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The most comprehensive source for everything DIVERGENT.

#Divergent Fansite Set-Visit: Ben Lamb Interview

 
Edward (played by Ben Lamb) is probably one of the more memorable supporting characters. It’s not often that characters get butter knifes to the eye. Ben Lamb was a blast to chat with and has one of the most delightfully English accents we’ve heard. We can’t wait to see him bring Edward to life!

So have you filmed that scene yet? (in regards to the butter knife to the eye scene)

Ben: Yeah we’ve shot that scene.

 

Was it fun?

Ben: Not for me [laughs] No, it was good though it was done in a really kind of, an unsettling way, which will be really good.

 

How does the character serve as a catalyst for how dangerous this world is? Because a lot of times we’re just seeing it from Tris’s perspective and she’s like totally game, but then all these things happen to other people…

Ben: Yeah, well I think it’s very important in terms of the way we view Dauntless and particularly in the way we view Peter’s ruthlessness but I think it just shows how ruthless people have to be in Dauntless in order to survive or what people they think they have to be.

 

Are you loving your other cast members? Have you gotten to spend any time together?

Ben: I am yeah. I went to the Cubs game with Amy the other day, and we’ve spent a reasonable amount of time together. It’s kind of difficult when you shooting because some people work and some people don’t and blah blah blah, but yeah we all get along very well.

 

Did you get to speak with Veronica Roth about your character at all?

Ben: No. I said Hi, but then I was off and filming again and I haven’t’ had that pleasure. Mind you, in a way that’s quite nice because I’ve worked with some writers on book adaptations before and sometimes they do have, and I don’t think Veronica’s this way, but sometimes they do have a view on that they want to kind of impress on you and then it kind of takes the actors job away from them and I think the script is so good that there’s a lot for the actor to work. So, so yeah it would’ve been nice but at the same time I’m not disappointed that it didn’t happen.

 

Divergent, the whole trilogy, has a very fierce fanbase, like have we been overwhelming, have you gotten a great feedback?

Ben: Yeah, it’s just been great.

 

Have we scared you? (laughs)

Ben: It’s just been…  it’s really great that it can inspire so many people in such a really strong way. I just think it’s really cool, and really cool to be involved in.

 

What was your personal training regimen like?

Ben: Well, while I was trying to sort out my visa stuff to come over here in the first place, cause I got cast pretty late on, I mean I met for it a few times for several months and I think they were sort of trying to work out where they wanted me and when they finally cast me I had a lot of visa stuff to kind of finally sort out. So while that was going on I was doing muay thai training with a muay thai champion in the UK who has worked with a lot of film actors getting them ready for roles where they need to do muay thai and krav maga as well. So that was a pretty intensive training and then as soon as I arrived we did more, and in fact what I had done muay thai was then kind of absorbed by the dauntless fighting style which is based on muay thai and krav maga, but is slightly, it’s kind of even more sort of painful to look at and nasty you know. It’s just a really kind of visually destructive fighting style.

 

Who’s the best fighter?

Ben: Me

 

Who’s the worst?

Ben: Uhm oh I don’t know, I haven’t really been looking at people in terms of you know.

 

Who’s then most fun to fight?

Ben: I did enjoy fighting Peter, it was good, there would be times when we were like back of shot, or like when we were rehearsing and stuff, and we would just be playing around with  different fighting moves and that was pretty fun.

 

How good were you at throwing knives?

Ben: Super amazing

 

Yours stuck in the wall?

Ben: Yeah , yeah no they did. Which surprised me because actually when I first started off you realize kind of how difficult it is to actually get it like flying properly and actually sticking, but then with a little bit of practice it kind of comes quite naturally to a lot of us actually. We’re like real life James Bonds.

 

Is this your first American accent?

Ben: As in have I ever done an American accent before? Not professionally… not professionally, but when I was at drama school, I trained at RADA in London, we had a lot of dialect coaching there and so it was something that I was very familiar with it and it’s just my career just hasn’t taken me on that path until now.

 

Do they have you do any Chicago accent? Is there any spin on that?

Ben: No it’s pretty general American.

 

What would be in your fear landscape?

Ben: Jesus Christ… It would probably be fear of failure is probably high on list. Fear of bees, I hate bees, buzzing insects. I’m not really afraid of insects although maybe big insects I’ve stroked a tarantula’s leg

(ew)

Ben: Yeah. I’ve also stroked a scorpion that was a long time ago I didn’t think I’d want to do it again.

Whatever you’re willing to give.

Ben: I think that’s probably it in terms of what springs to mind. Flying in planes used to really scare the shit out of me, but I think I’m cooler with that now. I’ve had to do it quite a lot recently.

 

Do you relate to Edward in anyway?

Ben: Uhm yeah we’re both super bad ass fighting bastards (giggles) Uhm, yeah I mean I always found that quite a weird, ya know a weird question, ya know cause if it’s like a nice character that you like then you go ‘yeah I’m really cool’ and then if you hate him you’re ‘like yeah I’m a complete bastard’.

I get stabbed in the eye all the time (giggles)

Ben: Yea exactly. Yeah so I never really know how to answer that question really well, but yeah I think an actor has to find ways to relate to a character no matter how nice or nasty they are or however difficult it is to see their motivations. Because otherwise you’re not playing the character in the way that’s gonna tell the story.

 

Even with the most jerk characters there are redeeming qualities. What’s redeeming about Edward?

Ben: Exactly. Uhm, I think he’s very dedicated I think he’s hard working I think he is sort of very… he gives praise where praise is due. He’s pretty reserved about compliments but when somebody really deserves it then he gives it.

 

Which faction do you most identify with?

Ben: Probably Dauntless because I’m a young man and I like doing cool shit, like jumping off trains.

 

Did you jump on the train yet?

Ben: I haven’t yet no, but uhm we’ve done the scene after they’ve jumped off which was fun.

 

I hear they start you out at a 4 mile jog.

Ben: Yeah well, I mean I’m okay with that. That shouldn’t be too difficult. 18 miles is my furthest, but I haven’t done that for a while.

 

Have there been any pranks or fun stories?

Ben: Yes there have, but I should probably leave Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Miles Teller to tell you about that.

 

We asked them and they didn’t tell us.

Ben: Oh really? Oh, well I can’t then I couldn’t possibly. If neither of them told you I can’t tell you.

 

They didn’t refuse they just ran out of time

Ben: Sufficed to say it involved a balloon that’s as much as I’ll tell you.

 

Are you excited about becoming facitonless?

Ben: Yeah! I am actually. I uhm, haven’t read Insurgent yet so there’s a lot of excitement yet to come, but I kind of felt like I would focus on this movie first before thinking ahead to what’s gonna happen. But yeah I think… I think it will be quite exciting and interesting. What I really wanna do is see Neil’s concept for the factionless because I think we have a real strong concept for the factions as they are, and so just to see the factionless the  idea that the creators have got for factionless – Interrupted by bright lights

 

Would you take the role for Insurgent? Has it been offered to you yet?

I think a lot of, I don’t know the way other people’s contracts have been worked up, but I would’ve thought that most of us are on an option bases. So which means that yes if, ya know if it happens then yeah. Unfortunately Alex Pettyfer won’t be cast as Edward in the next one.

Good!

 


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