Photo: Everwest / CC BY 4.0 (source: Wikimedia Commons)
My Take
What fascinates me about Ben Whishaw is how he turns fragility into a weapon. Cast as Hamlet in his early twenties, he announced a career built on nerve endings rather than bravado, and the awards followed: an International Emmy, a BAFTA television acting prize, independent film honors, all without him ever chasing the spotlight. He moves between stage, screen, and voice work with the same hushed precision, and he can make stillness feel louder than any shouted monologue. I find him the rare actor whose restraint reads as generosity toward the audience. If British acting has a quiet conscience in his generation, I would nominate Whishaw for the role.
Overview
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.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Ben Whishaw
- Name (Japanese)
- ベン・ウィショー
- Reading
- べん・うぃしょー
- Born
- October 14, 1980 (age 45)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Libra / Monkey
- Origin
- Clifton, United Kingdom
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- stage actor / television actor / film actor / voice actor / actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- Private
Awards & achievements
- 2001 Kinotavr
- 2002 British Independent Film Awards 2002
- 2005 Ian Charleson Awards
- 2009 International Emmy Award for Best Actor
- 2009 Royal Television Society Awards
- 2012 Broadcasting Press Guild Award
- 2013 British Academy Television Award for Best Actor
- 2008 Film Independent Spirit Awards
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
Stage actor — see all → · Television actor — see all → · More people from United Kingdom →
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-11
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.