While everyone was busy seeing Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows this weekend, I was snoozing at home, re-watching The Chronicles of Narnia and thinking how hot Prince Caspian is. At 29, Ben Barnes is actually older than me, which feels better than seeing those Harry Potter and Twilight kids on screen and feeling like an old creep.
Though Narnia doesn’t seem to get quite the attention of HP or Twilight, we predict only big things in Ben’s future, including December’s release of the latest Narnia installment, Voyage of the Dawn Treader. Here are 5 tidbits about the British actor to keep in your memory bank for whenever Ben makes his breakout from children’s films.
1. He doesn’t age:
Well, not entirely true. But Ben did portray the gorgeous Dorian Grey in last year’s film adaptation with Colin Firth. Hey, if you can play Oscar Wilde‘s titular character and manage to be hotter than the guy who played Mr. Darcy, you deserve at least a Golden Globe!
2. He holds his own against CGI creatures:
Though Ben has been acting on the London stage professionally since he was 15, he was first recognizable to American audiences as Prince Caspian in 2008′s sequel to The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe. The year before, he had appeared in the Neil Gaiman film, Stardust, which also included a magical world and talking animals. What can we say? The boy looks good next to sparkly pixies and evil witches.
3. He will kill Bono:
Ben is currently filming an adaptation of Neil McCormick‘s memoir, Killing Bono: I was Bono’s Doppleganger, about Neil’s youth spent hanging out with a budding rockstar as a best friend. Ben unfortunately doesn’t get to play Bono, but you can watch him goof off backstage in the frequently updated official blog for the site. We just hope he gets to sing.
4. He’s gaining on Johnny Depp:
His unofficial title is “The British Johnny Depp,” which may upset some Robert Pattinson fans to hear. But though he may not have the fame that R-Patz or Johnny did at such a young age, Ben has been less pigeon-holed in his role choices than the Twilight hunk. From his upcoming performance as Hamlet in Ophelia (which tells the great Dane’s story from the perspective of his long-suffering girlfriend), to an Oscar Wilde character, to Jessica Biel‘s beau in Easy Virtue, Ben’s range has only improved with age…much like Depp’s.
5. He’s a modest man
From admitting that he hates to Google himself (he doesn’t like reading the negative reviews), to wanting to get photographed next to billboards of himself during Prince Caspian, Ben Barnes always takes his fame with a grain of salt. And besides, anyone who can laugh about getting his Spanish accent from Inigo Montoya in The Princess Bride is our kind of guy!
