British Actors
A list in no particular order - to be continued...when I can think of them. :)
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- Actress
- Writer
- Soundtrack
Pauline Quirke was born on 8 July 1959 in Hackney, London, England, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for Birds of a Feather (1989), Emmerdale Farm (1972) and Broadchurch (2013). She has been married to Steve Sheen since August 1996. They have two children.- Ann Mitchell was born on 22 April 1939 in Stepney, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Deep Blue Sea (2011), Widows (2018) and Lady Chatterley's Lover (1981).
- Actor
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- Producer
Perry Benson was born on 9 April 1961 in St Pancras, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Sid and Nancy (1986), This Is England (2006) and You Rang, M'Lord? (1988).- Actor
- Producer
- Director
Peter McNamara, born in London and attended the National Youth Theatre and trained at LAMDA. Possibly best known as Ralph Passmore, the nemesis of Tucker Jenkin's in Tucker's Luck (1983), the spin off series of Phil Redmond's Grange Hill (1978). Peter was known for his fantastic singing voice in many theatre musical productions including South Pacific. He started out his long list of jobs as a supporting artist, working on such films as Quadrophenia (1979), The Shining (1980), Chariots of Fire (1981) and Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977), before being cast in Grange Hill (1978). He worked frequently with Christopher Menaul who cast him as a Chelsea skinhead Rory in The Treatment (1984) and previously Tucker's Luck (1983). He became a well respected character actor in a career that eventually spanned four decades, he was often called upon to play the menacing hard-man and when Denzel Washington came to London to work on For Queen & Country (1988), Peter was asked to show him around and guide him on the Cockney accent. In 1990, Peter starred as Kenno in the controversial football hooligan film, Arrivederci Millwall (1990), one of the first films to tackle that subject. He went onto play Jimmy Cadogan in the children's TV series; Oasis (1993) in 1993 and a spot on 99-1 (1994) which reunited him with Arrivederci Millwall (1990) director Charles McDougall. Despite his hard-man roles Peter often played in a lot of comedy TV shows including Desmond's (1989) and Harry Enfield and Chums (1994). In 1995, he appeared in Funny Bones (1995) with Lee Evans, Jerry Lewis, Oliver Platt and Oliver Reed. Then in 1996 he was seen in the series No Bananas (1996) as DS Howard. He was in both the film and TV series of London's Burning (1988) and played recurring roles in numerous other British TV shows including Thief Takers (1995), The Bill (1984), Trial & Retribution (1997), Silent Witness (1996) and Casualty (1986). In 2002, he appeared as Frederick Michael Argyle in The Gathering (2002) where he acted alongside Christina Ricci, Ioan Gruffudd and Stephen Dillane. In 2004, he appeared in an extraordinary experimental drama documentary called Pissed on the Job (2004), Peter played a heavy drinker who was also a teacher, the film which can be seen online is a great example of his work, his subtle performance is extremely realistic in this damning piece about the dangers of alcohol. He showed up as a vampire drug dealer in the film Dead Cert (2010) in 2010 and had been working on some low budget films in the latter years of his career that sadly never got released due to budget and various technical issues. His last credit Dinklebrain (2012) was not the last film he made, rumour has it that he was very much actively making some independent short films, which hopefully will emerge in the near future. Sadly, Peter McNamara died in May 2018 at the age of 57 and he was cremated at Enfield Crematorium on 14th June 2018, a week after what would have been his 58th birthday.- Debbie Killingback is known for For Queen & Country (1988), Tank Malling (1989) and Empire State (1987).
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Graham Fletcher-Cook was born on 3 November 1963 in Edmonton, London, England, UK. He was an actor and director, known for Rocketman (2019), Sid and Nancy (1986) and A Little Romance (1979). He was married to Jeanette. He died in 2019 in the UK.- Peter Lovstrom was born in 1960 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Lifeforce (1985), The Meaning of Life (1983) and Spearhead (1978).
- Actor
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Daniel Peacock was born on 2 October 1958 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves (1991), Harry and Cosh (1999) and The Jewel of the Nile (1985).- Frank Boyce was born on 14 June 1969 in Holloway, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Horatio Hornblower: The Duel (1998), EastEnders (1985) and Jonathan Creek (1997).
