Ben Chaplin
Birthday: Born in 1970-07-31 in Windsor, Berkshire, England, UK
Deathday: Alive
Chaplin was born in Windsor, Berkshire, England, 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 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. Chaplin made his professional acting debut in the 1990 television film Bye Bye Baby. He went on to appear in a number of other television films and miniseries, including The Bill (1990), The Final Cut (1995), and The Lost World (1999). Chaplin's breakthrough film role came in 1996, when he starred opposite Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo in the romantic comedy The Truth About Cats & Dogs. The film was a critical and commercial success, and it helped to establish Chaplin as a rising star. Chaplin has since gone on to star in a number of other successful films, including Washington Square, The Thin Red Line, Birthday Girl, Murder by Numbers, Stage Beauty, The New World, The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Dorian Gray, Cinderella, Snowden, The Legend of Tarzan, and The Dig. Chaplin has also had a successful career on television. He starred in the BBC sitcom Game On (1995–1998), and he has also appeared in the television series Mad Dogs (2011–2013) and The Nevers (2021–present). In addition to his acting career, Chaplin is also a musician. He plays the guitar and the piano, and he has written songs for a number of films. Chaplin is married to the actress Amanda Abbington. They have two children together.
TV Credits
Between the Lines
Character:
Detective Superintendent Tony Clark is an ambitious member of the Complaints Investigation Bureau, an internal organisation that investigates claims of corruption inside the police in England and Wales. Along the way Clark overcomes strong influence from his superiors and problems in his private life, most notably the break-up of his marriage following an affair with WPC Jenny Dean....
Game On
Character: Matthew Norman Malone
Following the lives of three 20-somethings sharing a flat in Battersea. They're young, bright and sexy - so why aren't they having a good time ? Join Matthew (the agoraphobic, self-obsessed, macho man); Martin (the wimpish, sex-starved underdog) and Mandy (the gorgeous blonde, who always ends up with the wrong men), in this outrageously funny flat-share comedy that is anything but politically correct....
V Graham Norton
Character: Self
V Graham Norton was an entertainment programme shown on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom starring Graham Norton, broadcast every weeknight as a successor to the weekly So Graham Norton. It aired from 6 May 2002 to 26 December 2003. It featured celebrities who chatted with Graham and became involved in studio games which were usually laden with sexual innuendo. The studio games were later featured on the clip show Nortonland in 2007 on digital channel Challenge. The show featured a 'webcam', a ro...
Mad Dogs
Character: Alvo
Mad Dogs is a British black comedy and psychological thriller television series created by Cris Cole that began airing on Sky1 on 10 February 2011. It is produced by Left Bank Pictures, and co-produced by Palma Pictures. The series stars John Simm, Marc Warren, Max Beesley, and Philip Glenister as four long-time and middle-aged friends getting together in a villa in Majorca to celebrate the early retirement of their friend Alvo. However, after Alvo is murdered, the group find themselves caught u...
Mrs. Davis
Character: Arthur Schrödinger
Sister Simone partners with her ex-boyfriend on a globe-spanning journey to destroy Mrs. Davis, a powerful artificial intelligence....
Performance
Character: Cyril Carter
An anthology series of various plays and dramatic performances....
Mad Dogs
Character: Joel
When a group of underachieving 40-something friends gather in Belize to celebrate the early retirement of an old friend, a series of wild, comedic events unfold, exposing dark secrets and a web of lies, deception and murder....
The Book of Negroes
Character: John Clarkson
Kidnapped in Africa and subsequently enslaved in South Carolina, Aminata must navigate a revolution in New York, isolation in Nova Scotia and treacherous jungles of Sierra Leone, in an attempt to secure her freedom in the 19th century....
Doll & Em
Character: Ben
Doll & Em is a British comedy series starring real-life friends Emily Mortimer (Em) and Dolly Wells (Doll), filmed in the style of a reality TV show. After a breakup, Doll heads to Hollywood to be with her childhood best friend Em, who's now a successful actress....
