Interview: Ben Barnes (Dorian Gray) at TIFF ‘09
Ben Barnes, star of Dorian Gray, sat down with Tribute’s Bonnie Laufer-Krebs at TIFF ’09 to talk about his role in the Oliver Parker film, adapted from the classic Oscar Wilde story.
Dorian Gray centres on the titular character, a good-hearted young man (Barnes) who travels to London and becomes swept up in a world of decadence and excess after befriending Lord Henry Wotton (Colin Firth). When his image is captured in a portrait, Gray becomes consumed by his vanity, and though he seems to have it all, he risks everything to avoid aging a single day. Barnes tells Tribute that playing a character so naïve and beautiful was a big challenge.
In the interview, Barnes also talks about working on Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader, which he is currently filming. “By far, it’s the best book,” he says.