Take a closer look at some of Hollywood's top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

Child Stars, Then and Now

Take a closer look at some of Hollywood&#39;s top-tier talent at the beginning of their careers.

Get a closer look at the most searched stars on IMDb right now.

These Stars Are on the Rise

Widely regarded as one of the greatest stage and screen actors of his generation both in his native Great Britain and internationally, Benjamin John Whishaw was born in Clifton, Bedfordshire, to Linda (Hope), who works in cosmetics, and Jose Whishaw, who works in information technology. He has a twin brother, James. He is of French, German, Russian (father) and English (mother) descent.

Ben attended Samuel Whitbread Community College where his interest in theatre grew and he became a member of the Bancroft Players Youth Theatre at Hitchin's Queen Mother Theatre. During his time there he rose to prominence in many productions, most notably If This Is a Man, based on the book of the same name by Primo Levi, a survivor of Nazi World War II prisoner of war camp. The play was taken to the Edinburgh Festival in 1995 where it garnered five-star reviews and great critical acclaim with Ben Whishaw getting rave reviews for his portrayal of Levi.

Ben then enrolled in, RADA from where he graduated in 2004 and soon landed the role of Hamlet in Trevor Nunn's 2004 production making him one of the youngest actors to portray Hamlet on-stage. Hamlet opened to rave reviews with many critics hailing Ben as the next Laurence Olivier and applauding his portrayal of Hamlet with leading critics haling the birth of a star. Whishaw's film and TV credits include Layer Cake (2004) and Christopher Morris 2005 sitcom Nathan Barley (2005), in which he played a character called Pingu. He was named "Most Promising Newcomer" at the 2001 British Independent Film Awards (for My Brother Tom (2001)) and, in 2005, nominated as best actor in four award ceremonies for his Hamlet. He also played Keith Richards in the Stephen Woolley biopic Stoned (2005). Whishaw played in Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006) as Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a perfume maker whose craft turns deadly getting raves once again for his stunning portrayal. Whishaw appeared in 2007's I'm Not There (2007) as one of the Bob Dylan reincarnations and in 2008 in Criminal Justice (2008) a TV series. He appears in the forthcoming films The Tempest (2010) and Bright Star (2009).

Ben Whishaw at an event for Cloud Atlas (2012)

(December 20, 2003 - March 27, 2004) Play: &quot;His Dark Materials&quot;, by Nicholas Wright. Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Olivier Theatre, London.

(April 27, 2004 - July 31, 2004) Play: &quot;Hamlet&quot;, by William Shakespeare. Dir. Trevor Nunn. Old Vic, London.

(February 10, 2005 - February 26, 2005) Play: &quot;Mercury Fur&quot;, by Philip Ridley. Dir. John Tiffany. Drum Theatre, Plymouth.

(March 2, 2005 - March 27, 2005) Play: &quot;Mercury Fur&quot;, by Philip Ridley. Dir. John Tiffany. Menier Chocolate Factory, London.

(June 17, 2006 - September 23, 2006) Play: &quot;The Seagull&quot;, by Anton Chekhov. Dir. Katie Mitchell. Royal National Theatre, London.

(May 8, 2007 - May 26, 2007) Play: &quot;Leaves of Glass&quot;, by Philip Ridley. Dir. Lisa Goldman. Soho Theatre, London.

(July 23, 2008 - October 22, 2008) Play: &quot;...some trace of her&quot;, by Fyodor Dostoevsky. Dir. Katie Mitchell. Cottesloe Theater, London.

(November 13, 2009 - December 19, 2009) Play: &quot;Cock&quot;, by Mike Bartlett. Dir. James Macdonald. Jerwood Theatre Upstairs, London.

(January 27, 2010 - March 28, 2010) Play: &quot;The Pride&quot;, by Alexi Kaye Campbell. Dir. Joe Mantello. Lucille Lortel Theatre, New York, NY.

(March 9, 2013 - June 1, 2013) Play: &quot;Peter and Alice&quot;, by John Logan. Dir. Michael Grandage. Noel Coward Theatre, London.

(October 26, 2013 - January 25, 2014) Play: &quot;Mojo&quot;, by Jezz Butterworth. Dir. Ian Rickson. Harold Pinter Theatre, London.

(July 23, 2015 - September 19, 2015) Play: &quot;Bakkahi&quot;, by Euripides. Dir. James Macdonald. Almeida Theatre, London.

(February 29, 2016 - July 17, 2016) Play: &quot;The Crucible&quot;, by Arthur Miller. Dir. Ivo van Hove. Walter Kerr Theatre, New York, NY.

(12 August 2019-30 September 2017) Play: &quot;Against&quot;, by Christopher Shinn. Dir. Ian Rickson. Almeida Theatre, London.

(January 20, 2018 - April 15, 2018) Play: &quot;Julius Caesar&quot;, by William Shakespeare. Dir. Nicholas Hytner. Bridge Theatre, London.

(April 6, 2019 - May 19, 2019) Play: &quot;Norma Jeane Baker of Troy&quot;, by Anne Carson. Dir. Katie Mitchell. The Shed, London.

(May 17, 2024 - June 29, 2024) Play: &quot;Bluets&quot;, by Maggie Nelson. Dir. Katie Mitchell. Royal Court, London.

(September 13, 2024 - December 21, 2024) Play: &quot;Waiting for Godot&quot;, by Samuel Beckett. Dir. James Macdonald. Theatre Royal Haymarket, London.

Other works

Ben Whishaw

Contribute to this page

More from this person

More to explore

Recently viewed