Joepie July 2008

Translated by inemien

Introduction: Who is the most remarkable presence on the scene lately? Ben Barnes’ handsome face on posters of the movie ‘The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian’. We have had the chance to look in his gorgeous eyes in NY. Sway with us!

The interview

Well, Ben Barnes, where have you been our entire lives?

Mainly on the theatre. I’ve been acting for about 10 years, but this is the first time for me to play a lead role in a film. Before ‘Prince Caspian’ I just couldn’t get a hold of movie parts.

Could that have anything to do with the fact that you look so horrible?

(laughs) Yes, I think that may have been the main cause. Or maybe I am too annoying. There have been long periods when I just couldn’t find a job, and I had to work in bars. Sometimes I wondered what I would do if my acting career would never work out…

But now we can see you in cinemas as Prince Caspian. Is it right that you got the part because of a little bit of cheating?

Uhm… yes, actually! During the auditions I said I could ride a horse quite good. ‘I have been on a horse a couple of times’, those were my exact words. Later on I could my mother to ask whether I’d ever ridden a horse. She showed me a very funny picture from when I was eight and riding a Shetland pony. So far my horseback riding experience!

You still had to ride a lot during the film. A great challenge?

Yes, especially when I had to go through a river on the horse, twice!. The first time in new-Zealand, the second time in Slovenia. In Slovenia the water was so deep the horse had to swim. I had to train pretty hard on the riding before we started shooting. I did have a body double who could take over from me, but I didn’t ‘use’ him that often.

Before ‘Prince Caspian’ you have had a small part in ‘Stardust’. Do you have to hit the girls away from you? (okay, this question might sound stupid, but I couldn’t translate it any more decent)

No, but I would be very good at it now, after all the battle training for ‘Prince Caspian’. I still find it very weird when I arrive at a hotel and there are fans waiting for me to sign posters. How the hell do they know where I’m staying if I myself know it only one day ahead?

In the mean time the entire world knows your face because it stands on huge ‘Prince Caspian’-posters everywhere. Is that weird?

Yes, very weird! Yesterday, my brother Jack had a laugh about it. ‘That’s not really you, the guy on the poster is solarium-brown!’ he said. On Sunset Boulevard in LA hangs a giant poster, it’s about ten storey’s high. When I saw it, I kind of panicked. It should be flattering and cool, but it made me kind of nervous.

There is at least one celebrity very impressed of you: actor Colin Firth (from ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’) has said in an interview that you are so talented that it’s annoying!

(laughs) But Colin and I are very in love with each other. Ever since we made the movie ‘Easy Virtue’ together, I keep calling him to ask his advice. It’s not easy to find someone in this world who understands your position and what you are going through. But Colin is one of the sweetest people I know. In ‘Easy Virtue’ he played my father, and since then, he signs every text message with ‘love, Daddy’. (laughs)

Speaking of your ‘daddy’: runs acting through the family?

No, not at all. My mother is a psychotherapist and my father is a psychiatrist who loves rock-‘n-roll very much. They told me to go to university after high school, so I could have a proper education. But that wasn’t what I wanted. I wanted to be an actor. Only when mum and dad stopped nagging about it about two years later, I went to study English Literature at the university.

You just told us your father is into rock-‘n-roll. Which music do you love?

Thanks to my father I love the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. When I was ten, I found in his wardrobe a Stevie Wonder record, now I like him too. But I also love to listen modern music, like Artic Monkeys and Kanye West. It all depends of my mood. I’m a true music fan, but for now, I’ll stick with acting.

What do you think of actors who bring out an album?

I think you have to look at them separately, but usually, their albums aren’t good. I think every actor wants to be a rock star, and every singer secretly wants to be an actor. My admiration is bigger towards actors who play music just for fun, although it can be very annoying when someone is good at absolutely everything. Skandar Keynes, who plays Edmund Pevensie in ‘Prince Caspian’, is someone like that. On set, he was always singing and playing the guitar…

Just one small question that will very much interest our readers: do you have a girlfriend?

No, I’m still single, so bring on all the interesting and funny girls! (laughs)