Apple Tree Yard
Character: Mark Costley
What starts out as a simple, reckless mid-life affair between a genetic scientist named Yvonne and a Westminster paper pusher takes an intriguing turn when she realizes he’s a spook – then suddenly gets very dark indeed. A provocative study of obsession, longing and just how far down a criminal path desire can take you....
Casualty
Character: Gareth Orell
Drama series about the staff and patients at Holby City Hospital's emergency department, charting the ups and downs in their personal and professional lives....
Minder
Character: Conway
This comedy drama series featured Terry McCann, a former boxer with a conviction for G.B.H., and Arthur Daley, a second-hand car dealer with an eye for a nice little earner. Alongside his many business ventures, Arthur would regularly hire Terry out as a minder or bodyguard, later replaced by nephew, Ray Daley....
Urban Myths
Character: Cary Grant
Our Urban Myths are stories that have been passed down over time and have now become part of urban folklore. But are they true? We take a slightly tongue in cheek, mischievous – and deliberately ambiguous – look at what might have happened......
Dates
Character: Stephen
Dates is a British television romantic drama series created by Bryan Elsley, who also created Skins, which first aired on Channel 4 on 10 June 2013, at 22:00, as part of its "Mating Season" programming, illustrating a series of first dates between online dating service users. The show's target audience is "ABC1"....
Moonfleet
Character:
Ray Winstone leads a gang of smugglers in our brand new family drama, Moonfleet. Written by Ashley Pharoah (Life on Mars, Ashes to Ashes), this two-part adaptation of the much-loved John Meade Falkner novel is set in the small Dorset village of Moonfleet. In the story, young John Trenchard (Aneurin Barnard - The Truth About Emanuel, The White Queen) is desperate to join the local band of smugglers led by Elzevir Block (Winstone - The Departed, Hugo, Snow White And The Huntsman). Together they em...
World Without End
Character: Sir Thomas Langley
Two hundred years after the construction of the great cathedral, the medieval town of Kingsbridge is taken under siege by Queen Isabella. Caris, a visionary young woman, inspires her people to stand up for their rights and revolt against to the most powerful forces of her time, the Church and the Crown....
Press
Character: Duncan Allen
The lives of the editors and journalists working at a left-leaning broadsheet and a populist tabloid....
Kiss Me First
Character: Beam
To escape reality 17-year-old Leila turns to a secret virtual paradise. Her real journey begins when this digital Eden turns dark....
The Nevers
Character: Frank Mundi
In the last years of Victoria's reign, London is beset by the "Touched": people — mostly women — who suddenly manifest abnormal abilities, some charming, some very disturbing. Among them are Amalia True, a mysterious, quick-fisted widow, and Penance Adair, a brilliant young inventor. They are the champions of this new underclass, making a home for the Touched, while fighting the forces of… well, pretty much all the forces — to make room for those whom history as we know it has no place....
Soldier Soldier
Character: Fusilier Jago
The daily lives of a group of soldiers in 'B' Company, 1st Battalion The King's Fusiliers....
Movie Credits
The Remains of the Day
Character: Charlie, Head Footman
A rule-bound head butler's world of manners and decorum in the household he maintains is tested by the arrival of a housekeeper who falls in love with him in post-WWI Britain. The possibility of romance and his master's cultivation of ties with the Nazi cause challenge his carefully maintained veneer of servitude....
Birthday Girl
Character: John
John is a mild-mannered banker who has never been lucky in love. Fed up with waiting for the right girl to come along, John takes a chance on a Russian mail-order bride arranged via the Internet, where he is introduced to Nadia. John's fondness for Nadia grows... until the sudden arrival of Nadia's gregarious cousins makes John realize that he's in over his head....
Lost Souls
Character: Peter Kelson
A young woman becomes aware of a conspiracy to enable the Devil to walk the Earth in human form. To defeat the prophesy, she must convince a respected New York crime journalist, who is devoid of faith, that he is in fact the target of the conspiracy....
Dorian Gray
Character: Basil Hallward
Seduced into the decadent world of Lord Henry Wotton, handsome young aristocrat Dorian Gray becomes obsessed with maintaining his youthful appearance, and commissions a special portrait that will weather the winds of time while he remains forever young. When Gray's obsession spirals out of control, his desperate attempts to safeguard his secret turn his once-privileged life into a living hell....
