Introduction Sophie Lin
Ben Whishaw is an abundantly accomplished and versatile English actor and producer known for his performances in stage, television, and film. Born in Bedfordshire, England, Whishaw was brought up in Clifton and neighboring Langford. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in 2003. His resume truly reads like a “What’s Hot List” and I find myself fan girl-ing out the deeper I dove into his achievements.
He gained recognition early in his career for his work in “My Brother Tom”, winning a British Independent Film Award and went on to portray the iconic role of the young Q in James Bond’s “Skyfall”, a role that acting legends Peter Burton and John Cleese had played in the previous Bond films. His versatility led him to also voice the iconic and much beloved Paddington Bear in “Paddington” and nab a Golden Globe Award for his portrayal of the tragically hopeless Norman Scott opposite of Hugh Grant in the miniseries “A Very English Scandal”.
Most recently, Whishaw has been cast as August Epp in the 2023 Academy Award nominee for Best Picture, “Women Talking”. The story is based on true events from a Manitoba colony in Bolivia where a group of women were found to have been occasionally drugged and raped by the men in their community. As a man who has left the colony for some time to live in the modern world, August returns and acts as a neutral recorder of events as told by the women. Does he encourage these women to leave their home and the life that they have been brought up in, would these women even leave if given the choice? Or should he stay to serve as a role model for the next generation of men in the community?
Whishaw can also be seen in the series, “This is Going to Hurt” in which he has won a Gotham Award for Best Performance in a New Series. He plays Adam Kay, an over tired, rough around the edges but innately good hearted doctor in the hospital’s labor ward. This is not your typical happy ending in every episode series with a lead that has a strong moral compass. In fact, it’s main character Adam Kay’s oftentimes questionable tactics and prickly bedside manner that gives Whishaw some interesting wiggle room to develop the character. It also leaves the viewer not sure who or what to be rooting for from scene to scene.
Whishaw’s acting is always lauded by critics and has earned him several accolades. His vastly ranging acting abilities, from his performances in a diverse scope of roles to his unique voice, make him a force to be reckoned with in the entertainment industry.
Black chunky cable knit with silver ring detail: Alexander McQueen, black slim leather trousers: JW Anderson
Interview Laura Albert
Your role as August Epp in Women Talking is primarily as a witness: making the transcript of the “women talking” because they are illiterate. These women are attempting to express the inexpressible and to agree upon a solution. I was moved by the subtle, unobtrusive way August is able to communicate his solidarity with them, without intruding or imposing on their process. What was your process in understanding and revealing how August would react?
I was very much guided by the information Sarah Polley gave us in her script. It was very precise and detailed about how the characters were to react to each other. So I think we all began there. And then of course over the shoot maybe some unexpected things – things that weren’t planned – started to happen as we all became more intimate with each other and our characters.
Were you able to maintain this sense of a separate but supportive witnessing throughout the shoot? What enabled you to bring such restraint to your role?
I felt that as much as possible, I had to just quietly attend to what was happening. There was so much pain and suffering underlying the discussion going on between the women – and much fury, rage, too. It was important not to impose myself in anyway, as August – or as Ben – but to be receptive. Of course he’s not perfect, sometimes he gets it wrong. He has his own pain too.
Black double-breasted wool blend jacket, slim black stretch leather trousers: JW Anderson
Women Talking places front and center these women’s nightmare of violation and their struggle to find words for this horrific trauma. It is treated as the most important issue in the world – and it is! To regard this collective trauma as a matter of life and death is a transformative decision, but so often when people share something traumatic, space is not made for it to be the most important issue in the world. Even the word “trauma,” I would suggest, has become grossly overused and misused – it isn’t always fully understood by the people who use it. Did making this film affect your understanding of what it means to bear witness to others who have experienced trauma? Did it affect how you’d ask someone to be present for you? If so, in what ways? What especially seems different for you now?
Interesting question. Something I have become aware of in my own life since making the film is a tendency in myself – when listening to someone who is sharing something difficult or painful with me – to want to fix it for the person, to come up with some insightful and helpful thing that will make things better for them. I wonder, often, how helpful that really is. I like August because he doesn’t do that. He just listens, and writes. And feels. He enters in – as much as he can – to what he is hearing. But he doesn’t say much. I would say learning to trust in leaving an empty receptive silence, is something I’ve learned. Trying to learn rather. Sometimes people need to be left to talk.
Black double-breasted wool blend jacket, slim black stretch leather trousers: JW Anderson
It sounds like the cast and crew got close on the set of Women Talking and had a poignant experience, joy in the safety created, and humor was a good relief. Did you discover anything different about how to create safe spaces on sets?
