Period Drama Hall of Fame
by Basilesque | created - 14 Apr 2011 | updated - 17 Aug 2013 | PublicHunky heroes, spunky heroines, and always a huge cast of wonderful supporting characters. Here are the talented actors who play them - the faces we have come to associate with period drama.
This list is a work in progress. If you have a suggestion, please leave a comment.
1. Helena Bonham Carter
Actress | Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street
Helena Bonham Carter is an actress of great versatility, one of the UK's finest and most successful.
Bonham Carter was born May 26, 1966 in Golders Green, London, England, the youngest of three children of Elena (née Propper de Callejón), a psychotherapist, and Raymond Bonham Carter, a merchant ...
A Room with a View, Lady Jane, A Hazard of Hearts, Hamlet, Howard's End, Where Angels Fear to Tread, Frankenstein, Twelfth Night, The Great War, The Wings of the Dove, Henry VIII + more.
2. Keira Knightley
Actress | Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Keira Christina Knightley was born March 26, 1985 in the South West Greater London suburb of Richmond. She is the daughter of actor Will Knightley and actress turned playwright Sharman Macdonald. An older brother, Caleb Knightley, was born in 1979. Her father is English, while her Scottish-born ...
Oliver Twist, Doctor Zhivago, Pirates of the Caribbean, King Arthur, Pride & Prejudice, Atonement, Silk, The Edge of Love, The Duchess.
Most memorable role: Elizabeth Bennet, Pride & Prejudice - for which role she garnered an Oscar nomination.
3. Anthony Andrews
Actor | The King's Speech
Anthony Andrews made his West End theater debut at the Apollo Theatre as one of twenty young schoolboys in Alan Bennett's "Forty Years On" with John Gielgud. He began his career at the Chichester Festival Theatre in the UK. His theater credits include spells with the New Shakespeare Company - "...
The Pallisers, David Copperfield, Upstairs Downstairs, Brideshead Revisited, Ivanhoe, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Woman He Loved, David Copperfield (again), Love in a Cold Climate, Marple, The King's Speech, Birdsong.
Most memorable roles: Sir Percy Blakeney, The Scarlet Pimpernel; Wilfred of Ivanhow, Ivanhoe.
4. Francesca Annis
Actress | Dune
English actress Francesca Annis, who has enjoyed a career spanning seven decades in movies, television and the theater, was born in London six days after V-E Day, on May 14, 1945. Her father, Lester, was English, but her mother, Mariquita (aka Mara Purcell), was of Brazilian-French heritage. From ...
Great Expectations, The Tragedy of MacBeth, Madame Bovary, Lillie, Wives and Daughters, The Libertine, Jane Eyre, Marple, Cranford + many more.
Most memorable role: Mrs. Gibson, Wives and Daughers. She rivals Mrs. Bennet in the "Most annoying literary mother" stakes.
5. Richard Armitage
Actor | The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey
Richard Crispin Armitage was born and raised in Leicester, England, to Margaret (Hendey), a secretary, and John Armitage, an engineer. He attended Pattison College in Binley Road, Coventry, where he discovered his love for acting. He took part in many theatre productions all over the UK, from ...
North & South, The Impressionists, Miss Marie Lloyd, Marple, Robin Hood, Captain America.
Most memorable role: Mr. Thornton, North & South.
Hasn't been in very many period dramas, but his performance in North & South has made him a veritable costume drama icon.
6. Alun Armstrong
Actor | The Mummy Returns
Alun Armstrong is a British actor who is known for playing Cardinal Jinette from the Van Helsing franchise, Baltus Hafez from The Mummy Returns, Uncle Garrow from Eragon, the High Constable from Sleepy Hollow and Maxwell Randall from Billy the Kid and the Green Baize Vampire. He is married to Sue ...
The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby, Black Beauty, Braveheart, Onegin, Sleepy Hollow, Oliver Twist, Aristocrats, David Copperfield, Oliver Twist (again), Bleak House, Little Dorrit, Garrow's Law, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Henry IV Part 1, Henry IV Part 2.
Most memorable role: Flintwinch, Little Dorrit.
7. Gemma Arterton
Actress | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Gemma Christina Arterton was born in Gravesend, Kent, England, where she was raised. She is the daughter of Sally-Anne (Heap), a cleaner, and Barry J. Arterton, a welder. Her mother's cousin is singer-songwriter Eric Goulden.
Her parents divorced when she was age five, and Gemma subsequently lived ...
Lost in Austen, Tess of D'Urbervilles.
Most memorable role: Tess Durbeyfield, Tess of the D'Urbervilles.
Hasn't been in many period films (yet), but Gemma's performances in such iconic roles as Elizabeth Bennet and Tess Durbeyfield warrant her a place on this list.
8. Eileen Atkins
Actress | Gosford Park
Eileen Atkins was born in a Salvation Army Women's Hostel in north London. Her father was a gas meter reader; her mother, a seamstress and barmaid. A drama teacher taught her how to drop her Cockney accent, and she studied Shakespeare and Greek tragedies. Her breakthrough role in "The Killing of ...
A Hazard of Hearts, Cold Comfort Farm, Madame Bovary, David Copperfield, Gosford Park, Bertie and Elizabeth, Vanity Fair, Marple, Cold Mountain, Cranford, Ballet Shoes, Robin Hood, Poirot, Upstairs Downstairs + more.
Most memorable role: Miss Deborah Jenkyns, Cranford.
9. Hayley Atwell
Actress | Captain America: The First Avenger
Born in London, England, Hayley Elizabeth Atwell has dual citizenship of the United Kingdom and the United States. An only child, Hayley was named after actress Hayley Mills. Her parents, Alison (Cain) and Grant Atwell, both motivational speakers, met at a London workshop of Dale Carnegie's ...
The Ruby in the Smoke, Mansfield Park, The Shadow in the North, Brideshead Revisited, The Duchess, The Pillars of the Earth, Any Human Heart, Captain America.
10. Paloma Baeza
Actress | Sunshine
Paloma - whose Christian name is the Spanish for 'Dove' - was born on May 1st 1975 in London. Her parents, an English mother and Mexican father were hippie musicians and, when Paloma was a baby they moved to live in Mexico City, where she stayed until she was nine and the parents separated. She ...
Jospeh, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Odyssey, Bramwell, Far from the Madding Crowd, Anna Karenina, Rebel Heart, All Forgotten, The Way We Live Now, The Passion.
Most memorable role: Bathsheba Everdene, Far From the Madding Crowd.