Murder by Numbers
Character: Sam Kennedy
Tenacious homicide detective Cassie Mayweather and her still-green partner are working a murder case, attempting to profile two malevolently brilliant young men: cold, calculating killers whose dark secrets might explain their crimes....
The Thin Red Line
Character: Pvt. Jack Bell
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived....
The Touch
Character: Eric
A sister and brother, the last heirs of a family of acrobats, are called upon by a Buddhist monk sect to retrieve an artifact that their ancestors have protected throughout the ages....
The Truth About Cats & Dogs
Character: Brian
A successful veterinarian and radio show host with low self-esteem asks her model friend to impersonate her when a handsome man wants to see her....
Me and Orson Welles
Character: George Coulouris
New York, 1937. A teenager hired to star in Orson Welles' production of Julius Caesar becomes attracted to a career-driven production assistant....
Stage Beauty
Character: George Villiars, Duke of Buckingham
Humble Maria, who outfits top London theater star Ned Kynaston, takes none of the credit for the male actor's success at playing women. And because this is the 17th century, Maria, like other females, is prohibited from pursuing her dream of acting. But when powerful people support her, King Charles II lifts the ban on female stage performers. And just as Maria aided Ned, she needs his help to learn her new profession....
Washington Square
Character: Morris Townsend
Set in 1870's New York, a spinster heiress is courted by a much younger, penniless man, much to the chagrin of her over-protective father, and must decide whether to spend the rest of her life alone, or marry a man who is interested in her only because of her inheritence....
Chromophobia
Character: Trent
Encouraged by his editor to seek 'sexy stories that sell', a reporter preys upon the private life of an erstwhile friend, with disastrous results....
Two Weeks
Character: Keith Bergman
In this bittersweet comedy, four adult siblings gather at their dying mother's house in North Carolina for what they expect to be a quick, last goodbye. Instead, they find themselves trapped — together — for two weeks....
London Boulevard
Character: Billy Norton
A parolee falls for a reclusive movie star while trying to evade a ruthless gangster....
Ways to Live Forever
Character: Daniel MacQueen
Sam loves facts. He wants to know about UFOs and horror movies and airships and ghosts and scientists, and how it feels to kiss a girl. And because he has leukemia he wants to know the facts about dying. Sam needs answers to the questions nobody will answer....
The Water Horse
Character: Lewis Mowbray
A lonely boy discovers a mysterious egg that hatches a sea creature of Scottish legend....
Twixt
Character: Edgar Allan Poe
A struggling horror writer visiting a small town on a book tour gets caught up in a murder mystery involving a young girl. That night in a dream, he is approached by a mysterious young ghost named V....
The New World
Character: Robinson
A drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century....
Rosy-Fingered Dawn: A Film on Terrence Malick
Character: Self
Rosy-Fingered Dawn is a film on Terrence Malick. It is about the making of BADLANDS, DAYS OF HEAVEN, THE THIN RED LINE and the personal involvement of some of the most representative figures of the American culture itself. This medley of voices has given origin to a journey throughout the whole United States, from California to Colorado, from Virginia to Minnesota, passing by New York and Los Angeles. Every stop represents an ideal set in which all the characters of the films come to life once a...
The Wipers Times
Character: Roberts
When Captain Fred Roberts discovered a printing press in the ruins of Ypres, Belgium in 1916, he decided to publish a satirical magazine called The Wipers Times - "Wipers" being army slang for Ypres. Full of gallows humour, The Wipers Times was poignant, subversive and very funny. Produced literally under enemy fire and defying both authority and gas attacks, the magazine proved a huge success with the troops on the western front. It was, above all, a tribute to the resilience of the human spiri...
After the Dance
Character: Cyril Carter
David and Joan's life has been one continuous party, but their marriage is loveless. Suddenly a young girl appears in their world and announces that she's in love with David and wants to change his life for ever. Adaptation of Terence Rattigan's play....
Heavy Rain
Character:
A powerful short documentary inspired by the launch of the genre breaking PlayStation 3 title HEAVY RAIN. Directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Neil LaBute, the seven minute short was filmed in London, LA & Paris and asks leading luminaries, 'How far would you go to save someone you love?' ...