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Andrew Tiernan trained at the Drama Centre London. His earliest break came in 1991, when he was cast in Derek Jarman's Edward II (1991), at the same time he was cast as DC Rosper in the award winning television series Prime Suspect (1991), alongside Helen Mirren, Tom Bell and Tom Wilkinson. He then went on to play the stuttering psychopath Sean Kerrigan in Cracker (1993) with Robbie Coltrane in 1993 and he has continued to be cast in award winning productions. A recognizable face in television & feature films, Tiernan has become known as a solid character actor, with the ability to transform. Such examples are; Szalas in Roman Polanski's The Pianist (2002), and as the deformed hunchback; Ephialtes in Warner Brother's blockbuster 300 (2006), written by Frank Miller & directed by Zack Snyder. During his career he has worked with; Angelina Jolie, Adrien Brody, Antonio Banderas, Anthony Hopkins, Sam Neill, Timothy Hutton, David Duchovny, Rhys Ifans, Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Gerard Butler, Michael Fassbender, Robin Williams, John Turturro, and Jean-Marc Barr.- Actor
- Director
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Phil Davis was born on 30 July 1953 in Grays, Essex, England, UK. He is an actor and director, known for Vera Drake (2004), Bleak House (2005) and Alien 3 (1992). He has been married to Eve Matheson since 2002. They have one child.- Actor
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- Actor
- Music Department
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Born 1958, to a caretaker father and a mother who was an accounts clerk. He trained at Anna Scher's Childrens Theatre school in London. and worked professionally from the age of 13, became a member of the R S C and made his debut as a director with a fringe production of Caryl Churchill's Fen. His films include Quadrophenia, Breaking Glass, and Scum .,- Actor
- Soundtrack
Perry Fenwick was born on 29 May 1962 in Wanstead, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for EastEnders (1985), The Raggedy Rawney (1988) and Shine on Harvey Moon (1982). He has been married to Angela Lonsdale since 26 February 2005.- Trevor Laird was born on 11 July 1957 in London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Quadrophenia (1979), Cruella (2021) and Secrets & Lies (1996).
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Mark Wingett's first stand out role was Dave in the cult hit Quadrophenia (1979), the film version of The Who's hit album. Mark acted alongside Phil Daniels, Sting, Phil Davis, Toyah Willcox, Trevor Laird, Ray Winstone and a host of other names. Quadrophenia (1979) has gone on to be one of the classics of British cinema. Wingett also appeared in other films including; Breaking Glass (1980) with Hazel O'Connor and Jonathan Pryce. He is also a regular on the British stage both as actor and director, he appeared in a number of productions at The Royal Court Theatre, including Edward Bond's "Saved" and "The Pope's Wedding" alongside Gary Oldman and Joanne Whalley. A well-known face on television, with regular roles on The Bill (1984) and EastEnders (1985), he has since returned to the silver screen to appear in Snow White and the Huntsman (2012) (with Charlize Theron and Kristen Stewart), Franklyn (with Eva Green and Ryan Phillippe) and Intruders (with Clive Owen).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Peter-Hugo Daly was born in 1956 in Islington, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Made in Dagenham (2010), Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Gangs of New York (2002).- Sean Chapman was born on 2 June 1961 in Greenwich, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Hellraiser (1987), A Mighty Heart (2007) and Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988).
- Born in Scotland, raised in Surrey by her Scottish grandparents. Kim was trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama, London. An early break came in playing the lead in the TV mini-series 'Cover Her Face'. First film credit was "Stealing Heaven". Kim has gone on to work extensively in film, TV, and theatre in both the UK and USA.
- Julie T. Wallace (born Julie Therese Keir) trained at LAMDA and made her stage debut as the mother/teacher in 'Billy the Kid' at the Upstream Theatre, followed by 'The House of Usher' in Aberystwyth, and 'Beauty and the Beast' in Bristol. She made her London debut in 'Anne of the Worlds' at the Royal Court. She was BAFTA nominated for her role of Ruth in the BBC television production of The Life and Loves of a She-Devil (1986).
