Ben Hardy
Hardy in 2015
Born
Ben Jones[1]

(1991-01-02) 2 January 1991 (age 33)
Bournemouth, Dorset, England
EducationRoyal Central School of Speech and Drama
OccupationActor
Years active2012–present

Ben Hardy (born Ben Jones; 2 January 1991) is an English actor. He is known for playing Peter Beale in the BBC soap opera EastEnders (2013–2015). Hardy made his film debut as Archangel in the superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse (2016) and played Roger Taylor in the biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody (2018).

Early life

Hardy was born 2 January 1991[2] in Bournemouth, Dorset, and grew up in Sherborne. He attended Sherborne Abbey Primary School and the Gryphon School.[1] As a student at Gryphon, Hardy starred as Sergeant Francis Troy in a school film adaptation of Far from the Madding Crowd.[3]

Career

In 2012, Hardy starred as Arthur Wellesley in the David Hare play The Judas Kiss, also featuring Rupert Everett. The production initially had a limited run at the Hampstead Theatre from September to October 2012 followed by a short tour to Bath, Richmond, Brighton and Cambridge before, after rave reviews, transferring to the West End's Duke of York's Theatre in January 2013.[4][5] His role required him to perform full frontal nudity, which he later described as "incredibly nerve-racking."[6]

On 19 April 2013, it was announced that Hardy would play Peter Beale in the long-running BBC soap opera EastEnders, taking over from Thomas Law who portrayed the character from 2006 until 2010. Hardy said: "I'm really excited to be joining the fantastic cast of EastEnders – a show which my family have watched for years. I can't wait to step into the shoes of a character with so much history and am looking forward to getting stuck in."[7] He made his first appearance on 7 June 2013. On 19 November 2014, it was announced that Hardy would leave the series.[8] He made his final appearance on 24 February 2015.

Hardy made his film debut in Bryan Singer's superhero film X-Men: Apocalypse, released on 27 May 2016, co-starring as the winged mutant Archangel.[9][10] He was subsequently cast as writer John William Polidori in Haifaa Al-Mansour's period romance film Mary Shelley, opposite Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth.[11] Hardy portrayed Granite Mountain Hotshots firefighter Wade Parker, who lost his life in the 2013 Yarnell Hill Fire, in Joseph Kosinski's action-drama Only the Brave. The film, co-starring Josh Brolin and Miles Teller, was released on 22 September 2017.[12]

In April 2018, he played the lead role of Walter Hartright in the BBC adaptation of the Wilkie Collins novel The Woman in White.

Hardy played Queen drummer Roger Taylor in the 2018 biographical film Bohemian Rhapsody, which earned him a nomination for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 25th Screen Actors Guild Awards.[13]

In 2018, it was announced that Hardy was cast in the Netflix action thriller film 6 Underground, directed by Michael Bay.[14] The film was released on 13 December 2019.[15] In 2020, he played Frank in the movie Pixie, alongside Olivia Cooke and Daryl McCormack, among others and directed by Barnaby Thompson.[16] In 2021, Hardy appeared in the HBO Max and BBC series The Girl Before.[17] In 2023, he starred in the romantic comedy Love at First Sight, playing Oliver alongside Haley Lu Richardson.[18]

Filmography

Key
† Denotes works that have not yet been released

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes
2016 X-Men: Apocalypse Warren Worthington III / Archangel Bryan Singer
2017 Mary Shelley John William Polidori Haifaa al-Mansour
Only the Brave Wade Parker Joseph Kosinski
2018 Bohemian Rhapsody Roger Taylor Bryan Singer
2019 6 Underground "Four" Michael Bay
2020 Pixie Frank Barnaby Thompson
2021 The Voyeurs Seb Michael Mohan
2023 Unicorns Luke Sally El Hosaini, James Krishna Floyd
2023 Love at First Sight Oliver Vanessa Caswill