Little Boy
Character: Ben Eagle
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father....
A Fatal Inversion
Character: Matthew
Adaptation of the Barbara Vine (aka Ruth Rendell) novel. After Adam inherits a country house from his great uncle, he and his friend Rufus decide to spend the summer there instead of abroad. An odd assortment of 'house guests' turns up through different means and it's an uneasy mix at best. A decade afterwards, the bodies of a young woman and an infant are discovered in the woods behind the house. As the police investigate, they naturally look to Adam as former owner of the house, and what happe...
Feast of July
Character: Con Wainwright
After an abandoned young woman in late 19th Century England is taken in by a rural couple with three handsome sons, tragic consequences result....
September 5
Character: Marvin Bader
During the 1972 Munich Olympics, an American broadcasting team is thrust from covering sports to reporting a dramatic hostage situation involving Israeli athletes. A young producer, unexpectedly leading the live broadcast, faces difficult decisions as time runs out, rumors spread, and the hostages' lives hang in the balance....
War Book
Character: Gary
Government officials practice their response and decisions in a simulated escalation of nuclear threat....
Family
Character:
11-year-old Johanna’s world is falling apart. She’s just moved across the country for her father Harry’s medical treatment, and as her father declines and her mother Naomi is consumed with caring for him, Johanna feels horribly alone. In desperation, she makes a call out into the universe for a good spirit to save her family. But as the long summer days wear on, and a series of increasingly disturbing events rips through her home, she begins to fear that something else has come instead — a terri...
A Few Short Journeys of the Heart
Character: Fierce Man/Tim Bone
A surreal and nightmarish selection of short stories derived from the cult collection Dirty Faxes, refracted through the neurosis of a middle-aged writer....
The Legend of Tarzan
Character: Captain Moulle
Tarzan, having acclimated to life in London, is called back to his former home in the jungle to investigate the activities at a mining encampment....
Snowden
Character: Robert Tibbo
CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press....
The Children Act
Character: Kevin Henry
In the midst of a marital crisis, a High Court judge must decide if she should order a life-saving blood transfusion for a teen with cancer despite his family's refusal to accept medical treatment for religious reasons....
Roads
Character: Paul
A young man from the Congo in search of his brother attempts to cross Europe's borders. In Morocco, he teams up with a sharp-witted British runaway who pinched his stepfather's recreational vehicle in order to escape from a family holiday. On their journey, the disparate duo have to make decisions that will also influence the lives of others....
National Theatre Live: Consent
Character: Edward
Why is Justice blind? Is she impartial? Or is she blinkered? Friends take opposing briefs in a rape case. The key witness is a woman whose life seems a world away from theirs. At home, their own lives begin to unravel as every version of the truth is challenged. Nina Raine’s powerful, painful, funny play sifts the evidence from every side and puts justice herself in the dock. Consent received its world premiere in a co-production with Out of Joint at the National Theatre in April 2017. This ar...
When Cary Grant Introduced Timothy Leary to LSD
Character: Cary Grant
Cary Grant sits in his plush dressing room at Culver Studios, waiting to be called to set by his director, Alfred Hitchcock. Suddenly he gets a visitor, Dr. Timothy Leary. Having read about Grant’s dabbling with LSD in an interview with Good Housekeeping Magazine, Leary is keen to try the magical new drug. Grant however, is insistent that the powerful substance only be taken under medical supervision. Together, the men explore past, present, and future memories....
Mood Music
Character: Bernard
In a top London recording studio, Cat, a young songwriter, her producer Bernard, their lawyers and psychotherapists go to battle over who owns a hit song. Amidst a gathering storm of bitter complaints and recriminations Cat and Bernard inflict a devastating toll on each other....
The Dig
Character: Stuart Piggott
As WWII looms, a wealthy widow hires an amateur archaeologist to excavate the burial mounds on her estate. When they make a historic discovery, the echoes of Britain's past resonate in the face of its uncertain future....
Cinderella
Character: Cinderella's Father
When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella's fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger in the woods....