Whishaw was involved in many productions with
Big Spirit Youth Theatre, including
If This Is a Man (also performed as
The Drowned & The Saved), a piece devised by the company based on
the book of the same name by
Primo Levi, an Italian chemist, writer and survivor as a young man of
Auschwitz concentration camp. It was adapted as a physical theatre piece by the group and taken to the 1995
Edinburgh Festival, where it garnered five-star reviews and great critical acclaim. in
Peter and Alice, at the
Noël Coward Theatre in 2013 As the lead in
Trevor Nunn's 2004 production of
Hamlet at the
Old Vic, Whishaw received highly favourable reviews, was nominated for the
Olivier Award for Best Actor and received third prize at the
Ian Charleson Awards. The role was shared with
Al Weaver in an unusual arrangement. Whishaw played all nights except for Mondays and matinées. Nunn is reported to have made this arrangement due to the youth of the two actors playing the lead, to relieve some of the pressure on each. His film and television credits include
Layer Cake and
Chris Morris's 2005 sitcom
Nathan Barley, in which he played a character called Pingu. He was named "Most Promising Newcomer" at the 2001
British Independent Film Awards for
My Brother Tom. In 2005 he was nominated as best actor in four award programs for his portrayal of Hamlet. He also played
Keith Richards in the
Brian Jones biopic
Stoned. In the spring of 2005, Whishaw received much attention for his role as a drug dealer in the world premiere of
Philip Ridley's controversial stage play
Mercury Fur. In the film
Perfume (2006), Whishaw played
Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, a perfume maker whose craft turns deadly. The film was released in Germany in September 2006 and in the United States in December 2006. In the same year, Whishaw worked on
Paweł Pawlikowski's abandoned
The Restraint of Beasts. Whishaw appeared as one of the
Bob Dylan reincarnations in the film ''
I'm Not There'' in 2007, in the
BBC's series
Criminal Justice in 2008, in a new film adaptation of
Brideshead Revisited, and in a stage adaptation of
The Idiot at the National Theatre called
...some trace of her. At the end of 2009, he starred in
Cock, a new play by
Mike Bartlett at the
Royal Court Theatre, about a gay man who falls in love with a woman. In 2009 he also starred as the poet
John Keats in the film
Bright Star. In February 2010, Whishaw made a successful off-Broadway debut at
MCC Theater in the American premiere of the awarding-winning play
The Pride by
Alexi Kaye Campbell. He played Ariel in
Julie Taymor's
2010 film adaptation of
The Tempest, and was featured in
The Hour (2011), a
BBC Two drama series. In 2012, Whishaw appeared as
Richard II in the television film
Richard II, a part of the BBC Two series
The Hollow Crown. He received the
British Academy Television Award for Leading Actor. Also in 2012, he appeared as part of the ensemble cast of the science-fiction drama film
Cloud Atlas, adapted from the novel of the same name by
David Mitchell. Whishaw appeared in the 23rd
James Bond film,
Skyfall, in the role of
Q. He portrayed a younger Q than portrayed in previous films;
Peter Burton and
Desmond Llewelyn both received the role when they were in their forties, while Llewelyn and
John Cleese played the role into their eighties and sixties, respectively. In addition, he was teamed a fourth time with
Daniel Craig after they starred in the films
The Trench,
Enduring Love, and
Layer Cake. In spring 2013, Whishaw starred on stage alongside
Judi Dench in the world premiere of
Peter and Alice, a new play by
John Logan, inspired by the lives of
Alice Liddell and
Peter Llewelyn Davies. From October 2013 to February 2014, Whishaw appeared on stage in the revival of
Jez Butterworth's play
Mojo, also starring
Rupert Grint,
Brendan Coyle,
Daniel Mays and
Colin Morgan. He was nominated for a
WhatsOnStage Award for Best Actor for both roles. In the summer of 2015 he appeared as
Dionysos in
Euripides' tragedy
Bakkhai at the
Almeida Theatre in London. designed statue—"Special Delivery"—in
Covent Garden, London, auctioned to raise funds for the
NSPCC In 2014, Whishaw starred in the independent film
Lilting, as well as voicing
Paddington Bear in the film
Paddington. In 2015, Whishaw co-starred in
The Lobster, a romantic science fiction drama from Greek director
Yorgos Lanthimos; appeared in
Suffragette, a story of the early feminist movement written by
Abi Morgan and also starring
Carey Mulligan,
Helena Bonham Carter,
Meryl Streep and his
The Hour co-star,
Romola Garai; reprised his role of Q in
Spectre, the 24th
Bond film; and played author
Herman Melville in
Ron Howard's
In the Heart of the Sea. In 2017, Whishaw reprised his role as Paddington Bear in
Paddington 2. In 2018, he portrayed
Norman Scott in the
BBC One miniseries
A Very English Scandal, opposite
Hugh Grant as parliamentarian
Jeremy Thorpe, and also starred as Michael Banks in
Mary Poppins Returns. In 2020, Whishaw had a lead role in the
fourth season of the critically acclaimed
FX black comedy crime drama
Fargo, portraying Patrick "Rabbi" Milligan, alongside
Chris Rock,
Jason Schwartzman,
Jessie Buckley and
Jack Huston. Whishaw reprised his role of Q in
No Time to Die (2021), the 25th
James Bond film. As of 2022, Whishaw stars in the BBC and AMC medical drama
This Is Going to Hurt, an adaptation of comedian
Adam Kay's
memoir recalling his time in 2006 as a junior
NHS doctor. Whishaw is also credited as an executive producer. Whishaw appeared in
Sarah Polley's
Women Talking, the film adaptation of
Miriam Toews'
novel of the same name, for which he was nominated for several acting awards for his performance. In 2023, he appeared in
Passages, for which he received a nomination for
Best Supporting Performance at the
39th Film Independent Spirit Awards. He portrayed Russian writer and ultranationalist
Eduard Limonov in the biopic
Limonov: The Ballad (2024), directed by
Kirill Serebrennikov; filming commenced in Moscow in 2021 but was halted by the
Russian invasion of Ukraine. In late 2024, he starred with
Keira Knightley in the Netflix spy thriller
Black Doves, and headlined the
West End revival of
Waiting for Godot at the
Theatre Royal Haymarket alongside
Lucian Msamati. In 2025, Whishaw was nominated for the
Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for his performance in
Bluets. == Personal life ==