Some actors build characters through imagination. BEN HARDY isn’t one of them. He’s worn superhero suits, faced demonic forces, and stood shoulder to shoulder with some of the industry’s biggest names, never conjuring fantasies. Instead, he’s dedicated to finding the human in the supernatural. It’s an ongoing challenge. In The Conjuring: Last Rites, the feat is immense. Ben joins the iconic horror franchise in one of its most anticipated iterations: the end of the original’s cast story. And, while he’s still perfecting the way he immerses (and pulls back) from projects, his performances make it well worth it. We sit down with Ben to discuss the elation of “going there,” coffee break jump scares and the joys of the horror genre.
Left Jacket, shirt and pants Emporio Armani, belt The London Leatherman
Right Full look Prada
You’ve established yourself so deeply in Hollywood, I was surprised to find out one of your first gigs was EastEnders. How do you think the pace of a soap opera shaped your approach to acting?
It’s one of the hardest formats to work in. The time limitations are outrageous. It’s a great educational opportunity. You get new scripts all the time, constantly having to learn lines, rewrites, sometimes even the night before. I went to drama school, and there, you mainly do theatre, where you have four or five weeks of rehearsals. This was so different. You have to do it on the fly and make the best of it in the limited time you have.
Cardigan and shirt Fendi, denim Blue Blue, belt and bracelet The London Leatherman, shoes Jimmy Choo
You went straight from that experience into one of the industry’s biggest franchises, X-Men. Did that feel like a huge shift at the time?
I was over the moon, I was ecstatic, it was surreal as fuck. I remember day one, where you had James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, all these sorts of people that I'd grown up revering, who were all of a sudden there with me. I was dressed in a superhero suit worth more than any money I have. It was incredible. It took a long time to acclimatise.
Left Sweater Wales Bonner, denim Blue Blue
Right Vest and pants Hermès, bracelets The London Leatherman, necklace SLJ, watch Omega
What has that excitement from the first years matured into? What drives you to a project?
When you strip the novelty back, when it becomes less of the appeal, it becomes more about the story. I look at Unicorns as an example. It was a story like I’d never seen before; it was something I wanted to be a part of. But it’s also who you want to work with. I admired Sally [El Hosaini]’s work after seeing The Swimmers so I wanted to work with her. For The Conjuring: Last Rites, I have admired those films for so long, and I think Patrick Wilson is a fantastic actor. I wanted to work with him. So, I’d say I go after what I enjoy as a viewer, but also what sorts of stories I want to be a part of telling.
Left Vest Dsquared2, jacket and shorts Blue Blue, jacket N°21, belt The London Leatherman, boots Jimmy Choo
Right Jacket, shirt and denim Paul Smith, belt The London Leatherman, watch Omega
You mentioned The Conjuring, which is such a beloved franchise and one of the few surviving ones in the genre. Were you a fan of horror prior to making the film?
I have become more of a fan of horror through it. I didn’t use to be a fan of it growing up. The Conjuring movies were what got me into it. What’s so great about it is that it’s a cinematic event. In a time when people say cinema is struggling, horror is such a communal experience. People go to the movies and experience that fear together. I think that’s a beautiful thing; it’s the essence of cinema and theatre.
Left Vest, tank top and denim Isabel Marant, watch Omega
Right Full look Prada
Has your relationship changed now that you’ve seen what’s behind the curtain?
What I love about The Conjuring movies is how limited the amount of CGI is. That makes it a slightly more terrifying experience on set. You know what happens in the script, but sometimes you come out of makeup, and you see a guy with incredible prosthetic horns out of his head, just smoking a cigarette. There’s a jump scare around every corner. Don’t get me wrong, CGI is a part of the movie, but it’s used sparingly. I think we, as human beings, can sense CGI; it’s just not the same kind of fear.
Cardigan and shirt Fendi, denim Blue Blue, belt and bracelet The London Leatherman
You earlier mentioned Unicorns, which I had the pleasure of seeing. Your performance is so layered, but the character in itself is also so complex. How do you approach a character like that?
To be honest, the film does a lot of the work. My job with Luke was to create his inner conflict. As an actor, it’s great to play outside those labels. It made me approach it by thinking: “What’s Luke thinking in this moment?” That was one of the challenges for me. Actors go around talking about feelings all the time, we grow accustomed to understanding what we feel at all times. But Luke doesn’t understand what he’s going through. I had to embody a subconscious confusion, a process of not being able to identify what I felt.
Left Vest, tank top and denim Isabel Marant, watch Omega
Right Coat, top and denim Dsquared2, sunglasses Ben’s own
Does that get to you? How do you protect yourself from getting infected by a character’s inner conflict?
That’s something that’s been on my mind. I struggled with Unicorns. It made me sad. When we find him, he’s grieving, his girlfriend has left him, he’s in a horrible state. I tried to take a step back and punctuate my days by meditating. Having said that, things do bleed over. I suppose the true answer here is that I haven’t quite figured it out. I guess there’s a sense of achievement with reaching an emotional state on camera that acts as a counterbalance.
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Interview by Pedro Vasconcelos
Photography by Dean Ryan McDaid
Fashion by Steven Huang
EIC Michael Marson
Casting by Imagemachine cs
Grooming by Sven Bayerbach at Carol Hayes
Management using Daimon Barber
Photographer’s assistant Martin Buckley
Stylist’s assistant Tanya Thakore