Yes, we laughed a lot. And loved each other’s company. And we were together all day everyday, as we shared a green room – which was actually a very stark, grey, conference room, with little plastic Covid-screens separating out each person’s space – so humour was essential. Sarah had a therapist around most days, just to be there, as the subject matter was so tough. But I don’t know – making a film is long and tiring and difficult. And everyone will sometimes be cranky, or impatient, or frustrated. I certainly was. And we’re sensitive creatures, actors. So you have to allow for all that. There was much acceptance, and much love, I would say. We were just lucky. It was a really exceptional group of humans.
Women Talking was mostly filmed on one set. Did it feel more like theater than a film shoot?
Not really. Theatre is a completely different kind of feeling to making a film, I think. So although the scenes were long, as they more commonly are in a play, it always felt cinematic to me. It was only like theatre in the sense that I got to watch beautiful acting at very close quarters – from my hay bale – every day for two months.
Duck egg blue technical fabric jacket, matching technical fabric trousers, camel v-neck, leather and knit sleeveless top: Paul Smith
Duck egg blue technical fabric jacket, matching technical fabric trousers, camel v-neck, leather and knit sleeveless top: Paul Smith
You started in the theater, even playing Hamlet in your early twenties! Are you interested in pursuing live theater in the future? If so, do you have ideas about what roles you want to play? Do you write?
I love theatre. I did roughly one play a year between leaving drama school in 2003 and the pandemic hitting in 2020. And I haven’t done any theatre since then. I feel a bit stuck. I have no idea about what characters to play. And I do not write. Any suggestions welcome. xxx
August Epp is a Zen master compared to Dr. Adam Kay, the obstetrician you play in This Is Going to Hurt. They are polar opposites, yet both men desperately want to fix what is wrong with the situations in which they are immersed: for Dr. Kay, the dysfunction of the NHS system and the suffering of his patients; for August Epp, the women negotiating their freedom from abuse within a religious sect. Both men reach moments of awe at the capacity of others – and of themselves. Dr. Kay’s biggest triumph is often in his being present for others and allowing others to assist him. What was the most difficult part of keeping the swirl of Dr. Kay’s kinetic energy going?
I loved playing the character of Adam. He’s so acerbic – and in some ways so misanthropic. As Lucy Forbes our director said over and over – “He has no filter. He’s just too tired “ But he is also very very funny. And, also, someone sort of disabled – emotionally disabled. So I hope a viewer understands and forgives him. He really is only trying his best. It was a joy to do. Brilliant writing, brilliant direction, brilliant cast. And about something that needed looking at closely, and honestly. Long live the NHS. ❤️
Black chunky cable knit with silver ring detail: Alexander McQueen, black slim leather trousers: JW Anderson
Khaki leather technical track jacket: dunhill, black slim leather trousers: JW Anderson
Both Epp and Kay ultimately release their hope for a relationship with people whom they love, in order to fulfill their jobs. Also, both are teachers, and both need to let another person go. Do you relate personally to either character’s struggles?
I guess I relate personally to them both, very much, in different ways. But I couldn’t say too much more than that. I’m not sure I could play a character without in some way – even if it’s at a crooked angle – relating to them personally.
As a writer, I have had to be on set in another city or country, while still being available to my own family, and that can be one of the most difficult relationships to navigate. How do you maintain close relationships while working?
It’s tough to be away and moving to different places so much, sometimes. But then again it’s hard to be in one place sometimes, too. I’m very bad at keeping on top of text messages and emails, as all my friends and family will attest. I apologize. I’m trying to improve.
Black double-breasted wool blend jacket, slim black stretch leather trousers: JW Anderson
Black double-breasted wool blend jacket, slim black stretch leather trousers: JW Anderson
I found Dr. Kay immensely relatable – a human who’s undergoing incredible amounts of stress and is trying to do what he thinks is correct. And when he is horribly wrong, he is willing to walk through some devastatingly painful experiences and be changed by them. I think it’s critical to allow characters to be fallible – we can love them because, as with your portrayal of Dr. Kay, their organizing principle is to be of service. What was the feedback you got from people in the NHS?
I agree about the importance of fallible characters in drama. It seems like there are some truly horrifying humans in this life. And maybe a few saints too. But the majority of us fall into some gloriously weird smudgy complex middle-ground. I find it helpful to acknowledge that.
Khaki leather technical track jacket: dunhill, black slim leather trousers: JW Anderson
Friends of mine who starred in medical dramas have had people, even their own friends, ask them for medical advice. Has anything like that happened to you? Have you ever been able to – with the obvious caveat that you’re not an actual doctor – give useful medical advice?
Hahaha. No. No one has EVER sought me out for medical advice. Me and brilliant Ambika Mod did learn how to do Caesarean sections on a prosthetic flap of flesh, but I’m not sure that qualifies us for anything very helpful in the real world.
