The following actors and actresses are among the greatest to have ever come out of Britain, representing the best of film, television and theater on the international stage.
The UK has been producing some of Hollywood’s biggest stars since the early 20th century, and has produced so many famous faces that it can be difficult to narrow them down to just 10. But that’s exactly what we’re going to do! Here are the top 10 British actors and actresses of all time.
1) Sir Laurence Olivier
Sir Laurence Olivier was born on May 22, 1907. He was an actor and director who is best known for his roles in Shakespearean plays like Hamlet, King Lear, Macbeth, and Othello.
He played the leading role in the 1948 film Hamlet which won six Academy Awards. He became a Knight of the Order of the British Empire in 1947 before he died on July 11th, 1989.
2) Dame Judi Dench
Dame Judi Dench is one of the most successful actresses in the history of cinema. Born in 1934, she has acted for over fifty years, starring in dozens of films and TV series.
Dench won a Tony Award for her Broadway performance in A Little Night Music, and two Academy Awards: One as best actress for Shakespeare In Love (1998) and one as best supporting actress for Philomena (2013).
She also holds a lifetime achievement award from BAFTA, two Golden Globes, five Primetime Emmy Awards, seven Olivier Awards—the most any actor has ever received—and two Screen Actors Guild awards. Dench was made a dame by Queen Elizabeth II in June 2007.
3) Sir Ian McKellen
Sir Ian McKellen is known for his work in Shakespeare adaptations, the X-Men franchise, and Game of Thrones. He has won two Academy Awards for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Amadeus (1984) and Gods and Monsters (1998).
Sir Ian's other notable roles include Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings film trilogy, as well as Magneto from the X-Men films. He has also been awarded seven Golden Globe Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, two BAFTA Awards, an Olivier Award, a Tony Award as well as honorary degrees from universities including Oxford University.
4) Dame Helen Mirren
Sir Alec Guinness was an English actor. He is best known for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in the original Star Wars trilogy, as well as for portraying the title character in Lawrence of Arabia.
Sir Alec Guinness was born on April 2, 1914, in Marylebone, London. His father was a Catholic convert from Judaism and his mother was Protestant.
5) Sir Alec Guinness
One of the most celebrated actors in the history of cinema, Alec Guinness is best known for his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars. Born on April 2nd, 1914, Guinness was raised by a rather strict father who hoped that his son would follow him into the priesthood.
When he left school at age 16 to pursue an acting career, his father cut off all financial support. Undeterred by this setback, Alec managed to make a name for himself on the London stage in 1936. In 1938 he made his film debut with English Without Tears, playing a French postman named Francois Latour who's looking for work in London.
6) Sir Anthony Hopkins
Sir Anthony Hopkins is one of the most well-known actors in the world. Born on December 31, 1937 in Margam, Wales, he is best known for his role as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1991), a part that he won after three rounds of auditions.
He has won an Oscar for Best Actor for this role and two Emmy Awards, among other honors. He has also been nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Actor. Other notable films include The Remains of the Day (1993) as Mr Stevens; Shadowlands (1993) as C. S.
7) Dame Maggie Smith
Daniel Day-Lewis is an English stage and film actor. He is known for his portrayals of Christy Brown in My Left Foot (1989), Daniel Plainview in There Will Be Blood (2007), Abraham Lincoln in Lincoln (2012), Hawkeye in Last of the Mohicans (1992) and Bill The Butcher Cutting in Gangs of New York (2002). Day-Lewis has won three Academy Awards for Best Actor for: My Left Foot, There Will Be Blood, and Lincoln.
8) Daniel Day-Lewis
Kate Winslet is an English actress. Born in Reading, Berkshire, she attended the Redroofs Theatre School, a co-educational independent school in Maidenhead, Berkshire.
She began her acting career with small parts at the Royal National Theatre in London and on television before making her film debut in Heavenly Creatures (1994). Winslet's breakthrough role came when she was nineteen years old after being cast as Juliet Hulme in Peter Jackson's film adaptation of Anne Rice's novel The Vampire Chronicles: Interview with the Vampire (1994).
9) Ralph Fiennes
Ralph Fiennes is a two-time Academy Award nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role, the second for his role as Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter series. He has won an Olivier Award for best actor and has been nominated five times for a Golden Globe.
His most famous movie roles are Amon Goeth in Schindler's List, Count László de Almásy in The English Patient, Qui-Gon Jinn in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace, and Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2.
A talented stage actor, Ralph Fiennes' most acclaimed performances to date have been on Broadway at the Donmar Warehouse where he played Hamlet to Jude Law's Claudius.
10) Kate Winslet
Kate Elizabeth Winslet is an English actress, best known for her roles in Heavenly Creatures (1994), Sense and Sensibility (1995), Titanic (1997) and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004).
She was awarded the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for the 1997 film, Sense and Sensibility. Winslet has also won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, three BAFTA Awards including two Best Actress awards. She is one of only four actresses to have won both a Tony award as well as an Oscar.
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