---
name: "Benjamin Whitrow"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/benjamin-whitrow"
fi1m_id: "benjamin-whitrow"
imdb_id: "nm0926368"
tmdb_id: 84927
wikidata_id: "Q817739"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "17 February 1937"
died: "28 September 2017"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 77
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 7
updated: "2026-10-07T14:13:32.507416+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Benjamin Whitrow

## Identity

Benjamin Whitrow

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/benjamin-whitrow
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** benjamin-whitrow
- **IMDb ID:** nm0926368
- **TMDB ID:** 84927
- **Wikidata ID:** Q817739
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Whitrow, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q817739, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926368/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/84927

Actor. Born 17 February 1937 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK. Died 28 September 2017.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 17 February 1937, Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK
- **Died:** 28 September 2017
- **Active:** 1992–2017
- **Also known as:** 本杰明·惠特罗
- **Average Fi1m score:** 77, as actor, over 7 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 74 (3), 2000s 84 (1), 2010s 77 (3)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 75 to 74 across 5 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 1 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 5, Comedy 3, Animation 1, Family 1, History 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $407m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benjamin_Whitrow, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q817739, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0926368/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/84927

## Streaming the US now

- **BritBox:** [*Pride and Prejudice*](https://film.one/tv/pride-and-prejudice.md) (88)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Benjamin Whitrow

> Benjamin Whitrow made authority amusing through a fine speaking voice and precise comic delivery. We value his dry supporting performances, with one reservation: in *Pride and Prejudice*, he can make a detached father rather too agreeable.

In *Pride and Prejudice* (1995), Whitrow’s Mr Bennet delivers a withering put-down without making a great production of it. The pleasure comes from how precisely he speaks, rather than how much emphasis he applies. We laughed at his put-downs, then found ourselves too willing to excuse his detachment. That is our reservation about a performance we otherwise enjoy: his company is so comfortable that the father’s failings can become easy to overlook.

He had been playing men with some authority long before Mr Bennet. In *Quadrophenia* (1979) he is Mr Fulford, a long-suffering employer; in *Clockwise* (1986), a headmaster in a farce written by Michael Frayn. Louis Malle’s *Damage* (1992) gives him the supporting role of a civil servant. His supporting work across stage, film, television and radio stretches back to the 1960s, with television and voice work becoming his better-known work in the later decades.

Langton’s *Pride and Prejudice* gives that precise delivery plenty of room, though the ensemble is not always evenly pitched. Alison Steadman’s emphatic Mrs Bennet makes Whitrow’s restraint welcome, while Jennifer Ehle’s finer adjustments reveal how broad some of the supporting work can be. His dryness helps us through the fuss, but it cannot remove the gap between those acting styles. We would not want more emphasis from him; a little more reason to question Mr Bennet’s comfortable distance would help. The series remains an easy recommendation despite that reservation.

*Chicken Run* (2000) gives him another sort of authority as the voice of Fowler, the pompous ex-RAF rooster. Peter Lord and Nick Park turn the chicken coop into a prison camp, where that military self-importance fits the escape-film comedy. It is a sensible use of Whitrow’s precise delivery, although our enthusiasm for the film rests on the expressive animation and the voices together. Some of the escape-film jokes stretch thin, but the inmates earn our affection. For the clearest sense of Whitrow’s particular appeal, start with Mr Bennet, and keep an ear on how easily he wins us over.

## Biography

Benjamin Whitrow was a British actor. He was educated at the Dragon School in Oxford, Tonbridge School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. After national service in the King's Dragoon Guards, he made his stage debut in 1959 and later worked at the National Theatre under Laurence Olivier and with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Whitrow was best known for his BAFTA-nominated performance as Mr Bennet in the 1995 BBC adaptation of *Pride and Prejudice*. His film roles included appearances in *Quadrophenia* (1979), *Chaplin* (1992), *Damage* (1992) and *Darkest Hour* (2017). He voiced Fowler in the animated film *Chicken Run* (2000) and appeared in television series such as *The New Statesman*, *Midsomer Murders* and *Wolf Hall*.

He was married to Catherine Cook from 1972 and had a relationship with actress Celia Imrie.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, theguardian.com, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

- *Darkest Hour* (2017), Fi1m 66, as Sir Samuel Hoare — [page](https://film.one/film/darkest-hour.md)
- *Wolf Hall* (2015), Fi1m 86, as Archbishop Warham — [page](https://film.one/tv/wolf-hall.md)
- *Toast of London* (2013), Fi1m 80, Actor — [page](https://film.one/tv/toast-of-london.md)
- *Chicken Run* (2000), Fi1m 84, as Fowler (voice) — [page](https://film.one/film/chicken-run.md)
- *Jonathan Creek* (1997), Fi1m 78, as Rupert Clifford-Wright — [page](https://film.one/tv/jonathan-creek.md)
- *Pride and Prejudice* (1995), Fi1m 88, as Mr. Bennet — [page](https://film.one/tv/pride-and-prejudice.md)
- *Damage* (1992), Fi1m 57, as Civil Servant — [page](https://film.one/film/damage.md)

