Ben Chaplin

Benedict John Greenwood (born 31 July 1969), better known as Ben Chaplin, is a British actor. He is best known for his roles in films, including Feast of July, The Thin Red Line (1998), Lost Souls (2000), Birthday Girl (2001), Murder by Numbers (2002), Stage Beauty (2004), The New World (2005), Me and Orson Welles (2008), London Boulevard (2010), Twixt (2011), The Wipers Times (2013), War Book (2014), Snowden (2016), and September 5 (2024). His TV roles include Soldier Soldier (1991), World Without End (2012) and The Nevers (2021–2023).

Early life Chaplin was born on 31 July 1969 in Windsor, in the county of Berkshire, England, the son of Cynthia (née Chaplin), 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 acting in a theatrical production in his school years at the Princess Margaret Royal Free School. At the age of seventeen, 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 Taking his stage name from his mother's maiden name, Chaplin began his professional career performing in BBC television dramas in bit parts, and occasional cinema films. In 1992, he appeared in his first major role, starring alongside 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;

In the United States, he was cast by director Michael Lehmann as a photographer caught between two women (Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo) in the romantic comedy The Truth About Cats & Dogs (1996), a retelling of Cyrano de Bergerac. He next played fortune-hunting Morris Townsend in a retelling of Washington Square (1997), 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 (1998). Meanwhile, after numerous delays, the apocalyptical horror film Lost Souls (2000), which was filmed in 1998, was finally released.

He appeared as a introverted bank clerk who purchases a Russian mail-order bride (Nicole Kidman) in Birthday Girl (2001). He next played opposite Sandra Bullock as her relatively inexperienced partner in an investigation into a series of killings in Murder by Numbers (2002). After co-starring opposite Michelle Yeoh in the Taiwan-made action film The Touch (2002), Chaplin played George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham in the romantic drama, Stage Beauty (2004), set in the world of British theatre in the 1660s. Chaplin next had a supporting role in Chromophobia (2005), a dark thriller about a bourgeois family coming apart at the seams, also starring Penélope Cruz, Ralph Fiennes and Ian Holm. He had a small role in The New World (2005), Terrence Malick's film about the affair between Pocahontas (Q'Orianka Kilcher) and Captain John Smith (Colin Farrell). In the comedic drama Two Weeks (2006), Chaplin was one of four siblings who return home to say goodbye to their ailing mother (Sally Field). Following a supporting role in the children's fantasy The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep (2007), Chaplin portrayed prominent English stage and film actor George Coulouris in Me and Orson Welles (2009), directed by indie filmmaker Richard Linklater. He also appeared in the television miniseries World Without End (2012), where he portrayed Thomas Langley, adapted from the novel of the same name by Welsh author Ken Follett.

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 (2015). 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 Children Act (2017), 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

Film

Year Title Role Notes 1993 The Remains of the Day Charlie, Head Footman 1995 Feast of July Con Wainwright 1996 The Truth About Cats & Dogs Brian 1997 Washington Square Morris Townsend 1998 The Thin Red Line Private Bell 2000 Lost Souls Peter Kelson 2001 Birthday Girl John 2002 Murder by Numbers Sam Kennedy 2002 The Touch Eric 2004 Stage Beauty George Villiers, 2nd Duke of Buckingham 2005 Chromophobia Trent 2005 The New World Robinson 2006 Two Weeks Keith Bergman 2007 The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep Lewis Mowbray 2008 Me and Orson Welles George Coulouris 2009 Dorian Gray Basil Hallward 2010 London Boulevard Billy Norton 2010 Ways to Live Forever Daniel MacQueen 2011 Twixt Poe 2014 War Book Gary 2015 Cinderella Ella's Father 2015 Little Boy Ben Eagle 2016 Snowden Robert Tibbo 2016 The Legend of Tarzan Captain Moulle 2017 The Children Act Kevin Henry 2019 Roads Paul 2021 The Dig Stuart Piggott 2024 September 5 Marvin Bader 2027 Panic Carefully Post-production

Television