country, and there's pressure to be kind of a certain way, so people do things that ulti...Show more »

Even today, England is a very repressed, repressive country, and there's pressure to be kind of a certain way, so people do things that ultimately make them sad. Show less «

Keats himself spoke about how Shakespeare was capable of erasing himself completely from the characters he had created. As an actor, that is...Show more »

Keats himself spoke about how Shakespeare was capable of erasing himself completely from the characters he had created. As an actor, that is what I'm trying to do. Show less «

I don't think I am especially interested in celebrities, but I love talking about what is going on with people and why they do what they do.

I'm a fairly private person.

I find it really hard to say anything coherent or interesting about the work I do.

The thing I love about acting is that you can bring something very personal into the open and at the same time remain hidden because you're ...Show more »

The thing I love about acting is that you can bring something very personal into the open and at the same time remain hidden because you're always playing a character in a story that someone else has imagined. You're always protected. Show less «

I am a typical Libran. I tend to see two sides of everything.

I do get stopped on the street, although rarely. And they always have something lovely to say.

For me, it's important to keep a level of anonymity.

I find it weird that people want to know about you.

I think being very thin has had a lot to do with how I've been cast.

I would have loved to have been a painter or a sculptor. I'm still fascinated by those things.

I love the characters I've had the opportunity to play.

I'd like to have a go at directing.

I was quite a shy child - not chronically, but I tended to blend into the background.

My favorite Bond films are the really early ones, the first ones in fact, like Dr. No (1962) and From Russia with Love (1963).

When I finished my A-levels, I assumed I'd be able to get work as an actor. But I couldn't. I didn't get an audition. Nothing. So I thought ...Show more »

When I finished my A-levels, I assumed I'd be able to get work as an actor. But I couldn't. I didn't get an audition. Nothing. So I thought I'd better train and then the parts would come. Show less «

[on his hair] Sort of neglect of it, really. I don't wash it often. I will often put a hat on it to squash it down a bit.