hits.

Many thanks to Katie for the following articles and translation from the November 24th issue of M magazine. View the full size scans in the gallery!

Hi Ben, were you already on board for the catastrophic filming in Mexico?

No, luckily I wasn’t. But director Michael Apted told me how it was when they heard of killings in Tijuana and had to be protected round the clock by armed soldiers. That surely isn’t the right atmosphere to shoot an entertainment film. The production relocated to Australia. The film plays mostly aboard a ship this time.

Three years ago, you played Prince Caspian for the first time. How was it for you to return to this role?

Well, we both matured during this long break. In the last film, Prince Caspian was still very young, now he’s grown up and needs to shoulder the responsibilities of a king.

What do you think a king must definitely have?

What a king should definitely have? A beard, I think… (laughs) But seriously though, he has to be aware of his responsibilities. He has to know what it means to rule a country. For Caspian, this means that he has to face his demons. But it’s not all serious, it was also fun to make this new Narnia film. There are many action scenes this time, great sword fights and great fantasy creatures like dragons and such, which we meet on our journey.

Of the Pevensies, only Georgie Henley as Lucy Pevensie and Skandar Keynes as Edmund Pevensie are in the film. How have they changed since the last film?

I was surprised by how much more adult they have become. Georgie is a real sweetheart and Skandar is uproariously funny.

Will Poulter, who became known through the film “Son of Rambow”, is new in the Narnia crew …

Yes, Will Poulter has a natural talent for comedy, he plays the cousin of the Pevensies, and we have shared particularly many laughs during the shoot.

Due to the “Narnia” films, you have become a universally adored poster boy. How does that make you feel?

Great. It is really amazing when I drive along Hollywood Boulevard and see larger-than-life posters of me hanging there. It is fascinating but also a little scary because, as an actor, I don’t want to be pigeonholed.

Is that why you portrayed Dorian Gray in the Oscar Wilde adaption?

Yes, definitely. I am grateful that I was offered that part because it gave me the possibility to showcase other facets of my skill. The most important thing for me as an actor, however, is the stage because that’s where one learns the acting skill from the bottom up. Next to my film work, I always make time for roles in the theatre, those boards that mean the world. And when it comes to film, the challenge lies in playing as many different roles as possible.

Speaking of roles! For many girls you play the role of the dream man. How would you describe your perfect woman?

Talent is sexy. And she has to have a sense of humour. That we can have fun together is the most important thing for me.

Next we will see you in the film “Killing Bono”. What is it about?

This film is based on the memoirs of Neil McCormick. I play a school mate of future U2 singer Bono, who thinks that he will become the biggest rock star in the world, but it doesn’t quite work out. In this role I sing punk songs and generally make a fool of myself. Sounds like a lot of fun, doesn’t it?

Helaine said:

Thanks, Steph and Katie! :)

He really adores his kingly beard… lol

December 14th, 2010

FL said:

thank you Steph and Katie! @Helaine: yeah, LOLOL

December 14th, 2010

Autumn ^_^ said:

Thank you for the translation Katie. =)
I absolutely adore him. He looks more manly and yummy with a beard.

December 14th, 2010

Katie said:

My pleasure, of course. I’m always happy to have (what I consider) good reasons to further procrastinate uni work, hehe.
Though I do think the Austrian journalists are quite liberal with their initial translations from English to German. They seem to completely change his tone in order to make it sound better in German, whereas my approach is to stick as close to the original as possible.

December 14th, 2010

Nicole L. said:

@Helaine — LOL he really does love his beard (that must explain why he grows it out so much hahahaha)

December 14th, 2010

FL said:

I have a question…the mag also shows his fashion style over the years. I’m a bit confused about the electric razor/aftershave (?) pics…are they talking about the brands he uses or are they saying that he needs a shave? sorry for the stupid question…thanks :P

December 14th, 2010

Geo said:

I don’t know why but I giggled all the time while reading this interview. He’s a cutie. And I can’t handle my love for him :333

December 14th, 2010

Nicole L. said:

@FL — i was wondering about the razor/aftershave thing as well….i hope someone can tell us about it LOL

December 14th, 2010

Katie said:

Well the box under the razor picture says:

“Before Robert Pattinson, Ben was being considered for the lead role in Twilight. But being almost 30, the producers finally decided that he was too old.

