My London - Ben Barnes

My London: Actor Ben Barnes

10 April 2012

The actor first sought fame as a member of the boyband Hyrise, whose song Leading Me On' narrowly missed out on representing Great Britain in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest.

My pop career lasted all of 4½ minutes,' he says.

Home is
Wimbledon, where I grew up. I have been living with my younger brother Jack for a year now. I like that it's just out of Central London.

What was the last play you saw in London?
I saw James McAvoy in Three Days of Rain, but that was a long time ago. I was away for seven months last year, but when I'm in London I try to support the actors I know.

What advice would you give a tourist?
Look up. There are so many wonderful gargoyles.

Which London shops do you rely on?
I absolutely detest shops. I tried to get my Christmas shopping done in one day, but I just meandered up and down Covent Garden and Oxford Circus. It was horrible. The boutiques and markets in Notting Hill are a little nicer.

What's the best meal you've had in London?
I've had the most incredible meals at Locanda Locatelli. I love Italian food. I've only been able to afford going there twice but it is just amazing.

What's your earliest London memory?
I have lots of memories of trotting around Big Ben. A few years ago I made a film, Bigga Than Ben, and we shot some scenes there, so it feels very nostalgic. Also because of the ridiculous namesake thing.

What would you do as Mayor for the day?
I would make the Tube run later. If you live even vaguely on the outskirts of London it's difficult to get home.

What's your life philosophy?
I didn't particularly enjoy school, so my dad used to say, Success is the best revenge.' Then about two years ago I was in LA and found a T-shirt with the saying on it.

What are you most afraid of?
Boredom. I like to keep moving and exciting myself. It's very stubborn and childish really.

What are your guilty pleasures?
Not doing the things I'm supposed to do, like not going to the gym for a few months.

What would be on your tombstone?
I heard a brilliant one the other day from the comedian Tim Minchin: What's the world going to revolve around now?'

What animal would you most like to be?
A lazy lion, so I could lie about all day and be brought food by my lionesses. I do quite like
the idea of being an eagle, too, so make that a flying lion.

What was the last album you downloaded?
I'm doing a film called Killing Bono, in which I play a wannabe rock star in the late 1970s and early 1980s, so I've been listening to a lot of David Bowie, The Police and Spandau Ballet. And Paolo Nutini's latest album Sunny Side Up is really good.

What would you save from a fire?
My prosthetic face from Dorian Gray and my Narnia sword.

What are you up to at the moment?
I'm doing some ADR (voice-over dubbing) for my new film Locked In, a thriller with Eliza Dushku from Dollhouse and The Wire's Clarke Peters. I have just finished shooting the third Narnia movie, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and this month I start filming Killing Bono.

Who's your hero?
I like actors who make me feel something, like Jeff Bridges, Robert Downey Jr and Christopher Guest.

What do you most like wearing?
An Armani leather jacket. It was one of my first freebies and I wear it every day.

What's the most romantic place in London?
London Bridge and Tower Bridge at night.

Have you ever stolen anything?
No Well Hmm. I got some clothes on loan a few months ago because I was doing a lot of press. They were meant to be returned, but a couple of them mysteriously went missing. But I definitely, definitely did not steal them.

Where did you last go on holiday?
My family and I went to Italy for my dad's 60th. I could only join them for two days because I was flying to Australia. I slept most of the time and didn't leave the villa once. But I did have some very nice Italian wine.

Dorian Gray is out now on Blu-ray and DVD

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My London - Ben Barnes

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