Ben Barnes
Ben Barnes's portrayal of The Darkling in Netflix's Shadow and Bone, which ran from 2021 to 2023, became one of his most talked-about television roles, casting him as the central antagonist in the fantasy adaptation.
Barnes was born on August 20, 1981, in Cambridge, and is a British citizen. He attended Homefield Preparatory School and then King's College School before going on to study at Kingston University. His professional work spans stage, film, and television, and he has also worked as a musician and singer, as well as a writer.
His screen career took an early step forward when he portrayed Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia film series between 2008 and 2010. He later took on the role of Logan Delos in the HBO science fiction series Westworld, appearing in the show from 2016 to 2020, and played Billy Russo, also known as Jigsaw, in the Marvel series The Punisher from 2017 to 2019. Each of these roles placed him within large-scale genre productions across both film and television.
Following Shadow and Bone, Barnes continued working in television, taking on the role of Tim Jamieson in the MGM+ supernatural series The Institute in 2025.
Quotes by Ben Barnes
Most actors are drawn towards historical tellings because it’s one of the most simple forms of storytelling.
Maybe Oliver Stone doesn’t lend himself well to remakes or sequels, because he does them so well the first time.
When you’re doing a film, people are always telling you exactly what to do. Literally, your own decisions are taken away from you.
I don’t really see the point in making a film unless you can think of a good reason to do it.
I don’t really know who I am as an actor: the best thing would be to experiment with it for the next 30 years and never really find out.