11. Linda Bassett
Actress | East Is East
Linda Bassett was born in the Kentish village of Pluckley - location for the television series The Darling Buds of May (1991). She was brought up in Pimlico, South London, by her typist mother and police officer father. She became interested in acting as a child when she was frequently taken to see...
Oscar and Lucinda, The Life and Crimes of William Palmer, Our Mutual Friend, Far From the Madding Crowd, Don Quixote, Sense and Sensibility, Lark Rise to Candleford, Effie.
Most memorable role: Queenie Turrill, Lark Rise to Candleford.
12. Sean Bean
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Sean Bean's career since the eighties spans theatre, radio, television and movies. Bean was born in Handsworth, Sheffield, South Yorkshire, to Rita (Tuckwood) and Brian Bean. He worked for his father's welding firm before he decided to become an actor. He attended RADA in London and appeared in a ...
Caravaggio, Troubles, The Fifteen Streets, Lorna Doone, Clarissa, Sharpe's Rifles, Sharpe's Eagle, Lady Chatterly, Sharpe's Company, Sharpe's Enemy, Sharpe's Honour, Black Beauty, Scarlett, Jacob, Sharpe's Gold, Sharpe's Battle, Sharpe's Sword, Sharpe's Regiment, Sharpe's Siege, Sharpe's Mission, Anna Karenina, Sharpe's Revenge, Sharpe's Justice, Sharpe's Waterloo, Henry VIII, Troy, Sharpe's Challenge, Sharpe's Peril, Crusoe.
Most memorable role: Richard Lovelace, Clarissa. The original 18th century rake.
13. Kate Beckinsale
Actress | Underworld: Evolution
Kate Beckinsale was born on 26 July 1973 in Hounslow, Middlesex, England, and has resided in London for most of her life. Her mother is Judy Loe, who has appeared in a number of British dramas and sitcoms and continues to work as an actress, predominantly in British television productions. Her ...
One Against the Wind, Much Ado About Nothing, Prince of Jutland, Cold Comfort Farm, Emma, The Golden Bowl, Pearl Harbour, The Aviator.
Most memorable role: Emma Woodhouse, Emma.
Kate starred in some wonderful British productions in the '90s, in her pre-Hollywood years.
14. Claudie Blakley
Actress | Pride & Prejudice
Claudie Blakley graduated from London's Central School of Speech and Drama in 1997 and was hailed that year as a bright and fresh Wendy in the National Theatre's Christmas production of 'Peter Pan' opposite Ian McKellen. Staying with the National she went with them for their 1998-99 season at the ...
The War Bride, Gosford Park, He Knew He Was Right, Pride & Prejudice, Cranford, Lark Rise to Candleford, Bright Star, Marple.
Most memorable role: Emma Timmins, Lark Rise to Candleford.
15. Crispin Bonham-Carter
Actor | Casino Royale
Crispin Daniel Bonham-Carter is an English actor and theatre director.
He played Mr. Bingley in BBC's Pride and Prejudice in 1995. The previous year, he had starred in the TV sitcom Honey for Tea. Bonham-Carter also starred alongside Ewan McGregor in the 1993 BBC period drama Scarlet and Black ...
Howard's End, Scarlet and Black, Pride and Prejudice, Cadfael, Rag Nymph, Basil, Wuthering Heights, Victoria and Albert, The Impressionists.
Most memorable role: I'm going to go out on a limb here and say Edgar Linton, in Wuthering Heights; though he is better-known for his Mr. Bingley, in Pride and Prejudice.
Cousin of Helena.
16. Hugh Bonneville
Actor | Downton Abbey
Hugh Bonneville is a British actor, known for his stage work at the National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Company as well as the West End. His extensive film and television work includes Twenty Twelve, W1A, Downton Abbey, Paddington, The Gold and I Came By. See his website hughbonneville.uk for ...
Mansfield Park, Madam Bovary, Doctor Zhivago, Daniel Deronda, Miss Austen Regrets, Lost in Austen, Marple, Ben Hur, Poirot, Downton Abbey.
Most memorable role: Mallinger Grandcourt, Daniel Deronda; with Robert Crawley, Earl of Grantham (Downton Abbey) a close second.
17. David Bradley
Actor | The World's End
David Bradley was born on April 17, 1942 in York, Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The World's End (2013), Hot Fuzz (2007) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011). He has been married to Rosanna Bradley since 1978. They have three children.
Our Mutual Friend, Vanity Fair, The Way We Live Now, Nicholas Nickleby, The Mayor of Castorbridge, Charles II.
Most memorable role: Rogue Riderhood, Our Mutual Friend.
18. Kenneth Branagh
Actor | Henry V
Kenneth Charles Branagh was born on December 10, 1960, in Belfast, Northern Ireland, to parents William Branagh, a plumber and carpenter, and Frances (Harper), both born in 1930. He has two siblings, William Branagh, Jr. (born 1955) and Joyce Branagh (born 1970). When he was nine, his family ...
Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, Frankenstein, Othello, Hamlet.
19. Anthony Calf
Actor | The Madness of King George
Anthony Calf was born on May 4, 1959 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Madness of King George (1994), Beau Geste (1982) and I Came By (2022). He is married to Caroline Harker. They have three children.
Poirot, Great Expectations, The Madness of King George, Pride and Prejudice, Anna Karenina, Our Mutual Friend, Lorna Doone, The Impressionists, Beau Brummell, Upstairs Downstairs.
Most memorable role: Tom Faggus, Lorna Doone.
20. Simon Callow
Actor | Four Weddings and a Funeral
Simon Callow was born on June 13, 1949 in London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and A Room with a View (1985). He has been married to Sebastian Fox since June 2016.
A Room with a View, David Copperfield, Howards End, Jefferson in Paris, The Woman in White, Shakespeare in Love, The Mystery of Charles Dickens, Hans Christian Andersen, The Phantom of the Opera, Marple.
21. Jim Carter
Actor | Transformers: The Last Knight
Jim Carter was born on August 19, 1948 in Harrogate, Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Transformers: The Last Knight (2017), Shakespeare in Love (1998) and Downton Abbey (2019). He has been married to Imelda Staunton since October 1983. They have one child.
Black Beauty, The Madness of King George, Shakespeare in Love, The Way We Live Now, Hornblower, Cranford, Downton Abbey, + more.
Most memorable role: Mr. Carson, Downton Abbey.
22. Christina Cole
Actress | What a Girl Wants
Christina Cole was born on May 8, 1982 in London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for What a Girl Wants (2003), Casino Royale (2006) and Jupiter Ascending (2015).
