English male Shakespearean actors

William Shakespeare was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon" or simply "the Bard". His extant works, including collaborations, consist of some 39 plays, 154 sonnets, three long narrative poems and a few other verses, some of uncertain authorship. His plays have been translated into every major living language and are performed more often than those of any other playwright. Shakespeare remains arguably the most influential writer in the English language, and his works continue to be studied and reinterpreted.

British-Irish actor (1932–2013)

English actor and director (1907–1989)

Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman was an English actor. A graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, he was renowned for his stage and screen roles and for his deep and distinctive voice. He received various accolades, including a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for two Tony Awards and a Laurence Olivier Award.

British actor (born 1939)

David Jude Heyworth Law is an English actor. He began his career in British theatre before landing small roles in various television productions and feature films. Law gained international recognition for his role in Anthony Minghella's The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999), for which he won the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and was nominated for the Academy Award in the same category.

British actor (born 1948)

English actor (born 1976)

Sir Ben Kingsley is a British-Indian actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning seven decades, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Grammy Award, and two Golden Globe Awards as well as nominations for four Primetime Emmy Awards and two Laurence Olivier Awards. Kingsley was appointed Knight Bachelor in 2002 for services to the British film industry. He was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2010 and received the Britannia Award in 2014.

British actor (1914–2000)

Thomas William Hiddleston is a British actor. He gained international fame portraying Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), beginning with Thor in 2011 and including the Disney+ series Loki (2021–2023).

English actor (born 1964)

British actor (born 1940)

Ralph Nathaniel Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is an English actor and director. Recognised for his work on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades, including a BAFTA Award and a Tony Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, seven Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.

English actor

British actor (1923–2014)

British actor

British actor (1940–2023)

British-American actor (1899–1962)

British actor (1936–2019)

British actor (1940–2017)

Timothy James Curry is an English actor and singer. He is famous for playing many villainous roles and rose to prominence as Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the musical film The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London, 1974 Los Angeles, and 1975 Broadway musical stage productions of The Rocky Horror Show.

British actor (born 1977)

British actor and theatre director (1904-2000)

British actor

British actor (1931–2020)

British actor

British actor

British actor

British actor (1922–2008)

British actor

English actor

British actor (born 1949)

British actor and producer (born 1980)

English actor (1905–1958)

English actor (1787–1833)

British actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer (1717–1779)

English character actor (1946–2011)

English actor (born 1938)

English actor (1892–1967)

Joseph Alberic Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes, known as Joseph Fiennes, is an English actor. His numerous accolades include one Screen Actors Guild Award as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Laurence Olivier Award.

British actor (1902–1983)

British actor

British actor (1893–1943)

British actor and writer (1927–1978)

English actor (1908-1985)

British actor

British actor

Rufus Frederik Sewell is a British actor.

British actor

English actor, playwright and theatre director

English actor (born 1964)

English dramatist (1578-1634)

British actor

British actor

English actor

British-Swazi actor

English actor (1908–1975)

English actor (1934–2003)

David Matthew Macfadyen is an English actor. Known for his performances on stage and screen, he gained prominence for his role as Mr. Darcy in Joe Wright's Pride & Prejudice (2005). He gained wider recognition for playing Tom Wambsgans in the HBO drama series Succession (2018–2023), for which he received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA TV Awards, and a Golden Globe Award.