# Ben Turner (actor)

Ben Turner (born 3 February 1980) is a British Iranian actor, most notable for his roles as nurse Jay Faldren on BBC's Casualty, the lead role of Amir in multiple stage adaptations of The Kite Runner, and as Louis XV in Doctor Who.

## Life and career

Turner was born in Hackney, London to an English father, actor Graham Turner of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and an Iranian mother. He was educated at Dulwich College, well known for its pedigree of actors including the founder Edward Alleyn. He then trained as an actor at Guildhall School of Music and Drama.
He has appeared in many productions in television, film, theatre and radio, including Michael Grandage's production of Richard II.
He has also appeared in several charity shows such as Children in Need, 2009 in the Casualty special as Staff Nurse Jay Faldren and also Let's Dance for Sport Relief 2010.
Ben appeared in the first of the live shows along with Casualty stars Charles Dale (Big Mac) and Tony Marshall (Noel Garcia) as well as Holby City stars Rosie Marcel (Jac Naylor) and Luke Roberts (Joseph Byrne). He left Casualty in December 2011, along with co-star Georgia Taylor, who played his main love interest in the show.
Following his extensive stage experience Turner took on "without doubt the biggest challenge I've had professionally", appearing in the stage production of The Kite Runner, which had its European premiere at Nottingham Playhouse in April 2013. Turner starred in the production playing both the younger and older versions of the main character Amir. The show's popularity returned it for another run with a UK tour premiering August through November, 2014 and again in the West End in 2016.
Turner joined the cast of WPC 56, in the regular lead role of Detective Inspector Max Harper, in Series 2, which was shown by the BBC in February 2014.

## Filmography

| Year | Title | Role | Director | Company | Notes |
| 2004 | As If | Andrew | David Kerr | Carnival Films | |
| 2005 | Bilingual | George | Chamoun Issa | NFTS | |
| 2005 | Casualty | David Pickering | Graeme Harper | BBC Bristol | Series 19 Episode 30: 'And on That Farm' |
| 2005 | Syriana | Student Protest Leader | Steven Gagan | Warner Brothers | (uncredited) |
| 2005 | Love Soup | Ray | Verity Lambert, David Renwick | BBC One | |
| 2005 | I Shouldn't Be Alive | Markus Stamm | Mark Westcott, Matthew Whiteman | Darlow Smithson Productions | |
| 2006 | Doctor Who | King Louis XV | Euros Lyn | BBC | Episode: The Girl in the Fireplace |
| 2007 | The Bill | Si Magley | Karl Neilson | ITV | Series 23, Episode 62: Crash Test |
| 2008 | Casualty | Sam Baxter | Jon Sen | BBC Bristol | Series 22 Episode 33: 'Someone's Lucky Night' |
| 2008 | The Big Slap | Ben Turner | Tom Shrapnel | Funny or Die | (Short) |
| 2008 | Adulthood | Giles | Noel Clarke | Limelight | |
| 2008–2011, 2016 | Casualty | Jay Faldren | | BBC Bristol | Series 23:8 through Series 26:16 + Series 31:1 |
| 2011 | Richard II | Mowbray | Michael Grandage | Donmar Warehouse | |
| 2012 | Love in the Afternoon | Ollie | Lou Gerring | Brek Taylor | (Short) |
| 2012 | Been Here For Days | Stuart | Dominik Rippl | Nona Film | (Short) |
| 2013 | Death in Paradise | Chris Winchester | Alrick Riley | BBC | Episode 2:4 |
| 2013 | The Fifth Estate | Reporter | Bill Condon | DreamWorks | (uncredited) |
| 2014 | WPC 56 | DI Max Harper | Niall Fraser / James Larkin | BBC One | Series 2 |
| 2014 | 300: Rise of an Empire | General Artaphernes | Noam Murro | Legendary Pictures / Warner Bros. | |
| 2015 | The Coroner | Dr. Mel Siddiqui | Niall Fraser | BBC Birmingham | Series 1 Episode 10: Dirty Dancing |
| 2015 | EastEnders | Adrian Quinlan | | BBC One | |
| 2016 | The Illiad | Achilles | Mark Thomson | Royal Lyceum Theatre, Edinburgh | |
| 2017 | 6 Days | Salim | Toa Fraser | General Film Corporation / Icon | |
| 2022 | The Ipcress File | Adem | James Watkins | | 6 episodes |
| 2025 | Split Fiction | J.D Rader | Josef Fares | Hazlelight Studios | Video game |