Written by A.L. Vincent
Known for portraying fantasy heroes and comic book villians, along with characters from history and classic novels, to romantic and wannabe rock-star roles, British actor Ben Barnes has several acting roles to his credit. These include The Chronicles of Narnia (2010), Doctors (2006), and most recently the Netflix series Shadow and Bone. His love of storytelling has him playing a new real-life role as a songwriter and musician. His first EP, Songs for You, was released on October 21. “I love acting. I love storytelling. I sort of see it as the same, an extension of the same thing though,” he revealed in this interview. “I’ve played musicians and they’re telling stories and telling stories through song. I know how watching TV and films and stuff makes me think and makes me feel and makes me question things. So I just find music has the quickest, most evocative link to doing that for me. So if I can make some more music, I certainly will go to great lengths to do it.”
In creating music, Barnes finds that the lyrics come naturally to him. He keeps little notebooks of phrases and couplets and writes poems as gifts for people. He finds the actual production of music fascinating. However, he does find the process of finding the melody in chords painstaking. But finds it rewarding when the melody becomes married to the lyrics. His EP has five songs that Barnes feels are “cohesive and something that felt like one singular emotive project that was intimate and personal and authentically me.” Barnes’ musical influences include Queen, The Beatles, Ray Charles, Donny Hathaway, and Stevie Wonder. One can feel the vibes of these classic artists in his song “11:11”, an upbeat and catchy tune that makes one want to sing along.
Some of his favorite songwriters are Bob Dylan, Billie Eilish, and John Mayer. His favorite though is Foy Vance. When talking about Vance, he said, “Oh my God. Just unbelievable. I never met him, but he’s just amazing. I wish I sounded like him. I wish I wrote like him.” His love for music started at an early age. His first concert was Paul McCartney’s Flowers in the Dirt tour around the age of eight. He took the straws from his soda and started playing the drums on the man’s head who was seated in front of him.
As if Barnes wasn’t irresistible enough already, he’s also an animal lover. During the interview, when I mentioned that I could talk about music “until the cows come home”, he replied with, “Till the cows that love music come home”. He then talked about videos he’d watched featuring cows responding to music, and how he’d stopped eating red meat as a result. He stated, “I cannot eat creatures that love music.” Barnes is also an avid reader. After a recommendation on a book during an interview about books, he started reading Life After Life by Kay Atkinson.
As for future plans, Barnes will continue to act in film and television, but find a way to balance the two professions. Loving the response to his first EP, he promises there will be more, and he’s planning on performing these songs live at some point. He would also like to record an album of covers of his favorite songs.
Ben Barnes has starred in films, TV shows, and theater productions spanning the last 20 years:
Movies have included Seventh Son (Universal), Dorian Gray, Easy Virtue, and musical films Killing Bono, and Jackie and Ryan. TV shows he has appeared in include Westworld (HBO),
Golddigger (BBC) and The Punisher (Netflix). Stage productions include The History Boys (National Theatre) and Birdsong (West End).
You can find Ben’s EP, Songs for You, here. Purchase Ben’s band wear here. Check out his music Spotify Influences below:
Connect with Ben on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube