Give Ben Barnes his rom-com already!
polygon.comTall, dark, and handsome Ben Barnes is no stranger to roles that push him to tap into the deeper parts of his psyche. Since breaking out in The Chronicles of Narnia, the British actor has played many villains — from Billy Russo in The Punisher to Logan in Westworld. As the nefarious shadow manipulator General Kirigan in Netflix’s Shadow and Bone, Barnes is thousands of fan castings come to life. Somehow, he became the go-to choice for any role requiring a certain level of dark and brooding.
But even though he keeps getting typecast as the smoldering baddie, Barnes isn’t quite sure why.
“I keep asking my agents, I just want to do a rom-com,” laments Barnes. “And then they’re like, Haven’t got a rom-com, but found this psychopath who’s killing a lot of young people!”
Despite being handsome, charming, and having great on-screen chemistry with his fellow cast members (particularly Shadow and Bone co-star Jessie Mei Li, with whom he carved out a deliciously complex romance back in season 1), Barnes’ career has been pretty bereft of truly romantic roles. Sure, he starred opposite Katherine Heigl in limited release romantic drama Jackie & Ryan, and played a supporting role in the Robert De Niro and Diane Keaton raunchy comedy The Big Wedding (which has a 7% on Rotten Tomatoes, so perhaps not the best showcase for Barnes’ acting chops). But a lot of Barnes’ big roles have been, in his words, “these sorts of manipulative, rageful, venomous… or just kind of douchey characters.”
But even when handed these baddies, Barnes can’t help but dig in and try to complicate their perspectives and give them some more depth. Part of that comes from something he’s realized from over 20 years in the industry.
“Who you are as a person will
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