Ben Whishaw was all smiles at the world premiere of Limonov: The Ballad at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival on Sunday.

The actor, 43, stars in the title role of the biopic about the late Russian politician Eduard Limonov and looked thrilled to be at the launch of the film as he donned a smart-casual look in a loose-fitting tuxedo with a white T-shirt underneath.

But the Emmy Award-winning star did not take front and centre in the line-up and stood to the far right of his co-stars.

He was pictured directly next to Viktoria Miroshnichenko, who plays his on-screen partner Yelena Shchapova, with his arm around her waist.

The rest of the cast and  director Kirill Serebrennikov made up the rest of the artists on during the photo call for the film, which will be released globally in the coming months.  

Ben Whishaw was all smiles at the world premiere of Limonov: The Ballad at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival on Sunday

He was pictured directly next to Viktoria Miroshnichenko, who plays his on-screen partner Yelena Shchapova, with his arm around her waist

Born in Dzerzhinsk, about 250 miles east of Moscow, Limonov escaped to the U.S. where he wrote poetry and novels, some of them obscene. 

He later returned to Russia, going into politics and founding the National Bolshevik Party (which was banned in 2007) before being incarcerated for four years. He supported Putin's annexation of the Crimea in 2014, and died in 2020.

The James Bond star , who announced two years ago that he had split from husband Mark Bradshaw, said he was 'knocked out' by the script, which he read in 2020.

'He scared me, fascinated me, repelled me, thrilled me,' he said of Limonov. 'It was as though in every situation he found himself in, he struck a dissonant note.'

The festival is known for its carefully selected programme of films that have gone on to Oscar glory or launched the careers of directors like Quentin Tarantino.

Cannes' top prize is the Palme d'Or, or Golden Palm, whose past winners include Taxi Driver, Apocalypse Now, Pulp Fiction, The Pianist and Parasite.

The Cannes Film Festival officially kicked off on Tuesday night as celebrities walked the red carpet into the plush Grand Theatre Lumiere to honour Hollywood actor Meryl Streep before settling in to watch this year's opening film, The Second Act.

It has been held annually since 1946 except in 1948 and 1950, when it was cancelled due to lack of funds. 

Ben Whishaw stars as  about Russian dissident Eduard Limonov in the new biopic, which had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday

Ben was pictured next to his co-star Viktoria Miroshnichenko, who plays his on-screen partner Yelena Shchapova

Born in Dzerzhinsk, about 250 miles east of Moscow, Limonov escaped to the U.S. where he wrote poetry and novels, some of them obscene (pictured in Moscow in 2004)

Artists from around the world who have made a name for themselves in their respective field are picked to sit on the jury, with one member designated as jury president.

This year's jury president, U.S. director Greta Gerwig, comes to Cannes after the massive success last summer of Barbie.

She is the first female U.S. director to serve as jury president, taking the baton from the head of the 2023 jury, Triangle of Sadness director and two-time Palme d'Or winner, Ruben Ostlund of Sweden.

Jury president Greta Gerwig, second from left, poses with jury members Omar Sy, from left, Lily Gladstone, Nadine Labaki, Kore-eda Hirokazu, Ebru Ceylan, J.A. Bayona, Eva Green, and Pierfrancesco Favino at the opening festival