Ben Whishaw Biography- Benjamin John Whishaw b. October 14, 1980 is an English actor. After receiving a British Independent Film Award for his performance in My Brother Tom (2001), he was nominated for an Olivier Award for playing the title role in a 2004 production of Hamlet. This was followed by appearances on television in Nathan Barley (2005), Criminal Justice (2008), and The Hour (2011-12), as well as film roles in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), I’m Not There (2007), Brideshead Revisited (2008), and Bright Star (2009). Whishaw won an International Emmy for Criminal Justice and was nominated for his first BAFTA Award. In 2012, Whishaw played the title character in a BBC Two rendition of Richard II, shown as part of the Hollow Crown series.
Ben Whishaw Biography 2025
Benjamin John Whishaw, hailed by many critics as one of the best young actors of his generation, was born in Clifton, Bedfordshire, to Linda (Hope), a cosmetics worker, and Jose Whishaw, an information technology professional. He has a twin brother named James. He is of French, German, Russian (father), and English (mother) heritage. Ben attended Samuel Whitbread Community College, where he developed an interest in theatre and joined the Bancroft Players Youth Theatre at Hitchin’s Queen Mother Theatre. During his tenure there, he rose to fame in a number of productions, the most notable of which was If This Is a Man, based on Primo Levi’s book of the same name, written by a survivor of a Nazi World War II prisoner of war camp.
Benjamin John Whishaw is an English actor. After winning a British Independent Film Award for his performance in My Brother Tom, he was nominated for an Olivier Award for his portrayal of the title role in a 2004 production of Hamlet.
Born: 14 October 1980 (age 43 years), Clifton, United Kingdom
Upcoming movie: Paddington in Peru
Partner: Mark Bradshaw (2012–2022)
Height: 1.75 m
Parents: Jose Whishaw, Linda Whishaw
Siblings: James Whishaw
Early life
Whishaw was born in Clifton, Bedfordshire, on October 14, 1980, and grew up there as well as in nearby Langford. He is the son of Linda (née Hope), a cosmetics employee, and Jose Whishaw, a youth sports coach. His fraternal twin is James. His mother is of English origin, and his father is of French, German, and Russian lineage. The original surname of the family was Stellmacher, which is a German occupational name for a wheelwright. Whishaw’s paternal grandpa, Jean Vladimir Stellmacher, was born in Kassel, Germany and later changed his identity to John Victor Whishaw after serving as a British spy in the German army during World War II.
In 1922, a Russian mother gave birth to him in Istanbul. Whishaw was part of the Bancroft Players Youth Theatre at Hitchin’s Queen Mother Theatre. He went to Henlow Middle School, then Samuel Whitbread Community College in Clifton. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2003.