## Complete filmography (94)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Darkest Hour* (2017), as Sir Samuel Hoare — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/film/darkest-hour.md)
- *Wolf Hall* (2015), series, as Archbishop Warham — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/tv/wolf-hall.md)
- *The Musketeers* (2014), series, as Priest
- *Toast of London* (2013), series, Actor — Fi1m 80, [page](https://film.one/tv/toast-of-london.md)
- *Man Down* (2013), series, Actor
- *Bomber* (2009), as Alistar
- *Bonekickers* (2008), series, Actor
- *Scenes of a Sexual Nature* (2006), as Eddie Wright
- *The Queen's Sister* (2005), as Cronin
- *Murder in Suburbia* (2004), series, as Eric
- *New Tricks* (2004), series, as Edward Fraser
- *Henry VIII* (2003), series, as Thomas Boleyn
- *The Royal* (2003), series, as Professor Farrow
- *Other People's Children* (2000), series, as Duncan
- *Chicken Run* (2000), as Fowler (voice) — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/chicken-run.md)
- *Monarch of the Glen* (2000), series, as Toad
- *Jilting Joe* (1998), as Arthur
- *The History of Tom Jones: A Foundling* (1997), series, as Squire Allworthy
- *FairyTale: A True Story* (1997), as Mr. Binley
- *Jonathan Creek* (1997), series, as Rupert Clifford-Wright — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/jonathan-creek.md)
- *Midsomer Murders* (1997), series, as Hugo Balcombe, Sir Malcolm Frazer — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/midsomer-murders.md)
- *The Merchant of Venice* (1996), as Antonio
- *Restoration* (1995), as Merivel's Father
- *Pride and Prejudice* (1995), series, as Mr. Bennet — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/tv/pride-and-prejudice.md)
- *Peak Practice* (1993), series, as Dr. Laurence Reeve
- *Chaplin* (1992), as Station Master
- *Damage* (1992), as Civil Servant — Fi1m 57, [page](https://film.one/film/damage.md)
- *Chancer* (1990), series, as Robert Douglas
- *Chillers* (1990), series, as Mr Emery
- *The Attractions* (1989), as Lawson
- *Chip 'n' Dale Rescue Rangers* (1989), series, as English Citizens (voice)
- *A Bit of Fry & Laurie* (1989), series, Actor
- *Agatha Christie's Poirot* (1989), series, as Timothy Abernethie — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/tv/agatha-christies-poirot.md)
- *A Man for All Seasons* (1988), as Thomas Cromwell
- *On the Black Hill* (1988), as Arkwright
- *Natural Causes* (1988), as Walter Bryce
- *Hawks* (1988), as Mr Granger
- *Lucky Sunil* (1988), as Mr. Slipper
- *Big Muzzy* (1987), series, as Norman (voice)
- *The New Statesman* (1987), series, as Paddy O'Rourke
- *Ffizz* (1987), series, as Hugo Walker
- *The Devil's Disciple* (1987), as Major Swindon
- *Personal Services* (1987), as Mr. Marsden
- *Paying Guests (Part 2)* (1986), as Mr. Kemp
- *Paying Guests (Part 1)* (1986), as Mr. Kemp
- *Casualty* (1986), series, as Douglas Cranville — Fi1m 68, [page](https://film.one/tv/casualty.md)
- *ScreenPlay* (1986), series, as Mr. Kemp, Lawson
- *Clockwise* (1986), as Headmaster
- *The Insurance Man* (1986), as Lecturer in Medical School
- *A Crack in the Ice* (1985), as Capt. Kirov
- *Dempsey and Makepeace* (1985), series, as Lindsay — Fi1m 76, [page](https://film.one/tv/dempsey-and-makepeace.md)
- *Hay Fever* (1984), as Richard Greatham
- *Sharma and Beyond* (1984), as Anton Heron
- *Agatha Christie's Partners in Crime* (1983), series, as Sir Arthur Merivale
- *Shackleton* (1983), series, as Roald Amundsen
- *Harry's Game* (1982), series, as Davidson
- *Brimstone & Treacle* (1982), as Businessman
- *A Shocking Accident* (1982), as Headmaster
- *A Bit of Singing and Dancing* (1982), as Mr. Curry
- *All for Love* (1982), series, as Mr. Curry
- *On Approval* (1982), as Richard
- *By George* (1982), as George
- *The Factory* (1981), as James Sellars
- *Troilus & Cressida* (1981), as Ulysses
- *Bergerac* (1981), series, as B J Farrell
- *Minor Complications* (1980), as Phillips
- *We Think the World of You* (1980), as Joe Ackerley
- *Minder* (1979), series, as Doctor — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/tv/minder.md)
- *Quadrophenia* (1979), as Mr. Fulford
- *A Moment in Time* (1979), as Harry
- *Tales of the Unexpected* (1979), series, as Fergus Locke
- *One Fine Day* (1979), as Blake
- *Afternoon Off* (1979), as Father
- *Danger UXB* (1979), series, as Major Pullar
- *A Dog's Ransom* (1978), as Edward Reynolds
- *One Day at a Time* (1977), as Tom
- *Able's Will* (1977), as Stephen
- *BBC2 Play of the Week* (1977), series, as Stephen
- *Clayhanger* (1976), series, as Doctor Heve
- *Rumpole of the Bailey* (1975), series, as The Rev. Bill Britwell
- *Two Sundays* (1975), as House Master
- *Plaintiffs and Defendants* (1975), as Josh
- *King Lear* (1975), as Duke of Albany
- *The Sweeney* (1975), series, as Det. Chief Supt. Braithwaite — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-sweeney.md)
- *The Aweful Mr Goodall* (1974), series, as Captain Ralph Stearns
- *Playhouse* (1974), series, as George
- *The Merchant of Venice* (1973), as Duke of Venice
- *Play for Today* (1970), series, as Tom
- *BBC Play of the Month* (1965), series, as Duke of Albany, Richard Halton
- *Londoners* (1965), series, as The Priest
- *Theatre 625* (1964), series, as Clerk of the Court
- *Detective* (1964), series, as Peter Binns
- *West 11* (1963), as Party Guest (uncredited)
- *Dr. Finlay's Casebook* (1962), series, as Robert McDowell

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/benjamin-whitrow