Ben Cura
| Ben Cura | |
|---|---|
 Ben Cura in 2013 | |
| Born |
José Ben Cura[1] 30 September 1988 Buenos Aires, Argentina |
| Nationality | British, Argentine, Italian |
| Education | BA (Hons) in Classical Acting for the Professional Theatre [2] |
| Alma mater | London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2011–present |
| Spouse(s) |
Andrea Deck (m. 2013; div. 2015)[3] |
| Parent(s) |
José Cura Silvia Ibarra |
Ben Cura (born 30 September 1988) is a British[4] film, television and theatre actor and director.
Early life
He was born in Buenos Aires, the son of Argentine tenor/conductor José Cura. When he was 1 year old, he moved to Santo Stefano Belbo, Italy, where his father's grandfather was from. The family first lived in a convent while his father struggled to find work as an opera singer. He has two younger siblings, Yazmín and Nicolás.[1]
The family moved to France when he was 6, and then to Spain when he was 11. During this time, he frequently traveled with his parents around the world.[5]
Cura's first acting role came at age 9, as a supernumerary in a production of La Forza del Destino at the Opéra de Marseille, France. Whilst living in Paris, he received formal piano and solfège training. He subsequently attended the New York Film Academy in Paris, France before eventually training and graduating from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2011.[6][7]
Career
Cura made his film debut in British indie flick Comes a Bright Day, appearing shortly after in Comedy Central's series Threesome and Bernard Rose's film The Devil's Violinist.
He made his West End debut playing Angel in the original cast of Jennifer Saunders' musical Viva Forever at the Piccadilly Theatre in London, UK. He was later cast as Seve Ballesteros in British golf film Dream On[8]
Aged 24, he made his directorial debut with a film adaptation of August Strindberg's play Creditors.[9] for which he also wrote the screenplay and played one of the lead characters, Freddie Lynch.[10][11] Later that year, he starred in the UK premiere of award-winning American play Next Fall at the Southwark Playhouse in London, UK.[12]
In 2015, he was cast in U.S. series The Royals as recurring character Holden. He later went on to star in British film White Island set in Ibiza, and based on the novel A Bus Could Run You Over written by Colin Butts, alongside Billy Zane and Billy Boyd.
Cura's directorial debut Creditors world-premiered at the Nordic International Film Festival in New York City on October 31, 2015.[13][14] The festival awarded it with an Honorable Mention in the Best Nordic Narrative Feature category.[15] Latin Post film critic David Salazar called the film "A triumphant debut"[16] Blazing Minds film critic Susanne Hodder said of the actors that "all give compelling performances, bringing their characters to life and giving them depth",[17] Screen Relish film critic Stuie Greenfield said that "Creditors is a beautiful, sometimes angry and surprising film that brings with it strong performances from the entire cast as well as an unexpected yet welcome twist"[18] while Movie Marker film critic Darryl Griffiths said that "Creditors is an incisive and accomplished piece of filmmaking [...], possessing a rich, powerful psychology that instills an unnerving modern-day relevance to age-old material."[19] Creditors received over ten awards, including Best Feature, Leading Actor, and Script/Writer for Cura.[20]
Later that year, Cura was cast as a series regular in ITV/Netflix crime noir drama Marcella penned by The Bridge writer Hans Rosenfeldt.[21][22] The series premiered on UK television in April 2016, followed by a worldwide release on Netflix in July 2016.[23] He was later cast that summer in drama feature film Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool opposite Jamie Bell and Annette Bening,[24] and Simon West's action/comedy feature film Salty opposite Antonio Banderas and Olga Kurylenko.[25][26][27]
Filmography - Actor
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | Threesome | Richie's Pull | TV Series; 1 episode |
| 2012 | Comes a Bright Day | Mr Sullivan | |
| 2013 | The Devil's Violinist | Charlotte's Husband | |
| 2013 | Trance | New Client | Part was cut from theatrical release[4] |
| 2015 | The Royals | Holden Avery | TV Series; 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Creditors | Freddie Lynch | |
| 2016 | White Island | Bartolo | |
| 2016 | Dream On | Seve Ballesteros | |
| 2016 | Marcella | Matthew Neil | TV Series; 6 episodes |
| 2017 | Gun Shy | Juan Carlos | |
| 2017 | Film Stars Don't Die in Liverpool | Tino | |
| 2017 | Silent Witness | Gustavo Aguirre | TV Series; 2 episodes |
| 2017 | Postcards From London | Caravaggio |
Filmography - Director
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Creditors |
Filmography - Writer
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Creditors |
Stage
- 2012: Viva Forever by Jennifer Saunders at the Piccadilly Theatre London[28][29][30]
- 2014: Next Fall by Geoffrey Nauffts at the Southwark Playhouse London[31]
Voice work
- 2012: Swimming with Piranhas Radio Documentary for BBC Radio 4[32][33]
- 2014: Alien: Isolation by The Creative Assembly distributed by SEGA and produced by Twentieth Century Fox[34]
- 2015: Credit Card Baby Radio Drama written by Annie Caulfield for BBC Radio 4, directed by Mary Ward-Lowery[33]
Production company
In April 2013, he co-founded London-based production company Tough Dance Ltd. with actress and producer Andrea Deck.[35][36] The company's first production was award-winning feature film Creditors.
