Benjamin Thomas Willbond (born 18 January 1973) is an English actor and screenwriter. He is best known for his numerous roles in a children’s program Horrible Histories (2009–2013), as well as Yonderland (2013–2016), where he also played various different roles, and Ghosts (2019–) where he played The Captain. He is also known for appearing in movies such as St. Trinian's (2007), Bill (2015), and Bridget Jones's Baby (2016). He was part of the comedy duo "Ben & Arn", for which he won Perrier Award for "Best Newcomer" in 1999, and formed the self-proclaimed "thinking man's French pop duo" Priorité à Gauche. He then went on to perform his solo character shows at several Edinburgh Fringe Festivals. He is best known for his regular role in CBBC's Horrible Histories, in which he played a wide variety of historical figures, most memorably recurring roles as Henry VIII and Alexander the Great. He is also the co-creator, -writer and -star of Yonderland, a family fantasy comedy series that premiered on SkyOne on 10 November 2013. In addition, he is the co-writer of Bill, a BBC-produced comedy film based loosely around the early life of William Shakespeare. Other notable television work includes the recurring roles of Steve Warwick in the BBC comedy Rev, Adam Kenyon in BBC Four's The Thick of It and as a television director in the movie-length final episode of the Ricky Gervais comedy Extras (BBC Two). He has also appeared in Katy Brand's Big Ass Show for ITV2 and Mayo for BBC One. His 2010 short film Tooty's Wedding, which he co-wrote with Solon, won numerous international comedy awards and was screened as part of the 2012 Sundance Film Festival. Other notable film work includes the movie Starter for 10 (2006). In 2007, and he had a short appearance in St Trinian's as a nervous school inspector. Description above is from the Wikipedia article Ben Willbond, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 18, 1973 (53)
- Buckinghamshire, England, UK
- Actor and writer
- 26 on MovieCove · 53 credits in all
What are Ben Willbond's films like?
Across their 9 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Society and Bonds.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 3
Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 0
A split, not a type: Grounded 2 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 1
Gentle 1 · Charged 3 · Intense 0
Steady 2 · Shifting 2 · Whiplash 0
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 1 · Some laughs 1 · Funny 2
Slow burn 1 · Even-paced 3 · Relentless 0
Casual 2 · Engaged 2 · Full focus 0
Easy watch 4 · Affecting 0 · Heavy 0
Resolved 4 · Open-ended 0 · Ambiguous 0
Moods and endings
- Happy4
- Bittersweet4
- Ambiguous1
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Ben Willbond's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 17 of their 26 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on BritBox (6).
- BritBox
Subscription and free streaming for Ben Willbond's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
53 credits, 26 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.
Ghosts: The Possession of Button House (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)
The Wives (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all films
Hijack(2023)
Midcredits score: 61st percentile of all shows
A Kind of Spark (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2023)
We Are Not Alone(2022)
Midcredits score: 60th percentile of all films
We Are Not Alone (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2022)
Ghosts(2021)
Midcredits score: 86th percentile of all shows
The Cleaner(2021)
Midcredits score: 57th percentile of all shows
Alma's Not Normal (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2020)
Good Omens(2019)
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
Ghosts(2019)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Sequins (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
King of Thieves(2018)
Midcredits score: 20th percentile of all films
There She Goes(2018)
Midcredits score: 93rd percentile of all shows
Bridget Jones's Baby(2016)
Midcredits score: 59th percentile of all films
Power Monkeys (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Tracey Ullman's Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2016)
Acoustic Kitty (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)
Danger Mouse(2015)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all shows
Bill(2015)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
Rest Stop (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Playing House(2014)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all shows
Sardines (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2014)
Inside No. 9(2014)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all shows
Yonderland (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2013)
Meeting Daddy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Tooty's Wedding (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
Death in Paradise(2011)
Midcredits score: 81st percentile of all shows
Horrible Histories’ Big Prom Party (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2011)
W.E.(2011)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Your Highness(2011)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 74th percentile of all shows
Cemetery Junction(2010)
Midcredits score: 73rd percentile of all films
The Persuasionists (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2010)
Horrible Histories(2009)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
Trimming the Fat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Laura, Ben And Him (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
Exit Strategy (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
St. Trinian's(2007)
Midcredits score: 49th percentile of all films
Angelo's (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
Spinners and Losers (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2007)
I Want Candy(2007)
Midcredits score: 23rd percentile of all films
Starter for 10(2006)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
The Gigolos (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2006)
The Gil Mayo Mysteries(2006)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all shows
Imagine Me & You(2005)
Midcredits score: 83rd percentile of all films
The Thick of It(2005)
Midcredits score: 98th percentile of all shows
The Robinsons (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Carrie & Barry (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
The Catherine Tate Show (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2004)
My Hero (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2000)
Womble (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)
Career shape
Star power in the 94th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 51 titles, 50 of them dated from 2000 to 2026; peak year 2006.
Biggest box office
King of Thieves (2018)
Highest rated
The Thick of It (2005)
Most popular right now
Horrible Histories (2009)
Film career
Peak 2006 · back in prominent film roles after a quiet stretch. Top draw in 1 MovieCove title. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2005Screen debut· The Thick of It
- 2006First film· Imagine Me & You
- 2016Career best· Bridget Jones's Baby
Billing
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Ben Willbond's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 58th percentile, the median of all 12; across a limited sample of 4 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 62nd percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up10
- 50th to 74th11
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th3
Shape of the crowd
12 of their 26 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved6
- Crowd Pleaser12
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed7
Reviewers score the acting 71/100 in their films, across 4 reviewed titles; fans 81, detractors 44. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Ben Willbond's work okay for kids?
Across up to 6 MovieCove titles with content scores, violence & gore runs lighter than most films.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted. The band's colour is the severity of their median, named beside it.
Who does Ben Willbond work with?
People who share at least 2 of Ben Willbond's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Laurence Rickard shares the most, 6.
Writers
- Laurence RickardShared titles: Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023), We Are Not Alone (2022), Ghosts (2019), Bill (2015), Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry (2011), Horrible Histories (2009)See all 6 shared titles with Laurence Rickard
Actors
- Jim HowickShared titles: Ghosts (2019), Bill (2015), Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry (2011), Horrible Histories (2009)See all 4 shared titles with Jim Howick
- Martha Howe-DouglasShared titles: Ghosts (2019), Bill (2015), Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry (2011), Horrible Histories (2009)See all 4 shared titles with Martha Howe-Douglas
- Mathew BayntonShared titles: Ghosts (2019), Bill (2015), Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry (2011), Horrible Histories (2009)See all 4 shared titles with Mathew Baynton
- Simon FarnabyShared titles: Ghosts (2019), Bill (2015), Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry (2011), Horrible Histories (2009)See all 4 shared titles with Simon Farnaby
Editors
- Mike HollidayShared titles: There She Goes (2018), Horrible Histories with Stephen Fry (2011)See all 2 shared titles with Mike Holliday
Mixed roles
- Billy SneddonShared titles: Bill (2015), The Thick of It (2005)See all 2 shared titles with Billy Sneddon