Austen alumni
by Basilesque | created - 15 Apr 2011 | updated - 12 Oct 2013 | PublicActors of note who have appeared in Austen-related films and TV series. If you feel I've made any important omissions, please leave a comment! I have not included actors from modern retellings of Austen's novels (e.g. Clueless, Bridget Jones). One must draw the line somewhere!
To avoid confusion, I will refer to the Kate Beckinsale version of Emma as "Emma 1996 (ITV)" and the Gwyneth Paltrow version as "Emma 1996 (Miramax)".
1. 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 ...
Elizabeth Bennet, Lost in Austen.
2. Robert Bathurst
Actor | Cold Feet
Born West Africa. Lived in Ireland aged 3-9. Convent school. Lied in First Confession aged 6. Sent to satisfactorily brutal boarding school in County Meath. Aged 9 moved to England. Monastery school till 18. Still dodgy in Confession. Aged 13 decided he wanted to be an actor. Didn't own up to this ...
Mr. Weston, Emma 2009.
3. David Bamber
Actor | Valkyrie
David Bamber was born on September 19, 1954 in Manchester, Lancashire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Valkyrie (2008), Miss Potter (2006) and The Bourne Identity (2002). He has been married to Julia Swift since July 1982. They have two children.
Mr. Collins, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
4. Roger Barclay
Actor | Johnny English Reborn
Roger Barclay initially trained for the Army at Sandhurst Military Academy before winning an acting scholarship to the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London and it was whilst he was a student there that he gained his first acting role in the 1995 television adaptation of 'Pride and ...
Captain Carter, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
5. Simon Russell Beale
Actor | The Death of Stalin
Simon Russell Beale is one of the most popular and critically acclaimed talents in British theatre.
He spent his early years abroad as his father was Surgeon General to the British Army (his mother is also a doctor), but aged 8 was relocated to England and became a pupil at St Paul's Cathedral ...
Charles Musgrove, Persuasion 1995.
6. 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 ...
Charlotte Lucas, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
7. Brenda Blethyn
Actress | Pride & Prejudice
After forty years of hard work on stage and both television and film, there are not many other actresses who deserved the success, recognition and stardom which Brenda Blethyn has now achieved.
Born in 1946 in Ramsgate, Kent, England, she started her career at British Rail in the 1960s. Saving money...
Mrs. Bennet, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
8. Samantha Bond
Actress | GoldenEye
Samantha's early theatre work includes repertory seasons at Coventry, Edinburgh, Derby, and Bristol and 'Never in My Life 'at the Soho Poly in London. After appearing in Kenneth Branagh's production of 'Romeo and Juliet' she went on to West End productions of 'Les Liaisons Dangereuses', 'Man of the...
Maria Bertram, Mansfield Park 1983; Mrs. Weston, Emma 1996 (ITV).
9. 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 ...
Mr. Bingley, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
10. 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 ...
Mr. Rushworth, Mansfield Park 1999; Mr. Bennet, Lost in Austen; Rev. Brook Bridges, Miss Austen Regrets.
11. David Buck
Actor | The Lord of the Rings
David Buck (17 October 1936 - 27 January 1989) was an English actor.
He starred in many television productions from 1959 until 1989. One of his earlier roles was that of Horatio Hornblower in an episode entitled "Hornblower" (1963), in the Alcoa Premiere TV series. He played Winston Smith in Theatre...
Mr. Price, Mansfield Park 1983.
12. 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.
Colonel Fitzwilliam, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
13. John Carson
Actor | Doomsday
John Carson was a hugely prolific actor who appeared constantly on UK screens throughout the mid-50s until the mid-80s. He has appeared alongside many of the UK's stars and became hugely popular as a villain or hero. The secret of John's success was his versatility and his wonderful silky voice. He...
Mr. Knightley, Emma 1972.
14. Anna Chancellor
Actress | The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy
A familiar face on television and film, Anna Chancellor is perhaps best known for her unforgettable role as Henrietta (Duckface) in the hit British film "Four Weddings and a Funeral." Her TV credits include Lix Storm in the Emmy award-winning miniseries "The Hour;" "Fleming: The Man Who Would Be ...
Miss Bingley, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
15. Morven Christie
Actress | The Bay
Morven Christie was born and raised in Glasgow, Scotland. She trained as an actor at Drama Centre London under Reuven Adiv, a colleague of Lee Strasberg.
Morven Christie took the lead role of DS Lisa Armstrong in ITV's hit 2019 series The Bay, with Morven's performance as the focus of the critical ...
Jane Bennet, Lost in Austen.
16. 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).
Caroline Bingley, Lost in Austen; Mrs. Elton, Emma 2009.
