Ben Barnes of Shadow and Bone/Westworld/The Chronicles of Narnia

This week, Tommy is joined by actor, singer and songwriter Ben Barnes! On the acting side, Ben has become known as “the king of fantasy.” He starred as Prince Caspian in The Chronicles of Narnia franchise before going on to create iconic performances in Dorian Gray, Westworld, Marvel’s The Punisher, and of course, the fan-favorite villain in the wildly popular Netflix series, Shadow and Bone. Earlier this year Ben released his debut album, “Where The Light Gets In.”  Inspired by the soul and pop music he loves so much, the album is about the different stages of a relationship; beginnings, tension, sorrow, sex, love, endings, nostalgia. It’s about how our history and our scars configure to make us who we are in this moment. Today, Ben opens up about how he had to get used to feeling more exposed as he became a household name, why now was the right time in his life to put aside a wildly successful acting career to focus on his music, the fears and pressures that came with introducing a different side of himself to the world, going after his dreams at a point in his life that might feel like its too late to many, why age is just a number and shouldn’t dictate your dreams, what he was hoping to achieve with his beautiful debut album, how he reveals a much more personal side to himself for the first time through his music, if he has any interest in giving the fans what they want: a role in the Harry Potter world, his thoughts on reprising his villainous role in Shadow and Bone, how the most critical things ever said about him were said by himself, and so much more. Subscribe, rate, and review this episode if you enjoyed this conversation! Stream Ben’s album here: https://benbarnes.komi.io/ "One Minute More” video feat. Monica Martin: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJM06N-naYA&ab_channel=BenBarnesSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.