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Top 10 British Actors

It’s Friday night. You’re relaxing and watching a film. Lo and behold, your favorite actor emerges on screen. You LOVE him – and wait – he’s British?

In movies nowadays, you never really know where an actor is from. All the talented actors can successfully do a myriad of accents and dialects, masking where they’re really from. I mean, did anyone else know Nicole Kidman was Australian?

There are successful actors from various countries, ranging from the electric movies of Bollywood to the Indie films of the US. British actors have long been a staple in movies, from obscure, art films, to the big-name, award-winning feature films.

We have come up with a list of the top 10 British actors – and it was truly impossible to narrow down the ever-growing list to just 10. We already apologize to all those die-hard English movie fans.

1) Christian Bale

Christian Bale and Sibi Blai Vice Berlinale 2019 – By Martin Kraft / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Possibly the greatest shape-shifter of our time, Bale is notorious for fluctuating in weight in order to get into character for his upcoming roles. He has gone from severely underweight, to extremely ripped, to being borderline unhealthy in just a matter of a couple years. His ability to fully dedicate to his roles makes him one of the best English actors of his time.

Born in Pembrokeshire to circus performing parents, he holds fast to the fact that he is English – and not Welsh. He attended Bournemouth School, and then later studied acting under the wing of Gary Oldman, who he has credited with the reason he is in acting.

In 1986, he began to appear in small films, and gained ‘Best Performance by a Juvenile Actor’ in Empire of the Sun in 1987. He continued his rise to prominence, working along side stars in the new version of A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 1999.

He really broke through into the scene with his role in American Psycho, which gained mixed reviews from users and critics, but was nonetheless extremely popular. This was also one of his first roles where he strived to achieve the exact physique needed for the character, a trait which he would later carry into the disturbing psychological thriller, The Machinist.

Perhaps his most popular venture was The Dark Knight trilogy. He beefed up again to play Batman and Bruce Wayne in this rebooted series. Although he had become more well-known, he hadn’t quite hit the ranks of A-list actor yet – Batman would change that. He gained 100lbs of muscle in six months, and starred in three highly-successful movies.

2) Sean Bean

Sean Bean 2005 – By Tony Shek / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

Born in Handsworth in 1959, he and his family lived in this suburb outside of Sheffield for his entire childhood. Once Bean was older, he started to attend the Rotherham College of Arts and Technology once a week – and discovered his passion for the arts. He won a scholarship to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and began his education into the acting world.

A few years later in 1983, he made his acting debut at a small theater in Newbury. During this decade and the next, he moved up to acting on British TV series, in BBC productions and small-scale films. In the mid 90s, he was commonly featured as the villain or the anti-hero in movies, like the James Bond Golden Eye and National Treasure.

His breakthrough came when he was cast as Boromir in the famous Lord of the Rings trilogy. This Tolkien-based movie trilogy was shot in New Zealand during the span of 4 years, and was one of the most ambitious film projects ever undertaken. The trilogy is regarded as one of the most influential films ever made.

3) Judi Dench

Judi Dench at the BAFTAs 2007 – By Caroline Bonarde Ucci / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

Born in Heworth, York, Dench attended the Mount School, a Quaker secondary school in her hometown. Through her parents’ occupations and interests, she was brought up around theater. This caused her to be involved in productions from an early age, and was accepted to the Central School of Speech and Drama.

In 1957, she made her acting debut at the Royal Court Theater, with the Old Vic Company. She remained a part of the acting company for four seasons, touring all over the world and honing her acting skills. This helped her to receive a BAFTA in 1966 for her performance in Four in the Morning.  After this award, she was offered a role in Cabaret, a famous musical.

After years of film success and more BAFTA wins, she continued on BBC programs. One big role for her came after 1995, after a long break between two James Bond movies. Dench was cast as ‘M’, James Bond’s boss. She became the first woman to portray M, and made her debut in the 17th film in the series.

4) Sean Connery

Sean Connery 1999 – By Sean_Connery_1999.jpg: Georges Biardderivative work: Beao / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Continuing on the James Bond theme, we have Sean Connery, born in Edinburgh, Scotland. The family had a modest lifestyle, and Connery made money as a milkman. He later enrolled in the Royal Navy, but was discharged for medical reasons. After a stint with bodybuilding and playing football, he decided to pursue his acting career instead – and what a decision it was.

Connery worked small jobs, secured some small acting roles at local theaters, and continued to chase his dream. He gained his first film role in 1957, and had a more prominent role in a few movies in the following years. His breakthrough, however, came in 1962 – James Bond was here.

In the first five Bond films, he was the title character. After starring in five successful films, he was happy to leave the franchise, wanting to be known as a more versatile actor than just as ‘Bond.’ He went on to continue starring in various movies, and even did a Bond reprisal movie, before ‘retiring’ in 2007.

