Ben Whishaw: 'You literally take a scalpel and slice through the flesh'

Darkly-funny TV series This Is Going To Hurt was based on a real doctor's memoirs

Ben Whishaw in This Is Going To Hurt, on BBC. 

“Who would play you in a story of your life?” is a go-to dinner party conundrum. For most, the chances of that scenario playing out in the real world are slim to none. For doctor-turned-comedy writer Adam Kay, it’s a question that required an immediate and absolute answer: Ben Whishaw.

Best known for his roles as Q in the Bond franchise and Norman Scott in A Very English Scandal, Whishaw’s medical expertise, unlike Kay’s, is somewhat limited. That needn’t matter though, for what the actor lacks in prenatal knowledge, he more than makes up for in delivery – of lines and fictional babies.