Over at the BBC America blog, Anglophenia, there’s been an “Anglo Fan Favorite Tournament.” It started with 32 guys, and now it’s down to four (Alan Rickman, David Tennant, Benedict Cumberbatch and Colin Firth). The problem with the list is that there are so many of my favorites missing. They also mixed up Brits with Irish actors, even including Michael Fassbender, who was born in Germany.
I decided to make a list of my favorite British actors, categorized by where they were born. I had to cheat a bit, though. Even though Andrew Garfield was born in Los Angeles, I’ve included him with the English. I stuck to the ones still living and mostly still working. I considered putting them in some sort of order, but in the end, I just alphabetized by first name. (It’s interesting how many Ruperts and Stephens there are.) Next to the name of the actor is the movie or show that first brought them to my attention. This isn’t always the first thing I saw the actor in, just the first time I thought, “Hey, I really like this guy.” I plan to do a separate list of Irish actors later, as well as Aussies, Canadians, and even a list of actresses. This list is long enough!
There are a lot of actors who almost made my list, but I just can’t bring myself to add their names. For example, I love Orlando Bloom as Legolas, but he hasn’t sustained my interest in other roles. Hugh Grant has entertained me for years, but…I don’t know. I guess I’m still cringing over his quote in the July 22nd Entertainment Weekly, about his involvement in News of the World phone hacking: “…it was difficult to get the whole country outraged. But now they are incandescent.”
Also left off my list are young up-and-comers who I know I will like, but I just haven’t seen enough of their work yet. These includes Eddie Redmayne, Dominic Cooper, Charlie Cox, and Henry Cavill. I’m sure they’ll be on future lists.
I’ll think of dozens to add later, but here it goes:
The Ugly Bug Ball 