5) Hugh Grant

Hugh Grant 2014 -By Kurt Kulac / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Grant was born in 1960 in Hammersmith, London, and began his education at Hogart Primary School in Chiswick. In 1979, he won a scholarship to New College, Oxford, where he joined the Drama Society, spurring his entrance into the acting world.

During his young years, he created a sketch-comedy group that toured the London comedy circuit, due to his boredom with small acting parts he was given. In the mid 80s, he was given small acting roles in TV productions, which continued throughout the early 90s. His big break came in 1994 – right when he thought about giving up acting.

Four Weddings and a Funeral became the highest-grossing British film to date, with a box office number exceeding $244 million. The film was nominated for Academy Awards, BAFTAs, and shot Grant to stardom overnight. After the success of this film, he starred in many more hits, like Sense and Sensibility and Notting Hill. 

6) Angela Lansbury

Angela Lansbury – By Eva Rinaldi / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Lansbury was born in October 1925 to a middle class family in East London. After her father died, she began playing characters and acting to herself, which she has claimed to be ‘the defining moment of her life.’

To escape the Blitz, the German bombing against the UK, she moved to the US in 1940 with her two brothers and her mother. She studied acting in New York before moving to Hollywood in 1942 to sign with Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, where she obtained her first film roles. She earned two Oscar nominations and a Golden Globe in her first two movies, but was still considered a B-list actress.

However, after her contract ended, she starred in Manchurian Candidate, which is widely touted as one of her best performances. She received an Honorary Oscar and Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as numerous other accolades for her lifetime of work in the movie industry.

7) Jude Law

Jude Law 2011 – BY Nadja Amirehhttp://www.getnoticed.de/ / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Born in 1972 in Lewisham, London, Law started acting in theater at a young age. After finding some small roles in full-length films, he gained notoriety for his part in The Talented Mr. Ripley. After starring in three more successful movies from 2001-2002, he became more well known in the acting circuit.

Since the hits in the early 2000s, he has played a variety of roles, ranging from period dramas to science fiction films. By the end of 2006, he was one of the Top Ten A-list most bankable film stars in Hollywood. He continues to also work on TV shows, with roles in HBO series.

8) Sir Ian McKellen

Ian McKellen 1 – By Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=544967

McKEllen was born in Burnley in 1939 to a strictly Christian family. At the age of 18, he won a scholarship to St Catharine’s College in Cambridge, where he became a part of the Marlowe Society, appearing in over 23 plays in 3 years. This prompted his first professional theater appearance in 1961, and he became a well-known figure in British theater by the mid 1970s.

In the 1990s, McKellen started to become widely recognized as a film actor, in movies such as Six Degrees of Separation and the TV miniseries, Tales of the City. He continued to star in movies into the 2000s, gaining even more recognition for his role in The Lord of the Rings, playing arguably his most important role – Gandalf.

9) Kiera Knightley

Kiera Knightley By Andrea Raffin 2011 – By Andrea Raffin / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)

Knightley was born in Teddington, London in 1985. She began acting as a child on television series, before her movie debut in 1995 – at just age 10. She starred in her breakout role in 2002, in the soccer-centric film of Bend It Like Beckham. This prompted her casting as Elizabeth Swann, in the extremely popular Pirates of the Caribbean film in 2003.

After Knightley received a nomination for Best Actress in the Academy Awards for Pride & Prejudice, she starred in many other period dramas, finding her niche. She was the star actress in six more period pieces, ranging from 2007-2018, with hits like Imitation Game and Anna Karenina.

10) Kate Beckinsale

Kate Beckinsale 2011 – By Gerald Geronimo / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Beckinsale was born in 1973 in Chiswick, London. An only child, she made her first TV appearance at just the age of 4, and attended an independent school in Hammersmith during her childhood.

She made her film debut in 1993, with the film Much Ado About Nothing, while she was still a student at Oxford. She appeared in four British costume dramas in the following years, ranging from 1994-2000, with hit movies like Emma. She wanted to branch out in various countries, so she set her sights on the US.

After small roles in dramas, she gained a starring role in Pearl Harbor, spurring further roles in movies like The Aviator. She has been in the acting world for her entire life, and has a decorated career to show for it.

There are so many great British actors that are either currently working, making their way to the top, or just retired – and it’s nearly impossible to narrow down that list to just 10.

Sacha Baron Cohen retouched – By Joe Shlabotnik from Forest Hills, Queens, USA / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)

We know, we know. We definitely missed some. Sorry John Cleese and Sacha Baron Cohen. If this list was 50, that would’ve been more accurate. With the amount of talented British actors currently on screen, it’s almost not fair to narrow down that list to a measly 10.

With up and coming stars like Tom Hiddleston, and older film stars like Charles Dance, the UK is doing something right with their acting and drama programs, that we know for sure.