17. Toni Collette
Actress | The Sixth Sense
Toni Collette is an Academy Award-nominated Australian actress, best known for her roles in The Sixth Sense (1999) and Little Miss Sunshine (2006).
Collette was born Toni Collett (she later added an "e") on November 1, 1972, in Blacktown, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. She is the first of three...
Harriet Smith, Emma 1996 (Miramax).
18. Dominic Cooper
Actor | The Devil's Double
Dominic Edward Cooper was born and raised in Greenwich, London, England. His mother, Julie (Heron), is a nursery school teacher and a keen theater-goer. His father, Brian Cooper, is an auctioneer. They divorced when Dominic was age 5. His maternal great-grandfather was film enthusiast E.T. Heron, ...
John Willoughby, Sense & Sensibility 2008.
19. Elliot Cowan
Actor | Alexander
Elliot Cowan was born on July 9, 1976 in Lambeth, London, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Alexander (2004), Lost in Austen (2008) and The Golden Compass (2007).
Mr. Darcy, Lost in Austen.
20. 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 ...
Mrs. Musgrove, Persuasion 1995.
21. James Cosmo
Actor | Braveheart
James Cosmo was born on May 24, 1948 in Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, Scotland, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Braveheart (1995), Highlander (1986) and Troy (2004). He has been married to Annie Harris since May 24, 2000.
Mr. Weston, Emma 1996 (Miramax).
22. Alan Cumming
Actor | The Anniversary Party
Alan Cumming was born on January 27, 1965, in Aberfeldy, Scotland, to Mary (Darling), an insurance company secretary, and Alex Cumming. His family lived nearby in Dunkeld, where his father was a forester for Atholl Estate. The family (including his brother, Tom) moved to Fassfern near Fort William,...
Mr. Elton, Emma 1996 (Miramax).
23. Liam Cunningham
Actor | Hunger
Irish actor Liam Cunningham was an electrician in the mid 80's. He saw an ad for an acting school and he decided to give acting a try. His first film role was as a policeman in "Into the West." Since then, he has been involved in many films and theater productions on both sides of the Atlantic.
General Tilney, Northanger Abbey 2007.
24. 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.
Elinor Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility 1971; Mrs. Gardiner, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
25. Embeth Davidtz
Actress | Bicentennial Man
Embeth Davidtz was born on August 11, 1965 in Lafayette, Indiana. She is known for her role as Miss Honey in the film Matilda (1996).
Her parents, Jean and John Davidtz, were South Africans, with Dutch, English, and French ancestry. The family moved to Trenton, New Jersey, before returning to her ...
Mary Crawford, Mansfield Park 1999.
26. Lucy Davis
Actress | Wonder Woman
Lucy Clare Davis is an English actress best known for playing Dawn Tinsley in the BBC comedy The Office (2001-2003). She is also known for her roles as Hilda Spellman in the Netflix series The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018-2020), Dianne in the horror-comedy Shaun of the Dead (2004), and Etta...
Maria Lucas, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
27. Lindsay Duncan
Actress | Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
Lindsay Duncan was born on November 7, 1950 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. She is an actress, known for Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), About Time (2013) and Under the Tuscan Sun (2003). She is married to Hilton McRae. They have one child.
Lady Bertram, Mansfield Park 1999; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Lost in Austen.
28. Michelle Duncan
Actress | Atonement
Michelle Duncan (born 14 April 1978) is a Scottish-Canadian actress. Duncan trained in acting at Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh before studying English and Classics at The University of St Andrews.
Her television roles include: Baptiste, Hanna, Grantchester, Sugar Rush, Doctor Who, Low Winter ...
Charlotte Lucas, Lost in Austen.
29. Louise Dylan
Actress | Emma
Louise Dylan is known for Emma (2009), Vampire Killers (2009) and Trust Fund (2016).
Harriet Smith, Emma 2009.
30. Jennifer Ehle
Actress | Zero Dark Thirty
Jennifer Anne Ehle is an American actress, the daughter of English actress Rosemary Harris and American author John Ehle. She won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress for her role as Elizabeth Bennet in the 1995 BBC miniseries Pride and Prejudice. For her work on Broadway, she won the 2000 Tony ...
Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
31. Rupert Evans
Self | 'Hellboy': The Seeds of Creation
Having graduated from Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, Rupert Evans started his career working mainly in television. Notably in British costume dramas such as 'Sons & Lovers' starring Sarah Lancashire and Hugo Speer, North and South, 'Crime and Punishment' and 'Fingersmith' with Imelda ...
Frank Churchill, Emma 2009.
32. Nicholas Farrell
Actor | Chariots of Fire
Nicholas Farrell was born on January 1, 1955 in Brentwood, Essex, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Chariots of Fire (1981), The Iron Lady (2011) and Hamlet (1996). He has been married to Stella Gonet since 2005. They have two children.
