Biography
Not long after British actor Ben Whishaw debuted onscreen in the late '90s, he began to reveal a gift (and a proclivity) for essaying some of the more intense and unusual characterizations in contemporary cinema, occasionally delivering uncanny evocations of real-life figures. Whishaw was memorable as a young Keith Richards in
Stephen Woolley's Brian Jones biopic
Stoned (2005), then portrayed a demented young man so determined to capture "the scent of womanhood" that he resorts to serial murder in
Tom Tykwer's psychological thriller Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006). Whishaw evoked a young
Bob Dylan (one of many) in
Todd Haynes' controversial avant-garde biopic of the folk singer,
I'm Not There (2007), then signed on to portray famed author John Keats in director
Jane Campion's dramatization of the Keats/Fanny Brawne romance,
Bright Star (2008). That same year, audiences could catch Whishaw's portrayal of Sebastian in Julian Jarrold's big-screen Evelyn Waugh adaptation ,
Brideshead Revisited (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide