From Stardust to Shadow and Bone,
prince to supervillain,
Ben Barnes's career has blended real-world drama
and fantasy adventure.
So, stick around to hear the shocking connection
between Ben and the Eurovision Song Contest…
It's your time.
…because we've scrubbed his IMDb,
and here are the highlights.
Ben began his career in the daytime soap Doctors.
Smile, please.
And he's not the only one.
That show your nan watches on a weekday afternoon
helped launch the careers of big actors
like Claire Foy,
Eddie Redmayne,
Jodie Whittaker,
Phoebe Waller-Bridge,
Jodie Comer
and Emilia Clarke.
What's next?
The award-winning fantasy adventure film Stardust
gave Ben his breakthrough role
as a young Dunston Thorn.
Fun fact,
Nathaniel Parker played the older version of Thorn
then later played the father of Ben's Prince Caspian.
Ben landed the title role in 2008's
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian…
I am Prince Caspian.
…and was nominated for a total
of four awards across the franchise.
Prior to filming, he spent two months
in New Zealand learning how to ride horses,
a skill that would prove useful
when he starred in Shadow and Bone.
He's an accomplished mimic too
and modelled Caspian's Spanish accent
on Mandy Patinkin's from The Princess Bride.
Prepare to die.
And who are you?
However, in the sequel,
Ben fought tooth and nail to keep the accent,
but a new director made the decision
that Ben should use his own.
Be strong, never give in.
The same year, Ben dipped his toe in comedy.
He starred in Bigga Than Ben.
Although, just to clarify,
the title is not referring to Ben himself.
His character was actually called Cobakka.
We came to London…
to rip it off.
He was cast alongside rom-com veteran Colin Firth
in Easy Virtue,
a remake of Alfred Hitchcock's
romance film.
Ben once again starred opposite Colin Firth
in 2009's Dorian Gray.
In the film, Dorian makes a pledge to remain ageless,
a fitting role for the now 38-year-old,
who, let's be honest,
doesn't look a day over 28.
Maybe he's born with it.
Maybe he sold his soul to Satan.
You are most beautiful.
2010 saw a Narnia sequel
and a role roll in the thriller Locked In,
before Ben had another go at comedy,
starring as Neil McCormick
in 2011's Killing Bono.
I mean, is he taking the piss now or what?
He still hasn't found what he's looking for?
He has got everything he ever wanted!
Ben actually helped produce the soundtrack for the film.
He was once even part of boyband Hyrise,
who were in the running to represent the UK
at Eurovision in 2004.
Sadly, they lost out to James Fox.
Thank you.
He also portrayed a character
known simply as the Young Man,
a younger version of Jeremy Irons's character
in romantic drama The Words.
Ben was cast alongside Amanda Seyfried
in 2013's The Big Wedding
and Katherine Heigl played his sister.
In 2014, he reunited with Heigl
in Love Me Like You Do,
but this time played her partner.
Later in the year, he starred
as mobster Nick Tortano
in crime drama By The Gun.
Ben then went back to his fancy roots
as Tom Ward in Seventh Son,
starring alongside Jeff Bridges.
In 2015, he starred in a dramatic retelling
of the American Revolution events in Boston
called Sons of Liberty,
which was shot entirely in Romania.
We need more guns.
He followed this with a stint in some shorts
and a TV movie
before landing the role of Logan Delos
in the sci-fi Western hit Westworld.
Howdy.
My associates and I are here to relieve you of your ride.
Did you know,
the character was known for having a limp,
but that was never actually in the original script.
Ben broke his foot before arriving for the first day
of shooting and didn't tell anyone.
Once he recovered,
he then kept up the limp for the rest of filming.
Call me halfwit again.
Which finally brings us to his first Netflix role,
playing Marvel supervillain Billy Russo,
aka Jigsaw,
in the original series The Punisher.
There's a clever nod to Ben's filmography
when his character is seen reading
The Picture of Dorian Gray.
In 2019, Ben played a younger man
who falls in love with an older woman
in TV drama Gold Digger,
starring alongside Archie Renaux.
He soon returned to Netflix to play another villain
and immortal character,
again alongside Renaux.
That's right, the Darkling,
aka General Kerrigan in Shadow and Bone.
And please…
call me Alexander.
Do you know the only thing
more powerful than you or me?
The two of us.
Together.
One fun bit of gossip for you Shadow and Bone fans,
Jessie Mei Li, who plays Alina,
had a huge crush on him,
so much so that she had
a big poster of him on her bedroom wall
when she was younger.
They say, "Never meet your heroes."
But, to be fair,
they never said you shouldn't kiss them.
And she will bring liberation.
And it's not the last you've seen of Ben on Netflix
as he is set to return in the second series
of Shadow and Bone.
Let us know in the comments
which Ben Barnes role is your favourite,
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into the stories behind Netflix shows.