He Knew He Was Right, Marple, Jane Eyre, Lost in Austen, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Emma.
Most memorable role: Nora Rowley, He Knew He Was Right.
23. Judy Cornwell
Actress | Santa Claus: The Movie
Most famous for her supporting role as Daisy, the sister of Patricia Routledge's Hyacinth Bucket in the hugely popular BBC sitcom Keeping Up Appearances (1990), Judy Cornwell's grandmother was the music hall singer Sarah Bonner. The London-born actress grew up in England, where she attended a ...
Wuthering Heights, The Mill on the Floss, Jane Eyre, Persuasion, David Copperfield, The Mayor of Casterbridge, + more.
Most memorable role: I'm actually going to say Mrs. Musgrove in Persuasion. Though it was a relatively small part, Judy made Mrs. Musgrove seem such a lovely, warm, comfortable sort of person!
24. Brendan Coyle
Actor | Downton Abbey
Brendan Coyle was born in Corby, Northamptonshire to an Irish father and Scottish mother; his parents moved to Corby from County Tyrone, Ireland. Brendan holds Irish citizenship and has previously lived in Dublin and London. However, according to a video clip from the site for "Rockface" he resides...
The Glass Virgin, North and South, Lark Rise to Candleford, Downton Abbey.
Most memorable role: Robert Timmins, Lark Rise to Candleford.
25. Timothy Dalton
Actor | The Living Daylights
At a consistently lean 6' 2", green-eyed Timothy Dalton may very well be one of the last of the dying breed of swashbuckling, classically trained Shakespearean actors who have forged simultaneous successful careers in theater, television and film. He has been comparison-shopped roundly for stepping...
Wuthering Heights, Cromwell, Mary Queen of Scots, Jane Eyre, Scarlett.
Most memorable role: Edward Rochester, Jane Eyre.
One of only two actors (Toby Stephens being the other) to have played two different Brontëan heroes.
26. Joanna David
Actress | Pride and Prejudice
Joanna David was born on January 17, 1947 in Lancaster, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Pride and Prejudice (1995), You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) and Rogue Trader (1999). She has been married to Edward Fox since 2004. They have two children.
Sense and Sensibility, The Last of the Mohicans, The Edwardians, War and Peace, Ballet Shoes, Lillie, Rebecca, Anna Karenina, Pride and Prejudice, The Mill on the Floss, Bramwell, The Forsyte Saga, The Way We Live Now, He Knew He Was Right, Bleak House, + more.
Married to Edward Fox. Mother of Emilia Fox.
27. Daniel Day-Lewis
Actor | There Will Be Blood
Born in London, England, Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis is the second child of Cecil Day-Lewis, Poet Laureate of the U.K., and his second wife, actress Jill Balcon. His maternal grandfather was Sir Michael Balcon, an important figure in the history of British cinema and head of the famous Ealing ...
A Room with a View, The Last of the Mohicans, The Age of Innocence, The Crucible.
28. Stephen Dillane
Actor | The Hours
Stephen Dillane was born on March 27, 1957 in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Hours (2002), Game of Thrones (2011) and Darkest Hour (2017).
The Secret Garden, Firelight, Anna Karenina, The Cazalets, King Arthur, John Adams, Marple.
29. Anne-Marie Duff
Actress | Nowhere Boy
Anne-Marie Duff is an English actress, born on 8 October 1970 in Southall, London. Her parents, Brendan and Mary (née Doherty), are from Donegal, Ireland. Her father worked as a painter and decorator and her mother worked in a shoe shop.
She first came to the attention of the British public for her ...
Aristocrats, The Way We Live Now, Doctor Zhivago, Charles II, The Virgin Queen, Margot.
Married to James McAvoy.
30. Judi Dench
Actress | Skyfall
Dame Judi Dench was born Judith Olivia Dench in York, England, to Eleanora Olive (Jones), who was from Dublin, Ireland, and Reginald Arthur Dench, a doctor from Dorset, England. She attended Mount School in York, and studied at the Central School of Speech and Drama. She has performed with the ...
A Room with a View, Henry V, Hamlet, Shakespeare in Love, The Importance of Being Earnest, Ladies in Lavender, Pride & Prejudice, Cranford, Jane Eyre, + more.
31. Pam Ferris
Actress | Matilda
Pam Ferris was born on May 11, 1948 in Hannover, Lower Saxony, Germany. She is an actress, known for Matilda (1996), Children of Men (2006) and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004). She has been married to Roger Frost since August 1986.
Middlemarch, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Our Mutual Friend, The Turn of the Screw, Nicholas Nickleby, Pollyanna, Marple, Jane Eyre, Little Dorrit.
Most memorable role: Mrs. Boffin, Our Mutual Friend.
32. Ralph Fiennes
Actor | The Constant Gardener
Actor Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes was born on December 22, 1962 in Suffolk, England, to Jennifer Anne Mary Alleyne (Lash), a novelist, and Mark Fiennes, a photographer. He is the eldest of six children. Four of his siblings are also in the arts: Martha Fiennes, a director; Magnus ...
Wuthering Heights, Onegin, The Duchess.
Most memorable role: Evgeny Onegin. The most Byronic of Byronic heroes. Besides, Ralph looked so dashing in his Beau Brummell-inspired garb.
33. Deborah Findlay
Actress | Vanity Fair
Deborah Findlay was born in Surrey and studied English at Leeds University. She worked in Leeds with a theatre group touring plays, music, community theatre and cabaret before coming to London to work at the Theatre Royal Stratford East. She was in the original production of 'Top Girls' by Caryl ...
Jane Eyre, Wives and Daughters, Anna Karenina, Vanity Fair, Cranford, Poirot.
Most memorable role: Rowena Drake, Poirot.
34. Colin Firth
Actor | A Single Man
Colin Andrew Firth was born into an academic family in Grayshott, Hampshire, England. His mother, Shirley Jean (Rolles), was a comparative religion lecturer at the Open University, and his father, David Norman Lewis Firth, lectured on history at Winchester University College (formerly King Alfred's...
Valmont, Pride and Prejudice, Shakespeare in Love, The Turn of the Screw, The Importance of Being Earnest, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Dorian Gray, The King's Speech.
Most memorable role: Mr. Darcy, duh!
35. Jonathan Firth
Actor | Victoria & Albert
Jonathan Firth is known for playing Prince Albert in the sweeping BBC mini-series Victoria & Albert (2001). He is one of the most prolific actors in British contemporary drama, appearing in Father Brown (2013), Holby City (1999), Poirot (1989), "Luther" (2003), and a memorable guest appearance ...
