My favourite English Actors and Actresses

Emma Thompson

I have just watched Sense and Sensibility with Emma Thompson's great audio commentary together with the producer Lindsay Doran and have been utterly enchanted once more! The commentary is witty and profoundly honest.
Emma is an outstanding actress that has reached international stardom, but yet never behaves like a movie star. She also is a highly capable writer, having received an oscar and a golden globe for her S & S screenplay. She also published her diary of the creation of S & S which is profoundly frank and moving.

My favourites of her movies: Sense and Sensibility (she did the big crying scene at the end 11 times in a row), Peter's Friends (playing a hilarious eccentric), Wit (playing an English professor faced with terminal cancer), Love Actually (the Joni Mitchell scene is THE best acting in the entire movie), Remains of the day
I have yet to see Howards End, which earned her her first oscar.

Alan Rickman

Talking about Emma, Alan immediately comes to ones mind (no, not Kennegh!). It is probably harder to find a movie they did NOT both star in than the other way round. They make a superb couple in Love Actually! He also directed Emma in the film The WInter Guest. And of course he makes a great Coronel Brandon in S & S. And can we imagine anyone else playing Snape? Oh, and don't get me started on the voice :)...

Hugh Laurie and Stephen Fry



They both did a lot of comedy work while at Cambridge, together with Emma Thompson, and later starred in the comedy series A bit of Fry an Laurie together. Hugh Laurie is an actor that knows and to outstanding by being subtle. He know is very successful as the main character in the tv series House, MD.
As for Fry, I think he is genius! I loved him in Peter's Friends. And the Harry Potter audio books are beyond brilliant.

Imelda Staunton


A very fine English actress. She hardly gets the leading roles, apart from Vera Drake, but always delivers quality. Yet again, she is deeply moving in Peter's Friends, plays the villain in Harry Potter and Freedom writers, and plays Hugh Laurie's wife twice, in Peter's Friends as well as Sense and Sensibility. That's probably also due to how great their difference in height looks...

Philip Glenister

Away from period drama (although he does that in Cranford) to police drama. The Gene Genie! Glenister plays Gene Hunt, a rough, but at times heroic DCI, in the series Life on Mars as well as the sequel Ashes to Ashes. His original but very rude quotes are unique. He achieves to behave apallingly badly, but yet to be very likable to his audience.

This list could be continued forever with Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet, Jude Law,...