Curiosity

CURIOSITY

(from articles and interviews)

Being already in his twenties, Ben played a 13 year old American in “Something Wicked This Way Comes”.

Ben loves William Shakespeare, Emile Zola and musicals.

He enjoys working with children and animals.

He is vegetarian.

He likes confectionery and Tangfastic sweets.

His favourite travel destination is New York.

He would have liked to be an astronaut.

In his free time, Ben practises Yoga and is an amateur painter.

Ben Daniels and Ian Gelder worked together in two pieces: “Entertaining Mr. Sloane” and “Martin Yesterday”.

  

Ben Daniels and Ian Gelder worked both in a series inspired by the brilliant books of Agatha Christie: Ben was in one “Geraldine McEwan-Marple” adventure, while Ian played a “David Suchet-Poirot” episode.

For his 40th birthday, he visited India, a present from his partner.

He played at least twice a character related to the German writer Thomas Mann:

1) on tv as the literary character Hans Castorp in a Tv-movie taken from “The Magic Mountain”

2) on stage as the writer Ödön von Horváth, a German author part of the circle of intellectuals, Thomas Mann included, portrayed in the play “Tales from Hollywood”.

Ben was at least four times in a work with a…”Derek Jarman actor”,even if they didn’t share scenes:

1) he was in the play “Bent” with Ian Charleson, he played Wolf (Ben’s own words on the role: “It was WOLF! He appears naked, has a great, kiss,a few lines then has his throat cut. Eek.“)

2) in the movie “The Lost Language of Cranes” with Richard Warwick

3) in the movie “Beautiful Thing” with Garry Cooper

4) and one episode of “Lark Rise to Candleford” with Karl Johnson.

It’s a pity Ben never worked with the director. It would have been interesting.

For his role as Valmont in “Les Liaisons Dangereuses”, Ben did all the research about the demimonde of an 18th-century aristocratic: he toured Versailles and the Louvre and went to a movie theatre to see “Shine a Light”, the Rolling Stones concert film, for a close look at that great strutting peacock of the Louis XVI era, Mick Jagger.

There was a famous Old West gunman in America named Ben Daniels. I dream for ages that Ben plays an outlaw or a bad sceriff in a Western movie!

There’s an American singer named Ben Daniels.

There are a director and a teenager actor named Ben Daniels.

And Imdb refers to others: find

  

In the miniseries “Women in Love” Ben plays the lovely father of Rachael Stirling and Rosamund Pike, even if he is only 13 and 14 years older than the two actresses.

Ben shares the birthday with Scott Neal/Ste Pearce of “Beautiful Thing” and has the same star sign of the director Jonathan Harvey and other colleagues with whom he worked: Rachael Stirling, Jason Isaac, Sharon Gless, Sarah Parish, Bradley Walsh, Bill Paterson, Michael Maloney.

Ben played Richard Loeb on stage in “Never the Sinner” – Loeb was born the 11th of June, one day after Ben’s own birthday.

Ben Daniels said he was pleased working at least six times with Kevin McNally, good British actor! Another colleagues he often works with are Alex Jennings and Colin Salmon.

Ben refused two Hollywood movies: “The Patriot” with Mel Gibson and “Vertical limit” with Chris O’Donnell. He told they weren’t for him.

In 2007, The Newspaper The Independent on Sunday placed Ben Daniels at no 79 on its annual Pink list which includes openly gay celebrities from England. Ben was no 47 on 2006’s list.

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Dubbers

 (source: http://www.antoniogenna.net/doppiaggio)

Usually actors have the same dubber here, it’s strange Ben has many. The Italian dubbers of Ben Daniels are:

– in “Aristocrats” / Lord Kildare is Roberto Pedicini

– in “Conspiracy” / Dr. Joseph Bühler is Tony Sansone

– in “David” / Jonathan is Sandro Acerbo

– in “Law & Order: UK” / James Steel is Stefano Benassi

– in “The State Within” / Nicholas Brocklehurst is Massimo Rossi

For the Italian tv, “The State Within” was broadcast in 7 episodes instead of the original 6 episodes.

While “Law & Order: UK” was broadcast in 2 series which group together the first 4 series.

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 About his roles

I find interesting trying to analyze his career through the roles he played (as far as I know)

1) How many times Ben played a man in uniform?

 Policeman:

1987 – Policeman in Wish you were here

1989 – DC Webster, a London copper in The Paradise Club

2003 – DI Matthew Fenton in Real Men

Soldier:

1988 – Striemer, a young East German soldier in Freedom Fighter aka Wall Of Tyranny

1992 – Capt Andy Wright in Soldier Soldier

1997 – Augustin Robert in Passion in the Desert

1997/98 – Lieutenant Franco in Naked

2000 – Townsend in Britannic

2003 – Lt. Col. Aleksandr Ignatyevich Vershinin in Three Sisters

2004 – Alfred Crackenthorpe in the first part of Marple: What Mrs. McGillicuddy Saw

2005 – Goat in Doom

2013 – Colonel Howfield in The Wipers Times

2013 – Tom Weston in The Paradise (retired)

Airline Pilot:

1992 – Graham Marda, First Officer in Casualty – Cascade

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2) How many times Ben played a father?

2002-2004 – Finn Bevan in Cutting It

2003 – DI Matthew Fenton in Real Men

2009-2010 James Steel in Law & Order: UK

2010(11) – Will Brangwen in Women in Love

2011 – Chancellor in Luise Miller

2011-2012 – Douglas in Haunted Child

2012 – John Murphy in Moving On

2013 – Tom Weston in The Paradise

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3) How many times Ben played a gay character?

1989 – Wolf in Bent

1993 – Sloane in Entertaining Mr Sloane

1993 – Norman Cubitt in Alleyn Mysteries – Death at The Bar

1998 – Matt in Martin Yesterday

1999 – Andrew in Fanny & Elvis

2006 – Nicholas Brocklehurst in The State Within

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4) How many times Ben played an artist?

1993 – painter Norman Cubitt in Alleyn Mysteries – Death at The Bar

2001 – writer Ödön von Horváth in Tales from Hollywood

2006 – painter Laurent in Thérèse Raquin

2013 – photographer in House of Cards

2014 – volatile and brilliant artistic director Paul Grayson in Flesh and Bone (ballet)

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5) Ben and sports

1989 – Basket played in the office in Capital City

1990 – Cricket member team in Outside Edge

1996 – Soccer (Football): he gives a football to Jamie in Beautiful Thing

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6) How many times Ben wore a wig? (suggested by @BenDanielsFiles)

1997 – David

1999 – Aristocrats

2007 – Who Killed Mrs De Ropp?

2008 – The Passion

2008 – Les Liaisons Dangereuses

2009-2010 – Law & Order: UK

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7) Not-English characters he played? (suggested by @LinaDy52)

Spooks / Three Sisters – Russian,

Tales From Hollywood – Hungarian,

Passion in The Desert / Les Liaisons Dangereuses / Casanova – French,

The Last Days of Lehman Brothers / Doom – American,

Wall of Tyranny / Cospiracy – German,

David / The Passion – Hebrew,

Romeo And Juliet / Naked – Italian,

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8) How many times he played a man of power?

2011 – Chancellor in Luise Miller,

2014 – Parish vicar Francis Davey in Jamaica Inn,

2015 – Cardinal Francois-Joachim de Bernis in Casanova,

2016 – Duke of Buckingham in The Hollow Crown,

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