- Actor
- Writer
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Alan Williams was born in 1954 in Manchester, England. He is an actor and writer, known for The Cockroach That Ate Cincinnati (1996), Chernobyl (2019) and Vera Drake (2004).- Actor
- Soundtrack
Gary Lewis was born in 1958 in Glasgow, Strathclyde, Scotland, UK. He is an actor, known for Billy Elliot (2000), Gangs of New York (2002) and Valhalla Rising (2009).- Actor
- Director
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He was interested in directing films at the age of 19 and he made several shorts. As he wasn't admitted to the National Film School, he decided to dedicate himself to acting, and made his debut in the theatre in 1988 before moving to cinema and television. Fame came with the parts he played in such films as Riff-Raff (1991) by Ken Loach, Braveheart (1995) by Mel Gibson and Trainspotting (1996) by Danny Boyle, but above all when he won for best leading actor at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998 for My Name Is Joe (1998), once again by Loach. The Magdalene Sisters (2002) is the second feature-length film he has directed. He also directed a few episodes of the BBC TV series, Cardiac Arrest (1994), which earned him a best director nomination from the Royal Television Society.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Tamzin Outhwaite was born on 5 November 1970 in Ilford, Essex, England, UK. She is an actress, known for EastEnders (1985), Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Hotel Babylon (2006). She was previously married to Tom Ellis.- Actress
- Make-Up Department
Louise studied Shakespeare at The Central School of Speech & Drama and gained a BA Honours Double Major in English Literature & Theatre Studies at University. She began acting professionally after graduation, featuring in pop videos, TV indents, commercials and has appeared in several popular dramas such as 'Silent Witness' 'The Bill' 'Helen West' and 'London's Burning'.
Louise lives in North London with her family.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Julie Wilson Nimmo was born in 1972 in Scotland, UK. She is an actress, known for The Magdalene Sisters (2002), Balamory (2002) and The Debt Collector (1999). She is married to Greg Hemphill. They have one child.- Actress
- Editor
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Shona McWilliams was born in Bellshill, Scotland, UK. She is an actress and editor, known for uk18 (2017), Mrs. Henderson Presents (2005) and Break Clause (2019).- Additional Crew
- Actress
- Producer
Cerris Morgan-Moyer was born in Truro, Cornwall, England, UK. She is an actress and producer, known for Our Flag Means Death (2022), FBI: International (2021) and Carnival Row (2019).- Jenna Harrison is a British actress, she was born in Gorleston, Norfolk, England and lived in the Netherlands and Germany before settling in the UK. Jenna's career on screen came about while at sixth form college. Actor Adrian Rawlins suggested she audition for the feature film My Brother Tom co- starring Ben Whishaw. Jenna won the role. Roles in television and film followed including The Cambridge Spies for the BBC, independent feature Telling Lies with Jason Flemyng, and submarine drama Submerged starring Sam Neil. Other television works include: Endeavour (ITV), Jonothan Creek Christmas Special (BBC), and The Impressions Show (BBC). She has played leading roles in adaptations of Stranded and Confessions of an Ugly Stepsister for Hallmark and 12 Days of Terror for CBS. Theatre roles include playing Charlotte Goodall in Night of the Iguana at the West End's Lyric Theatre with Woody Harrelson. Most recently Jenna has starred in thriller Chimera opposite Kathleen Quinlan and Henry Ian Cusick to be released in 2018.
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Simon studied at Arts Educational Schools, Chiswick, London after winning a prestigious scholarship to attend. Simon has worked on various television productions including Casualty, Doctors and The Bill whilst continuing to focus on his passion with Stage work at venues including Southwark Play House and Archola Theatre. More recently, Simon has worked on feature films including I, Anna with Charlotte Rampling & Gabriel Byrne as well as playing DCI Short in Film Noir Dragonfly, directed by Andrew Tiernan. Simon was the voiceover for 20th Century Fox in-cinema spots for animated franchises Iceage, Rio and How to Train Your Dragon II, as well voiceover for Reggie Kray in a feature film about Frank Mitchell AKA The Mad Axeman. Radio Plays are also a passion and Simon has recorded Alfie, which was aired on Radio 4 with Nick Moran. Simon is continuing his TV work and returned to Casualty earlier this year.- Actor
- Casting Department
- Producer
Danny Midwinter was born in Neasden, London, England. His passion for acting was discovered around 1993 when he worked for a house removal company. As fate would have it, the house he was assigned to move belonged to an acting agent who recognized Midwinter's talent. With the agent's help, Danny landed his first acting role on an episode of the British comedy Drop the Dead Donkey (1990). Throughout the '90s, Midwinter found steady work as a regular in various British dramas and comedies before appearing in films during the latter 90s. His first film role was in the British release Fast Food (1998) followed by Human Traffic (1999) the same year. In 2000, he was the star-studded crime film From Hell (2001) starring Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Ian Holm and Robbie Coltrane. Throughout the 2000s, Midwinter found work on various television series and made-for-television film features including Dinotopia (2002), Rome (2005), Blackbeard (2006) and Anacondas: Trail of Blood (2009). He also had the honor of appearing in the sci-fi horror actioner Against the Dark (2009) starring Steven Seagal. Continuing on in television, Midwinter appeared on series such as the historical drama The Borgias (2011) and EastEnders (1985). Midwinter's versatility and intense performances have deemed him as the next Ray Winstone, a praise that audiences can expect him to live up to as his career continues on.- Actress
