‘I’ve spent 20 years playing other people, my music needs to be raw and honest’-Danni Scott-Entertainment – Metro

Ben Barnes is baring his soul with his new music (Picture: Lorne Thomson/Redferns)

For 20 years, Ben Barnes has graced our screens starring in the likes of The Chronicles of Narnia, Shadow and Bone, and Dorian Gray.

He is now exploring a long-buried dream of being a musician bringing ‘raw and honest’ lyrics with his debut album, Where The Light Gets In.

Ben released an EP three years ago after gaining confidence by posting videos of himself singing on social media during the pandemic — he was also in a shortlived band called Hyrise but we don’t talk about that.

His song 11:11 has reached over 7million streams on Spotify with new single Beloved already racking up almost half a million listens.

The 43-year-old actor excitedly shared his hopes for this blossoming music career with Metro, ahead of his second single release, Nevermind.

‘I think there was a little part of me that was concerned,’ Ben confessed of his long wait to embrace music fully.

He’s best known for starring in films like Dorian Gray and Narnia (Picture: Amanda Edwards/Getty Images)

After 20 years of playing other people, he’s finally ‘free’ to be himself (Picture: Lorne Thomson/Redferns)

He explained: ‘If I tried to make music my sort of side piece while I was focused on this other very tumultuous career, I would be splitting my focus and people wouldn’t take me seriously doing either one.

‘In the 2000s, there were a lot of pop artists who were dipping their toe in the water by being in a movie and weren’t taken seriously. I had fear about how that would be perceived the other way around.’

Ben adds that he doesn’t have ‘unending confidence’ either, despite his heartthrob status (ramped up by his role as The Darkling in Shadow and Bone).

‘I don’t have a deep unending well of confidence — I certainly didn’t in my teens, 20s and 30s — about what I might have to share with someone,’ he recalls.

‘What might I write a song about? What has happened to me that is worth anyone else engaging with?’

That fear has faded now that his acting career is well-established so this finally felt like the right time to ‘free’ that side of himself.

However, when you’re already in the public eye testing out a new career path isn’t so simple as Ben was very aware any clips of him at an ‘open mic night’ would find their way online.

The Dorian Gray actor felt this meant his songs had to be much more authentic than he had expected, now he wasn’t playing someone else.

‘I did spend 20 years dressing up, speaking, walking, thinking, and talking as other people to tell their stories,’ he says, reassuring us that he still ‘loves doing that’.

With acting, Ben ‘knows where all the edges are’ and is able to bring his wilder characters back to a place of truth but music is a whole new world.

He’s been on our screens since the early 00s (Picture: Ealing Studios/Kobal/REX/Shutterstock)

He feels ‘accepted’ for who he actually is (Picture: Netflix/Everett/REX/Shutterstock)

He shared: ‘Writing music is newer for me so I feel like I need to start from a place of [being] really raw and honest. I knew there was no hiding.’

The star has already been performing live at various events across the US and is heading to the UK on tour next year.

At a previous gig, a fan project to shine a light through paper hearts has really stayed with Ben — a moment he knew he had found his audience.

‘I think a lot of people in their lives strive towards being accepted,’ he shared. ‘Being accepted and loved for who they actually are.

‘The same is true for me. We’re all having this experience together, and that’s what felt like, oh my god, I sound like a sound like a cult leader at this point — it’s not that serious.’

Cult vibes aside, Where The Light Gets In is intended to ‘soothe’ with Ben telling fans new song Nevermind is about anxiety and moving on.

The whole album, set to be released on January 10, is filled with ruminations on love, loss, and life connected through different phases of relationships.

In a slight irony, Ben says many of the songs sound ‘cinematic’ despite this being a distinctly separate project from his acting career.

On that note, he has no news to share on the brutally cancelled Shadow and Bone, confirming he would not have been returning for the next season anyway.

‘Potentially down the line [he would have returned] come back dressed as a tree or something,’ he grins. ‘But that’s a little in-joke for anyone who’s read all of the books.’

Fans may remember his stint as Prince Caspian in Narnia (Picture: Moviestore/REX/Shutterstock)

Ben is heading on tour in February (Picture: Lorne Thomson/Redferns)

The series cancellation was ‘heavy’ for the actors and fans, so Ben hopes it is picked up soon but sadly fans won’t see him return as Kirigan any time soon.

As for his music, Ben just hopes fans ‘feel something’ listening to the tracks which he has poured his heart into for years.

‘I hope they feel something soulful in it,’ he says. ‘I hope that they can feel the history of my having listened to music my whole life seeping through.

‘For people to connect and make [lyrics] about themselves, while kind of giving me a little grimy head nod that’s what I’m after.’

Ben Barnes’ album Where The Light Gets In is out on January 10, with singles Beloved and Nevermind out now.

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