Edmund Bertram, Mansfield Park 1983; Mr. Musgrove, Persuasion 2007.
33. 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...
Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
34. James Fleet
Actor | Four Weddings and a Funeral
James Fleet was born on March 11, 1952 in Bilston, Staffordshire, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), The Phantom of the Opera (2004) and Sense and Sensibility (1995). He has been married to Jane Booker since 1984. They have one child.
John Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility 1995.
35. Susan Fleetwood
Actress | Clash of the Titans
Susan Fleetwood was born on September 21, 1944 in St. Andrews, Scotland, UK. She was an actress, known for Clash of the Titans (1981), Young Sherlock Holmes (1985) and The Sacrifice (1986). She died on September 29, 1995 in Salisbury, England, UK.
Lady Russell, Persuasion 1995.
36. 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 ...
Georgiana Darcy, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
37. Dan Fredenburgh
Actor | The Bourne Ultimatum
Dan Fredenburgh was born in Lambeth, London, England, UK. Dan is an actor and writer, known for The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), Love Actually (2003) and Spies of Warsaw (2013).
John Knightley, Emma 2009.
38. 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...
Mr. Woodhouse, Emma 2009.
39. 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 ...
Emma Woodhouse, Emma 2009.
40. Greer Garson
Actress | Pride and Prejudice
Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson was born on September 29, 1904 in London, England, to Nancy Sophia (Greer) and George Garson, a commercial clerk. Of Scottish and Ulster-Scots descent, Garson displayed no early interest in becoming an actress. Educated at the University of London intending to become a ...
Elizabeth Bennet, Pride and Prejudice 1940.
41. Mark Gatiss
Actor | The League of Gentlemen
Mark Gatiss is an accomplished author, actor and playwright. Originally from Sedgefield, County Durham, he graduated from Bretton Hall Drama College with a BA (honors) in Theatre Arts.
He was one-quarter of the award-winning comedy team The League of Gentlemen (1999), and became heavily involved in ...
John Dashwood, Sense & Sensibility 2008.
42. Robert Glenister
Actor | The Aeronauts
Robert Glenister (born 11 March 1960) is a popular British actor probably best known, among other roles, as con-man Ash "Three Socks" Morgan in the hit British TV series Hustle (2004) and his appearances in MI-5 (2002). His impressive career has spanned nearly three decades, and he has starred in ...
Captain Harville, Persuasion 1995.
43. Hugh Grant
Actor | Love Actually
Hugh Grant, one of Britain's best known faces, has been equally entertaining on-screen as well as in real life, and has had enough sense of humor to survive a media frenzy. He is known for his roles in Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994), with Andie MacDowell, Notting Hill (1999), opposite Julia ...
Edward Ferrars, Sense and Sensibility 1995.
44. Tamsin Greig
Actress | Green Wing
Tamsin Margaret Mary Greig is an English actress, narrator, and comedian. She played Fran Katzenjammer in the Channel 4 sitcom Black Books, Dr. Caroline Todd in the Channel 4 sitcom Green Wing, Beverly Lincoln in British-American sitcom Episodes, and Jackie Goodman in the Channel 4 sitcom Friday ...
Miss Bates, Emma 2009.
45. Victoria Hamilton
Actress | Scoop
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 ...
Henrietta Musgrove, Persuasion 1995; Mrs. Forster, Pride and Prejudice 1995; Maria Bertram, Mansfield Park 1999.
46. Robert Hardy
Actor | Sense and Sensibility
One of England's most successful and enduring character actors, with a prolific screen career on television and in films, Robert Hardy was acclaimed for his versatility and the depth of his performances.
Born in Cheltenham in 1925, he studied at Oxford University and, in 1949, he joined the ...
General Tilney, Northanger Abbey 1987; Sir John Middleton, Sense and Sensibility 1995.
47. Sally Hawkins
Actress | The Shape of Water
Sally Cecilia Hawkins was born in 1976 in Lewisham hospital, London, England, to Jacqui and Colin Hawkins, authors and illustrators of children's books. She is of English and Irish descent. Hawkins was brought up in Greenwich, in southeast London. She attended James Allen's Girls' School in Dulwich...
Anne Elliot, Persuasion 2007.
48. Amanda Hale
Actress | Star Wars: Episode IX - The Rise of Skywalker
Amanda Hale was born in 1982 in Wales, UK. She is an actress, known for Star Wars: The Rise Of Skywalker (2019), Bright Star (2009) and Ripper Street (2012).
Mary Musgrove, Persuasion 2007.