- Producer
- Casting Director
Lucinda Rhodes Thakrar is known for Confession (2022), Code of Silence (2021) and A Bit of Light (2022).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Sabrina is a British actress from South Wales, best known for her leading dual role in My Lonely Me, directed by multi award winning Director Joe Scott. Sabrina previously trained at the University of South Wales, and over the years has worked alongside an array of talented actors including: John Altman (EastEnders) and Reece Shearsmith (League of Gentlemen).- Actress
- Casting Director
- Actress
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Jessica Yu Li Henwick is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Nymeria Sand in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011), X-wing pilot Jessika Pava in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and Colleen Wing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making her debut in the Netflix television series Iron Fist. Her film debut was St Trinian's 2: The Legend of Fritton's Gold (2009). She was the first actress of East Asian descent to play the lead role in a British television series, the children's show Spirit Warriors.
Henwick was born and raised in Surrey, the daughter of Pearlyn Goh Kun Shan and Mark Henwick, author of the Bite Back series of novels. Her father, who was born in Zambia, is English, and her mother is Singaporean Chinese. She trained at Redroofs Theatre School and the National Youth Theatre. In June 2009, it was announced that Henwick had been cast in the lead role of Bo for the BBC show Spirit Warriors, making her the first actress of East Asian descent to play the lead role in a British television series. For the role, Henwick trained in wushu with martial arts choreographer Jude Poyer. The show was nominated for several awards, including the Broadcast Awards 2011. In early 2013, Henwick made her professional theatre debut in the international premiere of Running on the Cracks, based on the book by Julia Donaldson. Allan Radcliffe of The Times praised her "excellent" and "understated" performance, while the Guardian wrote, "with tremendous physical presence, Henwick captures the sense of adolescent righteousness, passion and confusion of a girl trying to create order in an unfair universe." Theatre critic Joyce McMillan wrote that Henwick was "outstanding as Leo".
Later that year she was cast as Jane Jeong Trenka in the drama Obsession: Dark Desires, which aired January 2014. The adaptation details Trenka's stalking in Minnesota, 1991, which she details in her book The Language of Blood. Henwick also joined the cast of Silk as new barrister pupil Amy. The series brought in an average of 5 million viewers per episode. She reprised her role for the spin-off radio series Silk: The Clerks' Room and later that year went on to play a young Oxford University student in Inspector Lewis. In 2015 Henwick joined the cast of the HBO series Game of Thrones in Season 5 as Nymeria Sand, with Oscar-nominee Keisha Castle-Hughes and Rosabell Laurenti Sellers playing her sisters. The process included six months of training to use a traditional bullwhip. She continued performing the role until Season 7.
Henwick played the X-wing pilot Jess Pava in Star Wars: The Force Awakens. The character's full name is established as Jessika "Testor" Pava in the spin-off novel The Weapon of a Jedi: A Luke Skywalker Adventure, which establishes her as an admirer of Luke Skywalker. Despite her limited screen time, the character of Pava has become a fan favorite. Since the release of the film, Pava has appeared as a supporting character in the comic book series Star Wars: Poe Dameron. In 2017, Henwick appeared in the second season of drama series Fortitude, as well as Colleen Wing in the Netflix television series Iron Fist. Although critical reception of Iron Fist was generally negative, Henwick's performance in the series was well received. She reprises the role for the series The Defenders. At the end of 2017, Henwick was listed as one of Variety's Top Breakout Stars of 2017. In 2020, she co-starred in the Fox feature film Underwater.- Actor
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Dunfermline-born character actor Kenneth Cranham has specialised in playing abrasive characters, reprobates and rough diamonds on stage, on radio, in films and in one-off dramas or guest roles on TV. The son of Ronald Cranham, an English civil servant and former army staff sergeant and his Scottish wife Margaret McKay Cranham (née Ferguson), he spent the first four years of his life in Scotland. The family then moved to London where Kenneth attended Tulse Hill Comprehensive School. At the age of nineteen, while working at a bookshop, he was discovered by the playwright Joe Orton who cast him in his radio play 'The Ruffian on the Stair'. This marked the beginning of his career.
