My Favorite Actors

Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is the only person in film history to win the Oscar award for Best Actor three times. Born in London, England, he is the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis (A.K.A. Nicholas Blake) (Poet Laureate of England) and his second wife, Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon...

Ralph Twisleton Wykeham Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England to Mark Fiennes, a photographer, and Jennifer Lash, a novelist, the eldest of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus Fiennes, a musician; Sophie, a producer; and Joseph Fiennes, an actor...

Denzel Washington was born in December 28,1954 in Mount Vernon, New York. He was the middle child of the 3 children of a Pentecostal minister father and a beautician mother. After graduating from high school, Denzel enrolled at Fordham University intent on a career in journalism. However, he caught the acting bug while appearing in student drama productions and...

Few actors in the world have had a career quite as diverse as Leonardo DiCaprio's. DiCaprio has gone from relatively humble beginnings, as a supporting cast member of the sitcom Growing Pains and low budget horror movies, such as Critters 3, to a major teenage heartthrob in the 1990s, as the hunky lead actor in movies such as Romeo + Juliet and Titanic...

Born in California, Tom Hanks grew up in what he calls a "fractured" family. His parents were pioneers in the development of marriage dissolution law in that state, and Tom moved around a lot, living with a succession of step-families. No problems, no abuse, no alcoholism - just a confused childhood...

Powerhouse film performer capable of intensely moving work who has gone from strength to strength during a colourful film career, and who has drawn much media attention for his stormy private life and political viewpoints, California-born Sean Penn is the second son of actress Eileen Ryan & director Leo Penn...

With an authoritative voice and calm demeanor, this ever popular American actor has grown into one of the most respected figures in modern US cinema. Born in June 1937 in Memphis, Tennessee, the young Freeman attended Los Angeles Community College before serving several years in the US Air Force as a mechanic between 1955 and 1959...

If you had told 14 year old Franciscan seminary student Thomas Cruise Mapother IV that one day in the not too distant future he would be considered one of the top 100 movie stars of all time, he would have probably grinned and told you that his ambition was to become a priest. Nonetheless, this sensitive...

Anthony Hopkins was born on 31 December 1937, in Margam, Wales. Influenced by Richard Burton, he decided to study at College of Music and Drama and graduated in 1957. In 1965, he moved to London and joined the National Theatre, invited by Laurence Olivier, who could see the talent in Hopkins. In 1967, he made his first film for television, A Flea in Her Ear...

Born in New Zealand, Russell has made his home in Australia since he was a small child. The son of movie set caterers, Russell got the acting bug early in life. Beginning as a child star on a local Australian TV show, Russell's first big break came with two films ... the first, Romper Stomper, gained him a name throughout the film community in Australia and the neighboring countries...

Ewan Gordon McGregor was born on March 31, 1971 in Crieff, Scotland. At age 16, he left Crieff and Morrison Academy to join the Perth Repertory Theatre. His parents encouraged him to leave school and pursue his acting goals rather than be unhappy. McGregor studied drama for a year at Kirkcaldly in Fife...

Thomas Sean Connery was born on August 25, 1930 in Fountainbridge, Edinburgh. His mother, Euphamia C. Maclean, was a cleaning lady, and his father, Joseph Connery, was a factory worker and truck driver. He also has a brother named Neil Connery, who works as a plasterer in Edinburgh. Before going into acting...

Ben Foster, born October 29, 1980 in Boston, Massachusetts, was swiftly moved by his parents to be raised in Fairfield, Iowa - a town that had four community theaters. His passion for acting was discovered early on, and after starring in the title role in "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown", put on by one of the community theaters...

Harrison Ford was born on July 13, 1942 in Chicago, Illinois. His father was Irish, his mother Russian-Jewish. He was a lackluster student at Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge Illinois (no athletic star, never above a C average). After dropping out of Ripon College in Wisconsin, where he did some acting and later summer stock...

Samuel L. Jackson usually played bad guys and drug addicts before becoming an action hero, as the character Mitch Henessey, in The Long Kiss Goodnight and in Die Hard: With a Vengeance. From character player to leading man. His performance in Pulp Fiction gave him an Oscar nomination for his character Jules Winnfield...

Robert Downey Jr. has evolved into one of the most respected actors in Hollywood. With an amazing list of credits to his name, he has managed to stay new and fresh even after three decades in the business. In 1992, Downey received an Academy Award nomination and won the BAFTA (British Academy Award) for Best Actor for his performance in the title role of Chaplin...

From a lawless saloon owner to the sexiest of beastly British mobsters, award-winning actor Ian McShane has, time and time again, captured the public's attention (as well as many plaudits, including from the Hollywood Foreign Press), by playing bad guys, scoundrels and thieves. "The devil has the best tunes!" he has said with a gleam in his eye...

