Ben Starr (actor)
English actor (born 1988)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Ben Starr is an English actor. After a string of minor roles, mainly on television, he had his breakthrough as Clive Rosfield, the protagonist of the role-playing game Final Fantasy XVI (2023). This role earned him the award for Best Lead Performer at the Golden Joystick Awards 2023 and a nomination for Best Performance at the Game Awards 2023.
Ben Starr | |
|---|---|
Starr at the 2025 Game Developers Choice Awards | |
| Born | 1 April 1988 |
| Education | Durham University (BA) London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (MA) |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2013–present |
| Spouse | Naomi Battrick[1] |
Starr has subsequently voiced many characters in video games, including Verso in Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (2025), which earned him the award for Best Supporting Performer at the Golden Joystick Awards 2025 and another nomination for Best Performance at the Game Awards 2025. The same year, he voiced Prometheus in Hades II.
Biography
Starr was born in Bristol. He attended Queen Elizabeth's Hospital School and was captain of school 2005/6. While at school he was a member of Great Western Youth Theatre, Bristol Old Vic Youth Theatre and HTV Television Workshop. He studied history at Durham University and was president of Castle Theatre Company, a member of DULOG, as well as a founding member of DIM. On graduating from Durham he completed a two-year postgraduate acting course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA).
Career
His first role was in Father Brown in 2013, followed by Doctors in 2013, and The Musketeers in 2015. He played Captain James Hawdon in the BBC series Dickensian.[2] In 2016, he had roles in Casualty as Nathan Mason and he starred in the role of Donatello in Medici: Masters of Florence. In 2017 he landed a recurring role as the Apothecary, Dr Christopher Priestley, in the Sky1 series Jamestown.[3]
Starr voiced the main character Clive Rosfield in the role-playing video game Final Fantasy XVI, for which his performance was widely acclaimed and enriched his stardom in the video game industry. He also hosted the Golden Joystick Awards in 2024, after having won the award for Best Lead Performer the previous year.[4][5] He reprised his role as a DLC character in the first season pass for the fighting game Tekken 8.
Starr would also go on to star as Jimbo when advertising the 2024 indie game Balatro.[6] During the 21st British Academy Games Awards, he would reprise this role to accept the Debut Game Award on Balatro creator LocalThunk's behalf.[7] Starr hosted the Magic: the Gathering panel at PAX East 2025 for the debut showcase for the Final Fantasy set.[8] He voiced the character Verso in the 2025 video game Clair Obscur: Expedition 33. In 2026 he joined the cast of Fortnite as part of fictional organisation "The Seven" including other star names like Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson and Brie Larson.[9]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Survivor | Sniper | ||
| Meet Pursuit Delange: The Movie | Pursuit Delange | |||
| 2016 | A Great Personality is Just Skin Deep | Dan | Short film | |
| 2017 | Eat Locals | Private Crown | ||
| 2018 | 7 Miracles | Judas | ||
| 2021 | Sinking | Husband | Short film | |
| 2025 | Arriba Beach | Sam | Short film | |
| Marathon | Durandal | Short film |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Father Brown | Adam Watkins | 1 episode | |
| Doctors | Paul Stammers | 1 episode | ||
| 2015 | The Musketeers | Francesco | 1 episode | |
| 2015–2016 | Dickensian | Captain James Hawdon | 17 episodes | |
| 2016 | Casualty | Nathan Mason | 1 episode | |
| Medici | Donatello | 1 episode | ||
| 2017–2019 | Jamestown | Dr. Christopher Priestley | 24 episodes | [10] |
| 2019 | Knightfall | Philippe | 2 episodes | |
| Midsomer Murders | Noah Moon | 1 episode | ||
| 2021 | Trying | Elliot | 2 episodes | |
| 2022 | Death in Paradise | Chad Burinsky | 1 episode | |
| London Kills | Josh Hart | 1 episode | ||
| The Other Half | Oscar | 1 episode | ||
| 2023 | You & Me | Harry | 3 episodes | |
| You | Niko Leandros | 1 episode |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Yellow Face | Marcus G. Dahlman | Royal National Theatre, Park Theatre | |
| Stop the play! | Camp gay director | Trafalgar Studios |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Company of Heroes 2 | Additional voices | [11] | |
| 2016 | Quantum Break | Additional voices | [12] | |
| 2018 | A Way Out | Additional voices | [12] | |
| 2023 | Final Fantasy XVI | Clive Rosfield | Also provided voice work for paid DLC released from 2023 to 2024 | [10] |
| Arknights | Sharp | [10] | ||
| 2024 | Atlas Fallen | Gauntlet Bearer (male) | Reign of Sand update | [13] |
| Warframe | Arthur Nightingale | 1999 expansion | [14] | |
| Tekken 8 | Clive Rosfield | DLC guest character | [15] | |
| 2025 | The First Berserker: Khazan | Khazan | [16] | |
| Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Verso | [17] | ||
| Date Everything! | Dorian | [18] | ||
| Dead Take | Vinny Monroe | [19] | ||
| Hades II | Prometheus | [20] | ||
| Final Fantasy Tactics: The Ivalice Chronicles | Dycedarg | [21] | ||
| 2026 | Marathon | Durandal | [22] | |
| Fortnite | The Visitor (Reality Unknown) | [9] | ||
| TBA | Solasta II | Rickard Colwall | [23] | |
| Fallen Fates | Arven | [24] |
Web series
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023–2024 | Abridgd… Too Far! | Various | 4 episodes | |
| 2024 | GETTYS Live On Stage: Tim & Gia's Wedding | Announcer | [25] | |
| 2024–present | Natural Six | Raidion Thornbear | [26] |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Lead Performer | Final Fantasy XVI | Won | [27] |
| The Game Awards 2023 | Best Performance | Nominated | [28] | ||
| 2024 | New York Game Awards | Great White Way Award for Best Acting in a Game | Nominated | [29] | |
| 20th British Academy Games Awards | Performer in a Leading Role | Longlisted | [30] | ||
| 2025 | Golden Joystick Awards | Best Supporting Performer | Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 | Won | [31] |
| The Game Awards 2025 | Best Performance | Nominated | [32] | ||
| 2026 | 24th Game Audio Network Guild Awards | Best Ensemble Cast Performance | Won | [33] | |
| 22nd British Academy Games Awards | Performer in a Leading Role | Nominated | [34] |