Cranham trained for acting at the National Youth Theatre of Great Britain and then studied at RADA, graduating in 1966. His association with Orton continued that year with a role in 'Loot' at the Royal Court (and, subsequently, at the Criterion Theatre). The actor later remarked that this role set him up "for all the hoodies in Softly, Softly, Z Cars and New Scotland Yard." With his craggy features and gruff voice, it is hardly surprising that Cranham has often been cast in tough or villainous roles. On screen from 1964, he first came to notice as Noah Claypole, one of Fagin's gang of pickpockets, in Oliver! (1968). His first starring turn was in the comedy series Shine on Harvey Moon (1982) as the titular character, a demobbed RAF corporal. Other notable roles across diverse genres have included the callous Gratiano in The Merchant of Venice (1980), Lenin in Reilly: Ace of Spies (1983), a wealthy, despotic landowner in Heart of the High Country (1985) (set in 1880s New Zealand), the comically over-zealous Pastor Finch in Oranges Are Not the Only Fruit (1989), British gangster Gus Mercer in El C.I.D. (1990), cunning magician Aulfric in Merlin (2008), a scurrilous newspaper editor who gets his comeuppance in Hustle (2004) and Caesar's rival Pompey in Rome (2005). A more recent TV guest spot saw Cranham as an ailing patient in India, attempting to rediscover a lost love in season three of The Good Karma Hospital (2017). He has also essayed real life barristers Michael Mansfield Q.C. (The Murder of Stephen Lawrence (1999)) and George Carmen Q.C. (Justice in Wonderland (2000)).
For the big screen, Cranham has been notable as the maniacal Dr. Channard in Hellbound: Hellraiser II (1988), double-dealing mob boss Jimmy Price in Layer Cake (2004), another elder statesman of the London underworld in Gangster No. 1 (2000), farmer James Reaper in the buddy-cop comedy Hot Fuzz (2007) and as the tyrannical King Henry, a main antagonist in Disney's Maleficent (2014).
The actor has been equally prolific on stage where he has headlined as the amoral title character in Orton's play Entertaining Mr. Sloane. He was much acclaimed for his role as Inspector Goole in An Inspector Calls at the National Theatre (an Olivier Award-nominated performance, which transferred to Broadway in 1994-95). He played the avuncular detective Rough in Gaslight at the Old Vic in 2007 and finally won the coveted Olivier Award in 2016 for his performance as an elderly man with dementia in Florian Zeller's play The Father. For services to drama, Cranham received a CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire) in 2023.- Actor
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Perry Benson was born on 9 April 1961 in St Pancras, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Sid and Nancy (1986), This Is England (2006) and You Rang, M'Lord? (1988).- Actor
- Make-Up Department
- Soundtrack
Lee Whitlock was born on 17 April 1968 in Hammersmith, London, England, UK. He was an actor, known for Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007), Cassandra's Dream (2007) and Jack the Giant Slayer (2013). He died on 17 February 2023.- Actress
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Elizabeth Spriggs was born on 18 September 1929 in Buxton, Derbyshire, England, UK. She was an actress and writer, known for Sense and Sensibility (1995), Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) and Paradise Road (1997). She was married to Murray Manson, Marshall Jones and Kenneth Spriggs. She died on 2 July 2008 in Oxford, Oxfordshire, England, UK.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Linda Robson was born on 13 March 1958 in Islington, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for The Likely Lads (1976), Within These Walls (1974) and Anuvahood (2011). She has been married to Mark Dunford since 16 September 1990. They have two children.- Andreea Paduraru is a European film, TV and theatre actress based in London. Known for Bunraku (2010), National Theatre Live: Frankenstein (2011), Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them (2016), Dark Heart (2018) and This is Going to Hurt (2021). She also has extensive experience in physical theatre and movement from dance to martial arts.