Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes
Benjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnesis an English actor. He is known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, for playing the title character in the 2009 adaptation of Dorian Gray, for his supporting roles in the films The Words and The Big Wedding, and for his portrayal of American Founding Father Samuel Adams in the 2015 miniseries, Sons of Liberty...
NationalityEnglish
ProfessionMovie Actor
Date of Birth20 August 1981
CityLondon, England
My mum was raised Jewish, my dad is very scientifically minded, and my school was vaguely Christian. We sang hymns in school. I liked the hymns bit, but apart from that, I can take it or leave it. So I had lots of different influences when I was younger.
When I finished school, everyone wanted to go to a good university and become a lawyer or a doctor. My A-levels were sort of chosen for me.
You still get these waves of doubt that come over you, for example, when you get a bad review or you accept a part and think, 'Oh, God, what have I just accepted? I can't do that.' I don't think that's something that will ever go away in me.
I often talk with other actors about that time when you've just finished a job, because I think you do take on the characteristics of some of the characters you play. Sometimes it can be a great thing and sometimes it's a bit haunting because you're not quite sure how to leave it on set. My dad talks about it as being 'de-personalised.'
Actually what I'd like is to have a reputation as someone who's been wild and gone straight, but without having to go through the trouble of being bad.
That's the thing, when you play younger characters they're always less casual. You're hungrier or more naive. Those things wane in time.
Sword fighting is just as fun as it looks on the screen.
I don't believe in that kind of pragmatic career ladder stuff.
I was heavily into sport from 10 to 15, I was in all the teams, and it was everything to me. But I was very young for my school year and when puberty kicked in for my classmates I got left behind.
I think every film actor secretly wants to be a rock star as well; just that part of the job which requires the extrovert in you. Even if you've become an actor because it's your way of hiding in plain sight, there's still part of you which has that craving.
I've actually, very rarely have I worked in my own voice. I've played, I think, Russian, American, Northern from the North of England. All sorts of different accents I've worked in.
I went to a very academically competitive high school. So I was always quite studious and quiet, just to keep up with the other geniuses who were in my school.
Almost every script that I've gotten has been for sort of the generic Hollywood type. I haven't chosen them. All the ones I have chosen are because I've been fascinated with the source material or because of the script.
There are plenty of people in the world who have tried to be rock stars and have not gotten there.