Ben Whishaw

Ben Whishaw emerged as one of Britain's most decorated character actors through a career spanning theatre, prestige television and international film. Born 14 October 1980 in England, he began acting in the 2000s with the title role in Hamlet (2004), followed by television roles in Nathan Barley (2005), Criminal Justice (2008) and The Hour (2011–12). His early film work included Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006), I'm Not There (2007), Brideshead Revisited (2008) and Bright Star (2009).

Whishaw's breakthrough came in 2012 when he played Richard II in a BBC Two adaptation, winning the British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. That same year, he was cast as Q in Skyfall, reprising the role in Spectre (2015) and No Time to Die (2021). Since 2014, he has been the voice of Paddington Bear across multiple projects. His film work in the 2010s spans Cloud Atlas (2012), The Lobster (2015), Suffragette (2015), The Danish Girl (2015) and Mary Poppins Returns (2018).

For his role as Norman Scott in the miniseries A Very English Scandal (2018), Whishaw won a BAFTA Television Award, a Golden Globe Award and a Primetime Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actor. Recent work includes a leading role in Fargo season four (2020), the BBC medical drama This Is Going to Hurt (2022), the short film Good Boy (2023) and the Netflix spy thriller Black Doves (2024). As an actor, Whishaw performs across stage, television and film. Born under Libra, his life-path number of 6 reflects his collaborative strength in ensemble casts.