The White Queen

Ben Lamb may have captured your attention in the BBC’s The White Queen, but the English actor will soon be turning heads in his first film role opposite Kate Winslet in the newest teen book-to-film adaption Divergent.
However, as he moves from 15th century England to the futuristic landscape of Chicago in the upcoming sci-fi movie, there’s one pastime from the War of the Roses he wouldn’t mind bringing back today.
‘I’d like to use medieval punishment on directors!’ Ben, 24, told Mail Online after being witness to a few of the gory activities through his role as Anthony Rivers, the brother of the White Queen herself, Elizabeth (Rebecca Ferguson) in the BBC period drama.

And while the medieval soap opera plays out the bitter rivalries during the infamous Civil War between the Yorks and the Lancastrians, luckily for Ben, the tension in court didn’t exist off-screen:
‘It’s funny because although onscreen, me and the York brothers (played by Max Irons, Aneurin Barnard and David Oakes) share a lot of friction, in real life we all get on really well, especially me and Max.’
Ben – who studied at Oxford university and trained with RADA - spent five months in Belgium shooting the BBC series, but before the production began, the actor admittedly didn’t know too much about the show’s history: ‘I kNew so little about the War of the Rose when I was first cast, just the rivalry between the Yorks and the Lancastrians.

‘That’s what is great [about the show] because it’s not a time period that has really been written about a lot or seen in entertainment, unlike the later period of the Tudors.’
After numerous stints doing Shakespeare onstage, a year travelling the UK with the theatre and having a few bit parts in other BBC dramas – he played a posh toff in Silks - The White Queen marked Ben’s first major screen role.
And getting the part proved to be quite a shock for the actor: ‘I found out I had got the part when I was called back to do a reading with another actress.
‘The producer took me aside and asked if I was excited, and I was like, “excited about what?” That’s when he said I had the role of Anthony Rivers, but I wasn’t supposed to know just yet. But it felt great – although I didn’t trust the news until my agent confirmed it!’

Now Lamb’s just finished shooting Divergent, a sci-fi adventure set in post-apocalyptic Chicago where people are divided into five factions dependent on their personality; but one faction-less girl discovers all is not well in the seemingly perfect society.
‘It was a completely different thing to The White Queen,’ Ben says. ‘My character [Edward] is really exciting. He’s a golden boy cut down in his prime who becomes this bitter and twisted anti-hero, which was such a contrast to Anthony Rivers.’
In the film based on Veronica Roth’s teen novel, the actor stars alongside Oscar nominee Shailene Woodley, Zoe Kravitz and Oscar winner Kate Winslet, and with the cast at this year’s Comic-Con, Ben experienced his first taste of heavy fandom:
‘At Comic-Con I was asked a lot for my autograph, but I wasn’t expecting anyone to recognise me, so I just walked around looking at Batman stuff – but some of my Divergent castmates decided to dress up in superhero hooded dressing gowns!’
Now after starring in the new sci-fi blockbuster – which will go up against similar teen franchises The Hunger Games and The Mortal Instruments - it’s no surprise Ben is getting a lot of attention in Hollywood, but he humbly he puts the British invasion onto American screens down to the fact that he and his fellow English actors are “a lot cheaper” than their US equivalents.
After a whirlwind year, it’s no surprise the TV star doesn’t get much chance to watch many small screen offerings, however, he does enjoy a good box set, most recently House Of Cards – ‘I really think Kevin Spacey is very powerful’ - sci-fi series Fringe and, Game Of Thrones, which he ‘just got into while on location in Chicago’.
But Ben always makes sure he leaves his Sunday nights free for his favourite period drama.