Born on October 14, 1980, British actor Ben Whishaw Whishaw began performing on stage in the late 1990s, as a member of the Bancroft Youth Theatre (now the Big Spirit Youth Theatre). He earned critical acclaim after starring in the theater's production of If This Is a Man, an autobiographical play by Holocaust survivor Primo Levi. Whishaw garnered more positive reviews in 2004 after playing the lead role in a production of Hamlet. Whishaw soon began landing film roles, including as Keith Richards in the 2005 biopic Stoned. In 2011, Whishaw debuted on the popular television series The Hour. That same year, he was cast as Q in 2012's Skyfall, the 23rd installment of the James Bond film series, directed by Sam Mendes.