Ben Chaplin


Ben Chaplin is an English actor, director and writer.

Early life

Ben Chaplin was born Benedict John Greenwood on 31 July 1969 in Windsor, in the county of Berkshire, the son of Cynthia, a teacher, and Peter Greenwood CBE, a civil engineer. He has one sister, Rachel and one brother, Justin.
Chaplin became interested in acting as a teenager after he acted in a theatrical production in his school years at the Princess Margaret Royal Free School. At the age of 17 he enrolled at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London. He pursued his early acting career between odd jobs as an office worker, and for a while was employed as a statistician with the London Transport Authority.

Career

He began his professional career performing in BBC television dramas in bit parts, and occasional cinema films. He took his stage name from his mother's maiden name.
In 1992 he appeared in his first major role, starring alongside James Purefoy and Jason Flemyng in "Bye Bye Baby" for Channel Four. James Ivory and Ismail Merchant cast him as a servant in The Remains of the Day, also in 1992 he appeared in Between the Lines, and as the socially inept Con Wainwright in Feast of July. Chaplin received positive reviews as Tom Wingfield in Sam Mendes' stage production of The Glass Menagerie in London, and played the lead in the first series of the British sitcom, Game On. In the United States, he was cast by director Michael Lehmann as a photographer caught between two women in The Truth About Cats & Dogs, a retelling of "Cyrano de Bergerac".
He next played fortune-hunting Morris Townsend in a retelling of Washington Square, co-starring Jennifer Jason Leigh. The film received positive reviews but was a box office failure. Chaplin next played Private Bell in Terrence Malick's remake of The Thin Red Line. Meanwhile, after numerous delays, Lost Souls, which was filmed in 1998, was finally released.
He appeared as a low-level bank clerk who purchases a Russian mail-order bride in Birthday Girl. He next played opposite Sandra Bullock as her relatively inexperienced partner in an investigation into a series of killings in Murder by Numbers. After co-starring opposite Michelle Yeoh in the Taiwan-made action film The Touch, Chaplin played George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham in the romantic drama, Stage Beauty, set in the world of British theatre in the 1660s. Chaplin next had a supporting role in Chromophobia, a dark thriller about a bourgeois family coming apart at the seams that also starred Penélope Cruz, Ralph Fiennes and Ian Holm. He had a small role in The New World, Terrence Malick's film about the affair between Pocahontas and Captain John Smith. In the comedic drama Two Weeks, Chaplin was one of four siblings who return home to say goodbye to their ailing mother. Following a supporting role in the children's fantasy , Chaplin portrayed prominent English stage and film actor, George Coulouris, in Me and Orson Welles, directed by indie filmmaker Richard Linklater.
He received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Supporting Performer in The Glass Menagerie, and a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actor in The Retreat from Moscow. Recent theatre appearances include This Is How It Goes at the Donmar Warehouse in 2005, The Reporter at the National Theatre in 2007 and Farewell to the Theatre at the Hampstead Theatre in 2012. He appeared in Dates on Channel 4 in 2013, and recent film roles include the role of Cinderella's father in Cinderella. He starred in Apple Tree Yard with Emily Watson in 2017.
In 2017 he appeared in the premiere production of Consent at the Royal National Theatre, London.
Chaplin starred in the Joe Penhall play Mood Music at The Old Vic Theatre. He starred in the 2018 film The Children Act adapted from the Ian McEwan novel of the same name. He starred in the BBC series Press with Charlotte Riley, as unethical tabloid editor Duncan Allen, a role which won him a number of positive reviews.

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1993The Remains of the DayCharlie, Head Footman
1995Feast of JulyCon Wainwright
1996The Truth About Cats & DogsBrian
1997Washington SquareMorris Townsend
1998The Thin Red LinePrivate Bell
2000Lost SoulsPeter Kelson
2001Birthday GirlJohn
2002Murder by NumbersSam Kennedy
2002The TouchEric
2004Stage BeautyGeorge Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham
2005ChromophobiaTrent
2005The New WorldRobinson
2006Two WeeksKeith Bergman
2007Lewis Mowbray
2008Me and Orson WellesGeorge Coulouris
2009Dorian GrayBasil Hallward
2010London BoulevardBilly Norton
2010Ways to Live ForeverDaniel MacQueen
2011TwixtPoe
2014War BookGary
2015CinderellaElla's Father
2015Little BoyBen Eagle
2016SnowdenRobert Tibbo
2016The Legend of TarzanCaptain Moulle
2017The Children ActKevin Henry
2019RoadsPaul
TBAThe DigPost-production

YearTitleRoleNotes
1990CasualtyGareth OrellEpisode: "A Reasonable Man"
1991Soldier SoldierFusilier Jago2 episodes
1992A Fatal InversionMatthewEpisode: "Episode One"
1992Between the LinesAndy SpenceEpisode: "Private Enterprise"
1992PerformanceCyril CarterEpisode: "After the Dance"
1993MinderConwayEpisode: "Conway"
1993The Return of the BorrowersDitchley4 episodes
1994Class ActCarlosEpisode: "Episode 4"
1995Game OnMatthew6 episodes
1995Resort to MurderJoshua PennyMiniseries
2011–2012Mad Dogs Alvo5 episodes
2012World Without EndSir Thomas LangleyMiniseries
2013DatesStephen3 episodes
2013The Wipers TimesCaptain Frederick John RobertsTelevision film
2013Doll & EmBenEpisode: "Six"
2013MoonfleetMagistrate MohuneMiniseries
2014The SecretsPhilipEpisode: "The Lie"
2015The Book of NegroesCaptain John ClarksonMiniseries
2015–2016Mad Dogs Joel10 episodes
2017Apple Tree YardMr X / Mark Costley4 episodes
2017Urban MythsCary GrantEpisode: "Cary Grant and Timothy Leary"
2018PressDuncan AllenMiniseries
2020The Letter for the KingBlack Knight2 episodes
2021The NeversDetective Frank MundiMain cast