Born on August 18, 1936, in Santa Monica, California, to Charles Robert Redford, an accountant for Standard Oil, and Martha Hart. His mother died in 1955, the year after he graduated from high school. Charles Robert Redford Jr. was a scrappy kid who stole hubcaps in high school and lost his college baseball scholarship at the University of Colorado because of drunkenness...

Since his screen debut as a young Amish Farmer in Peter Weir's Witness, Viggo Mortensen's career has been marked by a steady string of well-rounded performances. Critics have continually recognized his work in over thirty movies, including such diverse projects as Jane Campion's The Portrait of a Lady...

Michael Douglas is one of the few actors who actually appears to be a walking paradox. A household name, an estimated worth of over $200 million, a father (Kirk Douglas) who was one of the world's biggest film stars in the 1940s, and a wife whose father is younger than he is, Douglas has indeed gained fame and acclaim...

Kevin was born in Lynwood, California, on January 18, 1955, the third child of Bill Costner, a ditch digger and ultimately an electric line servicer for Southern California Edison, and Sharon Costner. His older brother, Dan, was born in 1950. A middle brother died at birth in 1953. His Dad's job required him to move regularly...

Born into an academic family - his father is a history lecturer at Winchester University College (formerly King Alfred's College) in Winchester and his mother is a comparative religions lecturer at the Open University - Colin Firth's first acting experience came in infant's school when he played "Jack Frost" in a Christmas pantomime...

Javier Bardem is the youngest member of a family of actors that has been making films since the early days of Spanish cinema. He got his start in the family business, at age six, when he appeared in his first feature, "El picaro" (1974) (aka The Scoundrel). During his teenage years, he acted in several TV series...

Christoph Waltz was born to Elisabeth Urbancic, a costume designer, and Johannes Waltz, a stage builder. He has 3 siblings. He was born into a theater family. His grandmother was the Viennese Burgtheater actress Maria Mayen, and his step-grandfather was fellow Burgtheater actor Emmerich Reimers. Christoph attended the Theresianium and Billrothstrasse in Vienna...

Kiefer Sutherland was born in London, England, UK to parents Donald Sutherland and Shirley Douglas. He got his first film role in the comedy drama Max Dugan Returns. Sutherland's first major role was in the Canadian drama The Bay Boy, which earned Sutherland and director Daniel Petrie, Genie award nominations for best actor and best director...

Jamie's mother, Louise, was an adopted child. When her marriage to his father failed, his grandparents, Mark and Estelle Talley, stepped in and, at age 7 months, adopted him too. He says he had a very rigid upbringing that placed him in the Boy Scouts and the church choir. During high school, he played quarterback for his high school team and was good enough that he got press in Dallas newspapers...

Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt was born on February 17, 1981 in Los Angeles, California to parents Jane Gordon and Dennis Levitt. Joseph was raised in a Jewish family with his late older brother, Dan Gordon-Levitt, who passed away in October 2010. His maternal grandfather, Michael Gordon, had been a well-known movie director...

Bradley Cooper was born in Philadephia, Pennsylvania, the son of Gloria (Campano) and Charlie Cooper, who was a stockbroker. He has a sister, Holly. Immediately after Bradley graduated from the Honors English program at Georgetown University in 1997, he moved to New York City to enroll in the Masters of Fine Arts program at the Actors Studio Drama School at New School University...

Pierce Brosnan was born in Navan, County Meath, Ireland, and lived in Navan, County Meath, until he moved to England, UK, at an early age (thus explaining his ability to play men from both backgrounds convincingly). His father left the household when Pierce was a child and although reunited later in life...

Born on September 26, 1968 and growing up in Mount Vernon, Washington, acting was far from Caviezel's mind. After a foot injury in his sophomore year in college ended his dreams of becoming an NBA basketball professional, he became interested in acting. He auditioned for a small part as an Italian ticket agent in Gus Van Sant's My Own Private Idaho...

Born Maurice Micklewhite in London, Michael Caine was the son of a fish-market porter and a charlady. He left school at 15 and took a series of working-class jobs before joining the British army and serving in Korea during the Korean War, where he saw combat. Upon his return to England he gravitated toward the theater and got a job as an assistant stage manager...

Graduated from Los Angeles High School in 1954. Went to Santa Monica City College where he dropped out after a year due to bad grades. But before he did, he took an acting course because he was told that "nobody flunks acting." Also received some training at Los Angeles Conservatory of Music. Decided to go into acting because he did not want to work or go into the service...

The son of Hungarian-born photographer Sylvia Plachy and retired history professor Elliot Brody, Adrien Brody grew up an only child in the Woodhaven section of Queens, New York, where he accompanied his mother on assignments for the Village Voice. He credits her with making him feel comfortable in front of the camera...