Wuthering Heights, Middlemarch, Poirot, Far From the Madding Crowd, An Ideal Husband, Victoria and Albert, Luther.
Younger brother of Colin.
36. Tara Fitzgerald
Actress | Exodus: Gods and Kings
Tara Fitzgerald was born in Sussex, England. Her mother, Sarah Fitzgerald, is Irish, and her father, Michael Callaby, was Italian. Shortly after her birth, her family moved to Freeport, in the Bahamas where her grandfather, David Fitzgerald, was a well-established lawyer. Her sister, Arabella ...
The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, The Woman in White, I Capture the Castle, Marple, The Virgin Queen, Jane Eyre.
Most memorable role: Helen Graham, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall.
37. Barbara Flynn
Actress | Miss Potter
Born on 5th August 1948 in Hastings, East Sussex, England. She started her television career in 1970 in the TV series A Family at War (1970), cast as Freda Ashton. She became better known following her appearances in The Beiderbecke Affair (1985), The Beiderbecke Tapes (1987) and The Beiderbecke ...
The Barchester Chronicles, Wives and Daughters, Lorna Doone, The Forsyte Saga, Hornblower, Poirot, He Knew He Was Right, Elizabeth I, Miss Potter, Cranford.
Most memorable role: Sarah Ridd, Lorna Doone.
38. Edward Fox
Actor | A Bridge Too Far
Educated at Harrow he worked at Marks and Spencers but was dismissed for wearing a loud checked suit. He sprang to international fame in 1973 as the assassin in Day of the Jackal, then had cameo style roles in Gandhi, The Dresser, Never Say Never Again and leads in The Wild Geese and The Shooting ...
Portrait of a Lady, Hard Times, Edward & Mrs. Simpson, A Hazard of Hearts, The Importance of Being Earnest, Daniel Deronda, Nicholas Nickleby, Poirot, Oliver Twist, Marple, + more.
39. Emilia Fox
Actress | The Pianist
Emilia Rose Elizabeth Fox is an English actress and presenter whose film debut was in Roman Polanski's film The Pianist. Her other films include the Italian-French-British romance-drama film The Soul Keeper (2002), for which she won the Flaiano Film Award for Best Actress; the drama film The ...
Pride and Prejudice, Rebecca, The Scarlet Pimpernel, David Copperfield, Henry VIII, The Virgin Queen, Marple, Ballet Shoes, Dorian Gray.
Appeared in Pride and Prejudice with mother Joanna David.
40. James Fox
Actor | Sherlock Holmes
James Fox is the second of three sons, born to the theatrical agent Robin Fox and his actress wife Angela Worthington - aka Angela Fox. His brothers are the actor Edward Fox and the producer Robert Fox. He started acting as a child actor and used his real name, until he reached his early 20s. He ...
The Remains of the Day, Gulliver's Travels, The Old Curiosity Shop, Anna Karenina, Hans Christian Andersen, Poirot, Marple, Colditz, Sherlock Holmes, + more.
41. Laurence Fox
Actor | The Hole
RADA-trained Laurence Fox is the third son of the actor James Fox and his wife Mary. He is a British actor who has appeared in several important films, plays, and television programs.
He is also active in politics, founding a new political party named "Reclaim" in 2020 and he presents an opinion ...
Gosford Park, Marple, Becoming Jane, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, A Room with a View.
Most memorable role: Mr. Wisley, Becoming Jane.
Yet another member of the Fox clan! Son of James and nephew of Edward. Married to actress Billie Piper.
42. Michael Gambon
Actor | Gosford Park
Sir Michael Gambon was born in Cabra, Dublin, Ireland, to Mary (Hoare), a seamstress, and Edward Gambon, an engineer. After joining the National Theatre, under the Artistic Directorship of Sir Laurence Olivier, Gambon went on to appear in a number of leading roles in plays written by Alan Ayckbourn...
The Wings of the Dove, Sleepy Hollow, Wives and Daughters, Gosford Park, The Lost Prince, Amazing Grace, Cranford, Brideshead Revisited, Emma.
Most memorable role: Squire Hamley, Wives and Daughters.
43. Romola Garai
Actress | Atonement
Romola Garai was born on 6th August 1982. She is an English actress-writer-director who has worked extensively on film, television and theatre. As an actress she is known for her performances in films such as Atonement (2007), Angel (2007), I Capture the Castle (2003) and (Suffragette). On ...
Daniel Deronda, Nicholas Nickleby, I Capture the Castle, Vanity Fair, Mary Bryant, As You Like It, Amazing Grace, Angel, Atonement, Glorious 39, Emma.
Most memorable role: A hard one. . . It's a three-way tie between Gwendolen (Daniel Deronda), Mary Bryant, and Emma.
Rivals Keira Knightley as today's "First Lady of Costume Drama"!
44. Ioan Gruffudd
Actor | Fantastic Four
Ioan Gruffudd was born on October 6, 1973 in Cardiff, Wales, UK to educators Gillian (James) and Peter Gruffudd. He has a brother, Alun, who is two years younger and a sister, Siwan, who is seven years younger. He got his start at age 13 in the Welsh soap opera Pobol y Cwm (1974). He attended the ...
Poldark, Wilde, Titanic, Hornblower, Great Expectations, The Forsyte Saga, King Arthur.
45. Victoria Hamilton
Actress | Mansfield Park
Victoria Hamilton is an English actress. After training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began her career in classical theatre, appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. In 2002, she appeared in the London stage play A Day in the ...
Persuasion, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Victoria & Albert, In Search of the Brontës, Wide Sargasso Sea, Lark Rise to Candleford.
46. Tom Hardy
Actor | Inception
With his breakthrough performance as Eames in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller Inception (2010), English actor Tom Hardy has been brought to the attention of mainstream audiences worldwide. However, the versatile actor has been steadily working on both stage and screen since his television debut...
Colditz, The Virgin Queen, Marie Antoinette, Oliver Twist, Wuthering Heights.
Most memorable role: Possibly one of the better Heathcliffs the screen has seen. Also very good as Bill Sykes in Oliver Twist.
47. Keeley Hawes
Actress | Bodyguard
Keeley Hawes was born on 10 February 1976 at St Mary's Hospital, London, England as Clare Julia Hawes. She is an actress and producer, known for The Bank Job (2008), High-Rise (2015) and Death at a Funeral (2007). She has been married to Matthew Macfadyen since 8 October 2004. They have two ...
The Moonstone, Our Mutual Friend, Wives and Daughters, Marple, Under the Greenwood Tree, Upstairs Downstairs.
