Below is a compiled list of the most interesting facts about Ben Mendelsohn. Check it out!
Despite his prominence in Hollywood as a character actor known for playing villains and criminals, Ben Mendelsohn has been a leading man in Australia since starting acting as a teenager.
Interesting Facts about Ben Mendelsohn
- Performed a one man play, Mother, as a teenager for his entire school.
- Appeared in a PSA with Gia Carides and Paul Gleeson in the 80s set in a nightclub to teach teenagers how to fill out their tax returns.
- To get into character for Animal Kingdom, Mendelsohn rarely spoke to James Frecheville on set and would call him John, rather than James or Jim. After production, the two became close friends during the film’s promotional tour.
- Trained at the Heidelberg Theater Company.
- A passionate animal lover, while filming Adore, he halted filming to make sure a stray cat made it across the street safely.
- Offered to remove his front teeth for the role of Robin in Place Beyond the Pines, which was written as having dentures. The director accepted the offer but changed his mind when an producer intervened before Mendelsohn had the dental work done.
- After seeing a report on an Australian News program about a Datables Ball (dance for special needs teens with limited opportunities to meet and socialize) he offered to pay the full costs to host another.
- Learned of method acting from costar Nina Landis (Prime Time), who suggested he read Uta Hagen’s Respect for Acting as a teenager.
- Spent a lot of time in Europe and the United States growing up, returning to Australia for High school.
- Considers Bottom (A Midsummer’s Night Dream) the greatest character in theater, a role he played in high school.
- Lived with Scoot McNairy while filming Killing Them Softly.
- Early in career was frequently compared to Australian actor Chips Rafferty.
Personal Quotes by Ben Mendelsohn
There’s very little different between the way the government operates in America and the way criminals do.
Ben Mendelsohn
I think now there’s much more of a confessional culture. That’s not my bag. I come from a slightly older school of thought: ‘give ’em nothin.’ You don’t plead guilty.
Ben Mendelsohn
You can certainly extend your adolescence. There’s people that are very good at extending it indefinitely.
Ben Mendelsohn
If you’re going to be a father and whatnot, yeah, you better be responsible about it as best you can.
Ben Mendelsohn
I suspect, for a lot of people who become actors, there’s a feeling of wanting to be someone other than who they actually are.
Ben Mendelsohn
