Anyone who has seen a T-Mobile commercial in the last several months has no doubt seen the self-described “Un-Carrier” ad campaign, which it takes aim at AT&T and Verizon for recent price hikes amid rising inflation. The campaign offers up to $1,000 to lure over customers who switch their families to the company’s Magenta MAX plan. As part of the campaign, several 30-second spots, ranging from hilarious to ridiculous, feature a recognizable actor in a magenta suit playing a class-action lawyer seeking a call to action from impacted AT&T and Verizon subscribers.
That lawyer is played by 42-year-old British actor Ben Barnes, and you might be wondering where you’ve seen him before.
What has Ben Barnes, the actor from the T-Mobile commercials, previously starred in?
Barnes has been acting in youth theatrical productions since 1997, but his breakout role came in 2007, when he played a young Dunstan Thorn in Stardust, the father to Charlie Cox’s Tristan Thorn. From there, Barnes played Prince Caspian in 2008’s The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian, the sequel to 2005’s The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. He would go on to reprise the role in the third film of the trilogy, The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader in 2010.
In between those two films, Barnes starred in the titular role of 2009’s Dorian Gray, the fantasy-horror big-screen adaptation of Oscar Wilde’s 1890 novel The Picture of Dorian Gray.
He continued to act in film into the 2010s, starring in ensemble projects such as The Big Wedding (2013) and The Words (2014), before making a pivot to prestige television. In 2016, Barnes was featured in a main role on HBO’s dystopian sci-fi series Westworld as Logan Delos, the hedonistic son of James Delos, the self-made “jillionaire” who created the theme park. (He was later featured in a recurring role on the show’s second season, and a guest role in the third.)
From there, Barnes made the leap to Netflix, playing a lead role as Billy Russo / Jigsaw in The Punisher, which ran for two seasons from 2017 to 2019.
Barnes also appeared in Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities on Netflix in the episode “Pickman’s Model.” The show is billed as “a collection of the Oscar-winning filmmaker’s personally curated stories, described as both equally sophisticated and horrific.” In his solo episode, Barnes played William Thurber, an art student haunted to the point of madness by his idol’s macabre paintings.
Most recently, Barnes stars in Netflix’s fantasy series Shadow and Bone, based on the novels by Israeli-American author Leigh Bardugo as General Aleksander Kirigan / The Darkling, the general of the Second Army and the Shadow Summoner. The fantasy series completed its second season in March and is still awaiting renewal for a third.
2023 saw Barnes also star as TV Mac in season six of Black Mirror on Netflix as well as appear alongside his Stardust co-stars Mark Strong and Ian McKellen in the crime thriller The Critic. The 1930s London-based period piece is based on the 2015 novel Curtain Call by Anthony Quinn.
Why T-Mobile’s new campaign is coming for AT&T and Verizon
In a new press release, T-Mobile explained the company’s new campaign, which features the promise of a “Price Lock” for customers who make the switch, something Barnes proudly espouses in every T-Mobile commercial
“T-Mobile is here to save AT&T and Verizon customers from further aggravation. Not only can families switch to T-Mobile and save up to 20% each month with three or more lines on qualifying plans, they have peace of mind their price won’t go up with T-Mobile’s Price Lock. When those facing price hikes switch to Magenta MAX at the Un-Carrier, they’ll receive $200 per line via virtual prepaid card and up to $1,000 with five lines.”
“Inflation shouldn’t be an excuse to jack up prices just because you can get away with it. But that’s The Carriers’ way,” explained T-Mobile CEO Mike Sievert. “T-Mobile is here to help our customers battle inflation by not adding to the stress of price hikes. It’s got to be a mind-numbing experience for AT&T and Verizon customers who have watched their rates go up continuously over the last few years.”