Most memorable role: Lizzie Hexam, Our Mutual Friend.
Married to Matthew MacFadyen.
48. Shirley Henderson
Actress | Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
Shirley Henderson was the eldest of three sisters born into a working-class family in the village of Kincardine in Fife, Scotland. As a teenager she sang locally and performed in school drama clubs. Her first break came when she watched a singer on the Opportunity Knocks (1956) TV talent program ...
Clarissa, Rob Roy, The Way We Live Now, Charles II, Marie Antoinette, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Most memorable role: Marie Melmotte, The Way We Live Now.
49. Ciarán Hinds
Actor | Belfast
Ciarán Hinds was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland on February 9, 1953. He was one of five children and the only son. His father was a doctor who hoped to have Ciarán follow in his footsteps, but that was not to be. It was his mother Moya, an amateur actress, who was the real influence behind his ...
Persuasion, Ivanhoe, Jane Eyre, The Mayor of Casterbridge, The Phantom of the Opera, Amazing Grace, Rome, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day.
Most memorable role: Captain Frederick Wentworth, Persuasion.
50. Douglas Hodge
Actor | Joker
Douglas Hodge is a Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk and Outer Critic Circle award winning actor, composer, director and writer. Recent films include Alfred in Joker, Gemini man The Report and Red Sparrow. Recent TV includes The Great, Black Mirror, Lost In Space, Catastrophe and Penny Dreadful. Tony and ...
Middlemarch, The Way We Live Now, Vanity Fair, Mansfield Park, Robin Hood.
51. Tom Hollander
Actor | Pride & Prejudice
Tom Hollander was born the second child of educated parents, both teachers. He grew up in Oxford, (UK).
Hollander credits the happy atmosphere of the Dragon School with his childhood introduction to acting. There, encouraged by an influential teacher named Andrew Roberts, he won the title role in "...
Wives and Daughters, Nicholas Nickleby, Gosford Park, The Lost Prince, The Libertine, Pride & Prejudice, Pirates of the Caribbean, Elizabeth: The Golden Age, John Adams, Desperate Romantics.
Most memorable role: Osborne Hamley, Wives and Daughters.
52. Celia Imrie
Actress | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Celia Imrie is an Olivier award-winning and Screen Actors Guild-nominated actress, a Variety magazine 'Icon' and Women in Film and Television 'Lifetime Achievement award' winner. As well as her acclaimed film, television and theatre work, she is also a Sunday Times best-selling author. Celia is ...
Upstairs Downstairs, The Return of the Native, The History of Tom Jones, Love in a Cold Climate, Doctor Zhivago, Daniel Deronda, Marple, Cranford.
Has a son with Benjamin Whitrow (Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice 1995).
53. Derek Jacobi
Actor | Gosford Park
Preeminent British classical actor of the first post-Olivier generation, Derek Jacobi was knighted in 1994 for his services to the theatre, and, in fact, is only the second to enjoy the honor of holding TWO knighthoods, Danish and English (Olivier was the other). Modest and unassuming in nature, ...
The Pallisers, Little Dorrit, Henry V, Hamlet, Cadfael, Gladiator, Gosford Park, Marple, The Old Curiosity Shop, Margot, The King's Speech, Ironclad, The Borgias, Titanic: Blood and Steel, Effie, + more.
54. Toby Jones
Actor | Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Widely regarded as one of the greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, Toby Edward Heslewood Jones was born on September 7, 1966 in Hammersmith, London. His parents, Freddie Jones and Jennie Heslewood, are actors as well. Toby has two brothers: Rupert, ...
Ever After, Aristocrats, Victoria and Albert, The Way We Live Now, Ladies in Lavender, Finding Neverland, Elizabeth I, Amazing Grace, The Painted Veil, The Old Curiosity Shop, Poirot.
Most memorable role: Waddington, The Painted Veil.
55. Michael Kitchen
Actor | Out of Africa
Michael Kitchen was born on October 31, 1948 in Leicester, Leicestershire, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Out of Africa (1985), GoldenEye (1995) and The World Is Not Enough (1999). He has been married to Rowena Miller since 1988. They have two children.
The Brontes of Haworth, Out of Africa, Enchanted April, The Buccaneers, Oliver Twist, The Railway Children, Lorna Doone, + more.
56. Damian Lewis
Actor | Band of Brothers
Damian Lewis was born on February 11, 1971, in St. John's Wood, London, England, to Charlotte Mary (Bowater), from an upper-class background, and J. Watcyn Lewis, a city broker whose own parents were Welsh. He was raised on Abbey Road in London until the age of 8 with his siblings Gareth, William, ...
Poirot, Robinson Crusoe, Band of Brothers, The Forsyte Saga, Colditz.
Most memorable role: Soames Forsyte, The Forsyte Saga.
57. Miriam Margolyes
Actress | The Age of Innocence
A veteran of stage and screen, award-winning actress Miriam Margolyes has achieved success on both sides of the Atlantic. Winner of the BAFTA Best Supporting Actress award in 1993 for The Age of Innocence (1993), she received Best Supporting Actress at the 1989 LA Critics Circle Awards for her role...
Oliver Twist, A Little Princess, Little Dorrit, The Age of Innocence, Cold Comfort Farm, Vanity Fair, Dickens, Ladies in Lavender, Marple, Wallis & Edward.
58. Anna Massey
Actress | Peeping Tom
Anna Massey was born on August 11, 1937 in Thakeham, West Sussex, England, UK. She was an actress, known for Peeping Tom (1960), Frenzy (1972) and The Machinist (2004). She was married to Dr. Uri Andres and Jeremy Brett. She died on July 2, 2011 in London, England, UK.
David Copperfield, The Pallisers, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Mansfield Park, Anna Karenina, A Hazard of Hearts, Around the World in 80 Days, A Tale of Two Cities, The Importance of Being Earnest, He Knew He Was Right, Oliver Twist, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, Poirot, + more.
59. Jodhi May
Actress | The Last of the Mohicans
Jodhi was born in 1975. She was born and brought up in London, England, UK. She went to Wadham College, Oxford University 1994-1997. She studied and received a Masters in English. During her time at Wadham she read a lot of literature. She has been acting since she was twelve.
The Last of the Mohicans, The Woodlanders, Aristocrats, The Turn of the Screw, The House of Mirth, Daniel Deronda, The Other Boleyn Girl, The Mayor of Casterbridge, Emma.