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Call the Midwife Reporter Uncredited; 1 episode
2013–2015 EastEnders Peter Beale Series regular; 189 episodes
2017 Drunk History King Arthur 1 episode
2018 The Woman in White Walter Hartright Miniseries; main role
2021 The Girl Before Simon Wakefield Miniseries; main role

Stage

Year Title Role Notes
2012 The Judas Kiss Arthur Wellesley Hampstead Theatre and Duke of York's Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Nominee/work Result Ref.
2013 Inside Soap Award Best Newcomer EastEnders Shortlisted [19]
2014 TV Choice Award Best Soap Actor EastEnders Longlisted [20]
2017 Kids' Choice Award #Squad X-Men: Apocalypse Nominated [21]
2019 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Bohemian Rhapsody Nominated [13]

References

  1. ^ a b Manning, Matthew (24 April 2013). "Sherborne actor Ben Jones lands role in EastEnders". Blackmore Vale. Archived from the original on 23 September 2015. Retrieved 7 February 2015.
  2. ^ "Ben Hardy". Empire Online. 1 October 2021. Retrieved 2 January 2024.
  3. ^ Mackay, Mairi (14 July 2009). "Teacher earns top marks for directorial debut". CNN.
  4. ^ "The Judas Kiss to transfer to the West End". Hampstead Theatre. 12 October 2012.
  5. ^ Gilbert, Ryan (12 October 2012). "Rupert Everett to Star as Oscar Wilde in The Judas Kiss at the West End's Duke of York Theatre". Broadway.com.
  6. ^ Anderson, Alana (20 May 2016). "'I was so mortified': EastEnders star Ben Hardy opens up on full-frontal nudity scene". OK!.
  7. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (19 April 2013). "'EastEnders': Peter Beale recast, returning in summer". Digital Spy.
  8. ^ Kilkelly, Daniel (19 November 2014). "EastEnders: Ben Hardy to leave Peter Beale role". Digital Spy.
  9. ^ Kroll, Justin (24 February 2015). "Ben Hardy Joins the Cast of 'X-Men: Apocalypse'". Variety. Archived from the original on 3 January 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  10. ^ Hewit, Chris (9 April 2015). "Exclusive: Bryan Singer Confirms Ben Hardy Is Angel In X-Men: Apocalypse". Empire.
  11. ^ Jaafar, Ali (19 February 2016). "Ben Hardy Joins Haifaa Al-Mansour's 'The Storm in the Stars'". Deadline Hollywood.
  12. ^ Busch, Anita (6 June 2016). "'X-Men: Apocalypse' Archangel Ben Hardy Joins 'Granite Mountain' Hotshot Crew". Deadline Hollywood.
  13. ^ a b Nordyke, Kimberly (12 December 2018). "SAG Awards: Full List of Nominations". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 12 December 2018.
  14. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (30 July 2018). "'Bohemian Rhapsody's Ben Hardy Joins Michael Bay's '6 Underground' At Netflix". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 April 2020.
  15. ^ Hipes, Patrick (1 October 2019). "'6 Underground' Trailer: Ryan Reynolds Sums It Up – "This Is All So [Bleeping] Dangerous"". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 7 February 2020.
  16. ^ O'Boyle, Claire (17 October 2020). "'We had such a good time filming Pixie in Belfast': Star Ben Hardy on working with Alec Baldwin and nailing an Irish accent". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  17. ^ "'Ben Hardy Joins David Oyelowo, Gugu Mbatha-Raw in HBO Max, BBC One Series 'The Girl Before' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 23 March 2021. Retrieved 23 March 2021.
  18. ^ "'Ben Hardy, Dexter Fletcher Join Romance From 'To All the Boys' Producers (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 8 January 2021.
  19. ^ Rigby, Sam (15 October 2013). "'Coronation Street' leads Inside Soap Awards 2013 shortlist". Digital Spy. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
  20. ^ "TV Choice Awards 2014". EastEnders. BBC Online. 27 May 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  21. ^ "Kids' Choice Awards 2017: The Complete List". E! News. 12 March 2017.

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