References
- 1 2 Scalisi, Cecilia (21 July 2013). "Cura versus Cura". La Nacion. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ "BA (Hons) in Professional Acting". LAMDA. Retrieved 2013-01-16.
- ↑ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm4459896/bio?ref_=nm_dyk_trv_sm#trivia
- 1 2 "Ben Cura". imdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ "I Think An Actor, Director, Writer or Anyone Creative's Most Important Attribute is Gut Instinct by CREDITORS Movie Ben Cura". Film Courage. 29 November 2015. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ Salazar, David (24 September 2013). "Exclusive Interview: Ben Cura Talks Directorial Debut 'Creditors,' Artistic Development, Inspirations". Latinos Post. Retrieved 24 September 2013.
- ↑ Hall, Katie-Jane (12 October 2013). "Kickstarter Interview: Creditors". Critics Associated. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- ↑ "Dream On on IMDB". Retrieved 2013-11-10.
- ↑ "Take a Trip to the Tiny Island that Time Forgot". This is Total Essex. 16 October 2013. Retrieved 16 October 2013.
- ↑ "Creditors (2015) - IMDbPro".
- ↑ "British Council Film: Creditors". Retrieved 17 January 2015.
- ↑ "Next Fall - theatre review". wow247.co.uk. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ Jamie Ellin Forbes. "Fine Art Magazine Blog". fineartmagazineblog.blogspot.co.uk.
- ↑ "Nordic International Film Festival 2015". um.dk. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04.
- ↑ "Winners 2015". Nordic International Film Festival.
- ↑ "'Creditors' Movie Review: Ben Cura Creates a Visually Stimulating Adaptation of Strindberg's Great Play". Latin Post.
- ↑ Susanne Hodder. "Creditors Movie Review - Intelligent Thought-Provoking Film". Blazing Minds.
- ↑ "CREDITORS Review". ScreenRelish.
- ↑ Darryl Griffiths. "MM Supports - Creditors (Ben Cura)". Movie Marker.
- ↑ "Awards & Press". CREDITORS.
- ↑ Darryl Griffiths. "Interview - Director Ben Cura/Actress Andrea Deck (Creditors)". Movie Marker.
- ↑ "Anna Friel leads the cast of new ITV drama Marcella". "ITV Press Centre".
- ↑ Plunkett, John (4 April 2016). "Netflix to air The Bridge creator's Marcella worldwide". Retrieved 24 November 2016 – via The Guardian.
- ↑ "Ben Cura". imdb.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ "Antonio Banderas y elenco de Salty dan detalles de la cinta rodada en Chile - LA TERCERA". latercera.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ "La imagen de rockero de Antonio Banderas". el-nacional.com. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ "Antonio Banderas luce irreconocible en su nueva película". Mundiario. Retrieved 24 November 2016.
- ↑ Purves, Libby (12 December 2012). "Theatre review: Viva Forever!". The Times. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ↑ Martland, Lisa (12 December 2012). "Theatre review: Viva Forever!". The Stage. Retrieved 12 December 2012.
- ↑ Pritchard, Jim (14 December 2012). "Theatre review: Viva Forever!". Seen and Heard International. Retrieved 14 December 2012.
- ↑ Shenton, Mark (4 August 2014). "Playbill: Geoffrey Nauffts Next Fall to Receive U.K. Premiere". Playbill. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 4 August 2014.
- ↑ "BBC Radio 4 - Swimming with Piranhas". BBC.
- 1 2 "Ben Cura - Other works". IMDb.
- ↑ matthew-brady-404-237416 (7 October 2014). "Alien: Isolation (Video Game 2014)". IMDb.
- ↑ "Tough Dance". Tough Dance.
- ↑ "Tough Dance [gb]". IMDb.