60. James McAvoy
Actor | Filth
McAvoy was born on 21 April 1979 in Glasgow, Scotland, to James, a bus driver, and Elizabeth (née Johnstone), a nurse. He was raised on a housing estate in Drumchapel, Glasgow by his maternal grandparents (James, a butcher, and Mary), after his parents divorced when James was 11. He went to St ...
Lorna Doone, Band of Brothers, Becoming Jane, Atonement.
61. Ian McKellen
Actor | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Widely regarded as one of greatest stage and screen actors both in his native Great Britain and internationally, twice nominated for the Oscar and recipient of every major theatrical award in the UK and US, Ian Murray McKellen was born on May 25, 1939 in Burnley, Lancashire, England, to Margery ...
David Copperfield, The Scarlet Pimpernel, Cold Comfort Farm, Swept from the Sea, David Copperfield (again).
Most memorable role: Amos Starkadder, Cold Comfort Farm. "There will be no butter in hell!!"
62. Ben Miles
Actor | Andor
Ben Miles was born on September 29, 1966 in Wimbledon, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Andor (2022), The Capture (2019) and Red Joan (2018). He is married to Emily Raymond. They have three children.
The Wings of the Dove, The Affair of the Necklace, The Forsyte Saga, Under the Greenwood Tree, Lark Rise to Candleford, Marple.
Most memorable role: Sir Timothy Winter, Lark Rise to Candleford.
63. Jonny Lee Miller
Actor | Æon Flux
Jonny (sometimes credited as Johnny) Lee Miller was born on November 15, 1972, in Kingston, England, UK. He is the son of actors Anna Lee and Alan Miller and the grandson of actor Bernard Lee. After appearing in many high school plays at his selective state grammar school, Jonny dropped out at 17 ...
Mansfield Park, Mansfield Park (again), Byron, Emma.
Most memorable role: Mr. Knightley, Emma.
Only actor to have played two Jane Austen heroes.
64. Carey Mulligan
Actress | Never Let Me Go
Carey Hannah Mulligan is a British actress. She was born May 28, 1985, in Westminster, London, England, to Nano (Booth), a university lecturer, and Stephen Mulligan, a hotel manager. Her mother is from Llandeilo, Wales, and Carey also has Irish and English ancestry.
Her first major appearance was ...
Pride & Prejudice, Bleak House, Marple, Northanger Abbey, My Boy Jack.
Most memorable role: Ada Clare, Bleak House.
65. Sophia Myles
Actress | Tristan + Isolde
Sophia Jane Myles was born on March 18, 1980 in Hammersmith, London, England. She has a younger brother, Oliver. Her parents are Jane and Peter Myles, who is a vicar, a priest in the Anglican Church who is in charge of a parish and receives a salary, but not the tithes of the church. Her mother ...
The Prince and the Pauper, Mansfield Park, Oliver Twist, Nicholas Nickleby, The Abduction Club, Colditz, Tristan + Isolde, Marple.
66. Matthew Macfadyen
Actor | Succession
David Matthew Macfadyen was born in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, to Meinir (Owen), a drama teacher and actress, and Martin Macfadyen, an oil executive. He is of Scottish and Welsh descent. Because of his father's career, he spent at least part of his childhood in Indonesia, before finishing his ...
Wuthering Heights, The Way We Live Now, Pride & Prejudice, Marple, Little Dorrit Robin Hood, The Pillars of the Earth, The Three Musketeers.
Attained period drama heart-throb status for his leading roles in Pride & Prejudice and Little Dorrit.
Most memorable role: I leave that you for you to decide! Did you fall in love with him as Mr. Darcy, or Arthur Clennam?
67. Sophie Marceau
Actress | La boum
Sophie Marceau was born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu in Paris, France, to Simone (Morisset), a shop assistant, and Benoît Maupu, a truck driver. She grew up far from the studio spotlights. When she was 14 she was living in the Paris suburb of Gentilly with her father. She learned from friends that ...
Braveheart, Anna Karenina, Marquise, Firelight.
68. Stephen Campbell Moore
Actor | The Bank Job
Stephen Campbell Moore was born on November 30, 1979 in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Bank Job (2008), Season of the Witch (2011) and Amazing Grace (2006). He has been married to Claire Foy since December 2014. They have one child.
Byron, He Knew He Was Right, A Good Woman, Wallis & Edward, Amazing Grace, Lark Rise to Candleford, Ben Hur.
69. Jeremy Northam
Actor | Gosford Park
Jeremy Philip Northam was born in Cambridge, England to parents John and Rachel, both university professors. John Northam is best known for his translations of Henrik Ibsen. The family moved to Bristol, in 1972, where Jeremy attended Bristol Grammar School. Jeremy graduated from Bedford College, ...
Wuthering Heights, Poirot, Emma, An Ideal Husband, The Winslow Boy, Gosford Park, The Tudors, Creation, Glorious 39.
Most memorable role: Mr. Knightley, Emma.
70. Judy Parfitt
Actress | Girl with a Pearl Earring
Of regal bearing and imposing stance, flame-haired British classical actress Judy Parfitt is the possessor of the chilliest blue orbs in all of London and has used them to her advantage over the years with her clever portrayals of haughty, bossy, imperious, deliciously malevolent patricians. Born ...
David Copperfield, Les Miserables, Hamlet, Villette, Pride and Prejudice, A Tale of Two Cities, Wilde, Ever After, Girl With a Pearl Earring, Poirot, Little Dorrit, + more.
Most memorable role: Mrs. Clennam, Little Dorrit. Also the best-ever Lady Catherine de Bourgh (P&P).
71. Nathaniel Parker
Actor | The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
Nathaniel Parker was born in England in 1962. The son of Sir Peter Parker and Dr. Jill Parker, he decided at the age of nine that acting would be his career of choice. His first public performances were with the National Youth Theatre, a breeding ground for many British actors. After attending The ...
Hamlet, The Black Candle, Poirot, Wide Sargasso Sea, Othello, Far From the Madding Crowd, Vanity Fair, Bleak House, Stardust, Landgirls.
Most memorable role: Gabriel Oak, Far From the Madding Crowd.
72. Bill Paterson
Actor | The Witches
Bill Paterson was born on June 3, 1945 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for The Witches (1990), Miss Potter (2006) and How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008). He has been married to Hildegard Bechtler since 1984. They have two children.
Hard Times, Wives and Daughters, Doctor Zhivago, Amazing Grace, Miss Potter, Little Dorrit, Creation, Marple.
Most memorable role: Dr. Gibson, Wives and Daughters.
Seems to have carved a niche for himself as "Costume drama heroine's caring, protective dad", in which part he is regularly cast.
