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Ben Whishaw’s Banner Year: The ‘Black Doves’ and ‘Peter Hujar’s Day’ Star on Refusing to Be Pigeonholed and Playing Characters Whose Sexuality Isn’t Their ‘Defining Characteristic’
The British star discusses going from 'Black Doves' to 'Paddington,' being told to hide his sexuality and hating fame, red carpets and photographs
It’s a concept Whishaw himself admits is “obviously a strange proposition for a film as it isn’t inherently dramatic,” but says the end result proved to be “beautiful and meditative.” (Glowing reviews from Sundance would appear to agree.) Thankfully, given a resume that — alongside his most famous performances as James Bond’s gadget-master Q and Paddington — includes a notorious murderer (“Perfume”), 19th century poet John Keats (“Bright Star”), a bohemian Russian dissident (“Limonov: The Ballad”), a beleaguered junior doctor (“This Is Going to Hurt”), a flawed English king (“Richard II”) and Rolling Stones axe man Keith Richards (“Stoned”), Whishaw’s made any attempt at categorization a near-impossible task. Flattery gets you everywhere, which brings us to another possible throughline connecting many of Whishaw’s projects: an enviably luxuriant head of hair that appears to have been expertly cast — in various shapes and styles — across each role (and even Paddington boasts arguably the finest CGI follicles seen on screen).
Or read this on Variety