BRAUN >> Makes shaving, styling and trimming easier than ever: Cruzer 3 for about € 99. NIVEA >> Gives the skin intensive moisture with guarana extracts: Arctic Freeze Moisturising Gel vor about € 8.49.”

So you see what they did there: they just sort of put an advertisement in the caption. I highly doubt they actually asked him and he said that’s what he’s using. If it is, I apologise (and we will never know), but personally, I think they just made that stuff up.

December 14th, 2010

FL said:

what a strange way to advertise stuff LOL. thanks so much for the clarification, Katie! :))

December 14th, 2010

Nicole L. said:

@katie — thanks for the explanation! i figured that it may have been an advertisement since razors and aftershave were not mentioned in the interview LOL….but im glad that it’s cleared up now!! hahaha

December 15th, 2010

Carlie said:

Oh, thank you so much for the interview!!!

That’s so nice that there are always people who can help you understand what interviews are about.Thank you, Katie!!!

BTW, in case you need to translate articles about Ben from Russian or Ukrainian, I’m ready to do that))))

December 15th, 2010

Mariana said:

Thanks for the interview :D, this man is perfect!
Love him :D

December 15th, 2010

Katie said:

This might not be the right place to share this, but I had to let out my outrage somewhere… if THIS is the official German trailer of Voyage of the Dawn Treader, and I believe it is, then they’ve kept the Spanish accent for King Caspian. Seriously? Can they do that? The German Spanish accent was annoying enough in Prince Caspian; I saw it once and then simply refused to watch the film in German. They can’t do that to Dawn Treader! I really really hope this is just the wrong trailer or they changed it in the film; I’m quite scared to watch it now when I go home for Christmas.

Sorry, rant over.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=iv&annotation_id=annotation_951280&v=ONYww5LJhh8

December 16th, 2010

KeyKey2DaBenz (aka bleep!) said:

Katie: oh wow! I can’t even tell if its a German speaking Spanish accent! *;p …That doesn’t sound Spanish to me (*6_6)… I don’t know left from right in this instance but, for some reason, the trailer was oddly more exciting in German! to me… *XD LOL. *;D

December 17th, 2010

Katie said:

Well, German is my first language, so I can tell. And according to a friend of mine, he really does have the Spanish accent throughout the whole film! This is horrible; I might reconsider going to see the film with my family at all. I am disproportianlly annoyed by the German Spanish accent, I simply can’t stand it.

December 18th, 2010

*Caroline* said:

@Katie: isn’t there a theatre nearby where they show the film in English, with subs?

December 18th, 2010

Katie said:

There would be if I lived in Vienna… but I don’t and there’s only one tiny English theatre here which doesn’t show it. But thanks for the suggestion.
I have already seen the film twice anyway when I was still in London, I just wanted to go with my family over here, but oh well.

December 18th, 2010

Affy-Ann said:

— When the interviewer mentioned Ben playing Prince Caspian ‘3 years ago’ I was like…Wow! I’ve been a Ben Barnes fan for 3 years already! =D

— “What a king should definitely have? A beard, I think… (laughs)” Ben definitely loves his beard. Hahaha! ^_^

— Wish it were longer, but thanks for sharing this great interview! He’s an inspiration, and I can’t wait to see him in “Killing Bono”!

December 19th, 2010

KeyKey2DaBenz (akableep!) said:

Affy-Ann: That’s what I was thinking too! Has it really been 3 YEARS?!!! Time goes by so fast… *;(

December 19th, 2010

Ben Barnes Talks Dawn Treader | AslansCountry.com said:

[…] Entertainment Magazine (Austria, Nov 24-Dec 8) [click here for the translation] Jolie (Germany, Jan 2011) Seitenblicke (Austria, Dec 7) [click here for the […]

December 30th, 2010