73. Alistair Petrie
Actor | Rogue One
Alistair Petrie was born on September 30, 1970 in Catterick, North Yorkshire, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), The Bank Job (2008) and Rush (2013). He is married to Lucy Scott. They have three children.
Scarlet and Black, Emma, Mrs. Dalloway, The Forsyte Saga, Cranford, The Duchess.
Most memorable role: Major Gordon, Cranford.
74. Vanessa Redgrave
Actress | Coriolanus
On January 30, 1937, renowned theatre actor Michael Redgrave was performing in a production of Hamlet in London. During the curtain call, the show's lead, Laurence Olivier, announced to the audience: "tonight a great actress was born". This was in reference to his co-star's newborn daughter, ...
Mary Queen of Scots, Howard's End, Mrs. Dalloway, Byron, The White Countess, Atonement, Anonymous + more.
Mother of Natasha and Joely Richardson.
75. Alan Rickman
Actor | Die Hard
Alan Rickman was born on a council estate in Acton, West London, to Margaret Doreen Rose (Bartlett), of English and Welsh descent, and Bernard Rickman, of Irish descent, who worked at a factory. Alan Rickman had an older brother (David), a younger brother (Michael), and a younger sister (Sheila). ...
Romeo & Juliet, Thérèse Raquin, The Barchester Chronicles, Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, Mesmer, Sense and Sensibility.
Most memorable role: Colonel Brandon, Sense and Sensibility.
76. Amanda Root
Actress | The Forsyte Saga
Amanda Root is an English stage and screen actress and a former voice actress for children's programs.Root is known for her starring role in the 1995 BBC film adaptation of Jane Austen's Persuasion, her role in the British TV comedy All About Me, as Miranda, alongside Richard Lumsden in 2004, and ...
Persuasion, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, The Forsyte Sage, Daniel Deronda, The Impressionists, Poirot.
Most memorable role: Anne Elliot, Persuasion.
77. Julia Sawalha
Actress | Lark Rise to Candleford
Julia Sawalha was born in London. She has received due honor for her acting talents. Starring as Lynda Day in Press Gang winning the BAFTA award for Best Drama series. She played the role of Saffy in [Absolutely Fabulous 1992-2016], for which she won the RTS award for Best Actress, Lydia Bennett in...
Martin Chuzzlewit, Pride and Prejudice, The Wind in the Willows, Hornblower, Cranford, Lark Rise to Candleford.
Most memorable role: Dorcas Lane, Lark Rise to Candleford.
78. Greta Scacchi
Actress | The Player
Greta Scacchi was born in Milan, Italy, to Pamela Carsaniga, an English dancer and Luca Scacchi, an Italian art dealer and painter. She grew up in Milan and Sussex, England. In 1975, her mother and second husband moved to Australia, where, after she left school, Greta worked as an Italian ...
Jefferson in Paris, Emma, Daniel Deronda, Marple, Miss Austen Regrets, Brideshead Revisited.
79. Prunella Scales
Actress | Howards End
Prunella Scales was born on June 22, 1932 in Sutton Abinger, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Howards End (1992), Fawlty Towers (1975) and Wolf (1994). She has been married to Timothy West since October 26, 1963. They have two children.
Pride and Prejudice, The Secret Garden, Howard's End, Emma, An Ideal Husband, Dickens, Marple.
Most memorable role: Miss Bates, Emma.
Though best known as Sybil Fawlty, Prunella Scales has also starred in many costume dramas over the years.
80. Rufus Sewell
Actor | Dark City
Rufus Sewell was born on the 29th of October 1967 in Twickenham, England. His mother, Jo, was Welsh, and was an artist and painter. His father, Bill Sewell, was an English-Australian animator who was born in Australia to English parents and died when Rufus was 10. He has one brother, Caspar. He ...
Middlemarch, Cold Comfort Farm, Hamlet, The Woodlanders, A Knight's Tale, Charles II, Tristan + Isolde, The Illusionist, Amazing Grace, The Pillars of the Earth.
81. Jane Seymour
Actress | Somewhere in Time
Jane Seymour was born as Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg in 1951 in Middlesex, England, to a nurse mother and gynaecologist/obstetrician father. She is of Polish Jewish (father) and Dutch (mother) descent. She adopted the acting name of "Jane Seymour" when she entered show business as it was ...
Young Winston, The Strauss Family, The Onedin Line, Our Mutual Friend, Captains and the Kings, The Four Feathers, The Scarlet Pimpernel, The Woman He Loved, Heidi, Dr. Quinn - Medicine Woman, Marple, + more.
82. Fiona Shaw
Actress | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1
Shaw was already an accomplished theater actress when director Jim Sheridan awarded her a role in his film, My Left Foot (1989). The film is a telling of Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis), an Irishman disgruntled with his confinement to a body horribly crippled by cerebral palsy but who found ...
Persuasion, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, The Triumph of Love, Dorian Gray.
Most memorable role: Mrs. Croft, Persuasion.
83. Maggie Smith
Actress | Gosford Park
One of the world's most famous and distinguished actresses, Dame Maggie Smith was born Margaret Natalie Smith in Essex. Her Scottish mother, Margaret (Hutton), worked as a secretary, and her English father, Nathaniel Smith, was a teacher at Oxford University. Smith has been married twice: to actor ...
A Room with a View, The Secret Garden, David Copperfield, Gosford Park, Ladies in Lavender, Becoming Jane, Downton Abbey, + many more.
84. Toby Stephens
Actor | Die Another Day
Toby Stephens began his acting career while a stagehand at the Chichester Festival Theatre, in end-of-season productions mounted by the crew. In his brief professional career, he has already won the Sir John Gielgud Prize for Best Actor and the Ian Charleson Award for his performance in the title ...
Twefth Night, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Cousin Bette, Onegin, The Great Gatsby, Poirot, Sharpe's Challenge, Jane Eyre, Robin Hood, Marple.
Most memorable role: Mr. Rochester, Jane Eyre.
Son of Maggie Smith.
85. Dan Stevens
Actor | Downton Abbey
Dan Stevens was born at Croydon in Surrey on 10th October 1982. His parents are teachers. He was educated at Tonbridge School and trained in acting at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain. He studied English Literature at Emmanuel College, Cambridge. Whilst he was a Cambridge undergraduate, ...
Frankenstein, Dracula, Marple, Sense & Sensibility, The Turn of the Screw, Downton Abbey.
Most memorable role: Matthew Crawley, Downton Abbey.