Rugged features and a natural charm have worked for Josh Brolin, the son of actor James Brolin. He has recently seen a massive surge in his career, finding well-known roles such as a policeman, a hunter, and the President of the United States. Born February 12, 1968, Brolin was initially against the lifestyle of the entertainment business...

Hayden Christensen was born on April, 19, 1981 in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The young Canadian actor started his career at the age of 13 starring in several television dramas. His biggest break was a starring role on the Fox Family Network's Higher Ground. On the series, Hayden shows off his acting talent as a teen who was sexually molested by his stepmother...

The son of comparative literature professor August Coppola (a brother of director Francis Ford Coppola) and dancer/choreographer Joy Vogelsang, Cage changed his name early in his career to make his own reputation, succeeding brilliantly with a host of classic, quirky roles by the late 1980s. Initially studying theatre at Beverly Hills High (though he dropped out at 17)...

With his breakthrough performance as Eames in Christopher Nolan's science fiction thriller Inception, English actor Tom Hardy has been brought to the attention of mainstream audiences worldwide. But the versatile actor has been steadily working on both stage and screen since his television debut in the mini-series Band of Brothers...

Keanu Reeves, whose first name means "cool breeze over the mountains" in Hawaiian, was born in Beirut, Lebanon in 1964. His mother, Patricia Taylor, was a showgirl; his father, Samuel Nowlin Reeves, a geologist. After their marriage dissolved, Keanu moved with his mother and younger sister, Kim Reeves...

Born in Puerto Rico to Children of God missionaries "John Bottom Amram" and "Arlyn Dunetz Jochebed" (a.k.a. Heart), Joaquin was the middle child in a brood of five. As a youngster, he took his cues from older siblings River Phoenix and Rain Phoenix, changing his name to Leaf to match their earthier monikers...

Born in Casablanca, Morocco, to Spanish parents (from Andalucía) who moved to North Africa to seek work, Jean Reno settled in France at 17. He began studying drama and has credits in French television and theater as well as films. His first two marriages both ended in divorce, and he had two children with each of them. He keeps homes in Paris and Los Angeles.

Even though he had burned up the London stage for nearly a decade--and appeared in several films--Michael Sheen was not really "discovered" by American audiences until his critically-acclaimed turn as Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in the 1999 Broadway revival of "Amadeus". The only son of Meyrick and Irene Sheen...

Sam Worthington was born on August 2, 1976 in Surrey, England. His parents, Jeanne and Ronald Worthington, moved the family to Australia when he was six months old, and raised him and his sister Lucinda in Warnbro, a suburb of Perth, Western Australia. Worthington graduated from NIDA (Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art) in 1998 at the age of 22...

The youngest son of a gas station owner, who ran an oil pipe supply business and mother - substitute school teacher, Matthew McConaughey was born in Uvalde, Texas, but grew up in Longview, Texas where he graduated from the local High School (1988). Showing little interest in his father's oil business...

Self-proclaimed troublemaker Owen Wilson grew up in Texas with his mother, Laura, a photographer; his father, an ad exec; and his brothers, Andrew Wilson (the eldest) and Luke Wilson (the youngest). Expelled from St. Mark's School of Texas (Dallas, TX) in the tenth grade, Wilson finished his sophomore year at Thomas Jefferson School and then headed to a military academy in New Mexico...

Daniel Craig, one of British theatre's most famous faces who was waiting tables as a struggling teenage actor with the NYT, went on to star as "James Bond" in Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace and Skyfall. He was born Daniel Wroughton Craig on March 2, 1968, at 41 Liverpool Road, Chester, Cheshire...

Actor and musician Bruce Willis is well known for his film appearances as wisecracking or hard-edged characters, often in spectacular action films. Collectively, he has appeared in films that have grossed in excess of $2.5 billion USD placing him in the top ten stars in terms of box office receipts...

Benjamin Geza Affleck was born on August 15, 1972 in Berkeley, California, USA but raised in Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA. He was born to parents Tim Affleck, a social worker, who is now divorced from Ben's mother Chris Affleck (nee' Boldt) a school teacher. Ben also has a younger brother, actor Casey Affleck...

Jeremy Lee Renner, son of Valerie and Lee, was born in Modesto, California. After a tumultuous yet happy childhood with four younger siblings, Renner graduated from Beyer High School and attended Modesto Junior College. He explored several areas of study, including computer science, criminology, and psychology, before the theater department, with its freedom of emotional expression, drew him in...

Vincent Anthony Vaughn was born on March 28, 1970, in Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA and raised in Lake Forest, Illinois, USA. His parents were Vernon Vaughn, a salesman, and Sharon Vaughn, a real-estate agent and stockbroker. They later divorced in 1991. He also has two older sisters named Victoria Vaughn and Valeri Vaughn...