86. Mark Strong
Actor | 1917
British actor Mark Strong, who played Jim Prideaux in the 2011 remake of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011), is often cast as cold, calculating villains. But before he became a famous actor, he intended to pursue a career in law.
Strong was born Marco Giuseppe Salussolia in London, England, to an ...
Sharpe's Mission, Emma, Anna Karenina, Henry VIII, Oliver Twist, Tristan + Isolde, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, The Young Victoria, Sherlock Holmes, Robin Hood, The Eagle.
Most memorable role: Mr. Knightley, Emma. My favourite Mr. Knightley. . .
87. David Suchet
Actor | Executive Decision
Widely regarded as one of England's finest stage, screen and TV actors, David Suchet's international reputation has only grown over the years, greatly enhanced by his definitive interpretation of Agatha Christie's suave Belgian super-sleuth Hercule Poirot, a character he played for nearly 25 years ...
Poirot, Henry VIII, The Way We Live Now, Dracula, + more.
Most memorable role: Poirot, of course! Was also brilliant in The Way We Live Now.
88. Emma Thompson
Actress | Sense and Sensibility
Emma Thompson was born on April 15, 1959 in Paddington, London, into a family of actors - father Eric Thompson and mother Phyllida Law, who has co-starred with Thompson in several films. Her sister, Sophie Thompson, is an actor as well. Her father was English-born and her mother is Scottish-born. ...
Henry V, Howards End, Much Ado About Nothing, The Remains of the Day, Sense and Sensibility, Brideshead Revisited.
89. Sophie Thompson
Actress | Gosford Park
Sophie Thompson is a British actress who has worked in film, television and theatre. A six-time Olivier Award nominee, she won the 1999 Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Musical for the London revival of Into the Woods. Her other nominations were for Wildest Dreams (1994), Company (1996), ...
Persuasion, Emma, The Railway Children, Gosford Park, Nicholas Nickleby, A Room With A View, Poirot.
Most memorable role: Mary Musgrove, Persuasion.
Emma's younger sister.
90. Pip Torrens
Actor | Pride & Prejudice
Pip Torrens was born on June 2, 1960 in Bromley, Kent, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Pride & Prejudice (2005), Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997).
Lady Jane, Little Dorrit, Poirot, Jeeves and Wooster, The Remains of the Day, Lorna Doone, Charles II, Marple, Pride & Prejudice, Poirot (again), Miss Austen Regrets, Dorian Gray.
91. Peter Vaughan
Actor | Straw Dogs
A true character actor in the best sense of the word, offbeat British thespian Peter Vaughan's hefty frame could appear intimidating or benevolent; his mere presence menacing or avuncular. Adept at playing both sides of the law, his characters usually possessed a strange, somewhat wary countenance ...
The Pallisers, Bleak House, The Moonstone, Our Mutual Friend, Les Miserables, Hornblower, An Ideal Husband, Lorna Doone, Lark Rise to Candleford, + more.
92. Justine Waddell
Actress | Mishen
Justine Waddell was born on November 4, 1975 in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is an actress and producer, known for Target (2011), The Fall (2006) and Chaos (2005).
Anna Karenina, Tess of the D'Urbervilles, The Woman in White, Great Expectations, Mansfield Park, Wives and Daughters.
Most memorable role: Molly Gibson, Wives and Daughters.
93. Polly Walker
Actress | Rome
Polly Alexandra Walker was born on May 19, 1966 in Warrington, Cheshire, England. She graduated from Ballet Rambert School in Twickenham, began her career as a dancer, but an injury at age 18 forced her to change direction. She started at London's Drama Centre to the Royal Shakespeare Company, ...
Lorna Doone, Poirot, Enchanted April, Emma, Robinson Crusoe, The Woodlanders, The Mayor of Castorbridge, Marple.
94. Jason Watkins
Actor | The Crown
Jason Watkins was born on October 28, 1966 in Albrighton, Shropshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for The Crown (2016), Des (2020) and The Lost Honour of Christopher Jefferies (2014). He has been married to Clara Francis since January 2014. They have three children. He was previously married...
Onegin, The Virgin Queen, Miss Austen Regrets, Little Dorrit, Lark Rise to Candleford, Poirot.
95. Samuel West
Actor | Howards End
Samuel West was born on June 19, 1966 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Howards End (1992), Van Helsing (2004) and Notting Hill (1999).
Howard's End, Persuasion, Jane Eyre, Hornblower, Desperate Romantics, Poirot.
Most memorable role: Mr. Elliot, Persuasion.
Son of Timothy West and Prunella Scales.
96. Timothy West
Actor | The Day of the Jackal
A versatile British actor noted for his great power and command on the classical stage and in several other mediums including radio, film and television, Timothy West was born on October 20, 1934 in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England, the son of actors (Harry) Lockwood West and his wife Olive (...
Rebecca, Ever After, Bleak House, A Room with a View, Poirot, + more.
97. Peter Wight
Actor | Another Year
Peter Wight was born in 1950 in Worthing, Sussex, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Another Year (2010), Hot Fuzz (2007) and Naked (1993).
The Return of the Native, Jane Eyre, Our Mutual Friend, Charles II, Pride & Prejudice, Persuasion, Lark Rise to Candleford, The Paradise.
Most memorable role: Mr. Wilfer, Our Mutual Friend.
98. Penelope Wilton
Actress | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Penelope Wilton was born on June 3, 1946 in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Shaun of the Dead (2004) and Match Point (2005). She was previously married to Ian Holm and Daniel Massey.
Wives and Daughters, Victoria & Albert, Pride & Prejudice, Marple, Downton Abbey, South Riding.
Most memorable role: Isobel Crawley, Downton Abbey.
99. Kate Winslet
Actress | Titanic
Ask Kate Winslet what she likes about any of her characters, and the word "ballsy" is bound to pop up at least once. The British actress has made a point of eschewing straightforward pretty-girl parts in favor of more devilish damsels; as a result, she's built an eclectic resume that runs the gamut...
Sense and Sensibility, Jude, Hamlet, Titanic, Quills, Finding Neverland.
Most memorable role: Marianne Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility.
100. Greg Wise
Actor | Sense and Sensibility
He was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and is the son of distinguished architect Professor Douglass Wise. It was assumed that he would be an architect, so he studied architecture in Edinburgh. He dropped out, though, after a while, and went to Glasgow to study drama.
He did his first professional job ...
The Buccaneers, Sense and Sensibility, The Moonstone, Hornblower, Marple, Cranford.
Most memorable role: Willoughby, Sense and Sensibility.
Married to Emma Thompson.
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