49. Anthony Head
Actor | Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Anthony Stewart Head was born on February 20, 1954 in Camden Town, north London, England. He grew up in Hampton, near Richmond upon Thames in London. He's the youngest son of Seafield Head (a documentary filmmaker) and Helen Shingler (an actress). He is the younger brother of musician/actor Murray ...
Sir Walter Elliot, Persuasion 2007.
50. Bernard Hepton
Actor | Get Carter
Tall, dignified-looking Bernard Hepton enjoyed a six-decade-long career on both stage and screen during which he particularly excelled at subtle, self-effacing, or introspective roles. An electrician's son, Hepton grew up in the West Yorkshire city of Bradford. Due to poor eyesight, he missed out ...
Sir Thomas Bertram, Mansfield Park 1983; Mr. Woodhouse, Emma 1996 (ITV).
51. 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 ...
Captain Frederick Wentworth, Persuasion 1995.
52. Florence Hoath
Actress | FairyTale: A True Story
Florence attends the Ibstock Place School in Roehampton which is well known for encouraging children's individual talents, particularly in the arts. Her parents are both in the business, her mother Tina is an actress while her father Ian is a director. She has two sisters, Amy, is an actress and ...
Kitty Bennet, Lost in Austen.
53. Gemma Jones
Actress | Sense and Sensibility
Gemma Jones was born on December 4, 1942 in Marylebone, London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Sense and Sensibility (1995), Bridget Jones's Baby (2016) and You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010).
Mrs. Dashwood, Sense and Sensibility 1995.
54. Felicity Jones
Actress | Rogue One
Felicity Rose Hadley Jones is an English actress and producer. Jones started her professional acting career as a child, appearing at age 12 in The Treasure Seekers (1996). She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series in the television show The Worst Witch and its sequel Weirdsister College. ...
Catherine Morland, Northanger Abbey 2007.
55. Ruth Jones
Actress | Stella
Born in Bridgend, South Wales. Attended Porthcawl Comprehensive School. Trained at Warwick University (BA in Drama and Theatre Studies) then actor training at Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama. Television includes Fat Friends (2000) series I, II,III,IV, Tales from Pleasure Beach (2001) for ...
Bates' Maid, Emma 1996 (Miramax).
56. Gorden Kaye
Actor | 'Allo 'Allo!
Gorden Kaye was born on April 7, 1941 in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, England, UK. He was an actor, known for 'Allo 'Allo! (1982), Brazil (1985) and Born and Bred (1978). He died on January 23, 2017 in Knaresborough, Yorkshire, England, UK.
Dr. Grant, Mansfield Park 1983.
57. Alex Kingston
Actress | ER
Alex Kingston was born on March 11, 1963 in London, England, UK. She is an actress, known for ER (1994), Doctor Who (2005) and Alpha Dog (2006). She has been married to Jonathan Stamp since July 18, 2015. She was previously married to Florian Haertel and Ralph Fiennes.
Mrs. Bennet, Lost in Austen.
58. 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 ...
Elizabeth Bennet, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
59. Alice Krige
Actress | Star Trek: First Contact
Alice Maud Krige was born on June 28, 1954 in Upington, South Africa where her father, Dr. Louis Krige, worked as a young physician. The Kriges later moved to Port Elizabeth where Alice grew up in what she describes as a "very happy family", a family that also included two brothers (both of whom ...
Lady Russell, Persuasion 2007.
60. Phyllida Law
Actress | The Time Machine
Phyllida Law was born on May 8, 1932 in Glasgow, Scotland, UK. She is an actress and writer, known for The Time Machine (2002), Much Ado About Nothing (1993) and The Winter Guest (1997). She was previously married to Eric Thompson.
Mrs. Bates, Emma 1996 (Miramax); Mrs. Austen, Miss Austen Regrets.
61. Sylvestra Le Touzel
Actress | Happy-Go-Lucky
Le Touzel was born in London to a prominent family from Jersey, Channel Islands. She showed an interest in acting at an early age, enrolling at a Stage School. Subsequent television roles followed, including as Fanny Price in a 1983 adaptation of Mansfield Park (1983), though, in cult television ...
Fanny Price, Mansfield Park 1983; Mrs. Allen, Northanger Abbey 2007.
62. Barbara Leigh-Hunt
Actress | Frenzy
Barbara Leigh-Hunt trained for the theatre at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, then joined the Old Vic Company in London. After working in provincial repertory theatres she returned to the Bristol Old Vic to play Rosemary in 'A Severed Head', and transferred with the play to the West End. She ...
Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
63. Adrian Lukis
Actor | Judy
Adrian Lukis was born in 1958 in Birmingham, England, UK. He is an actor and writer, known for Judy (2019), Pride and Prejudice (1995) and Back Home (2001). He has been married to Michele L Costa since November 1985. They have one child.
Mr. Wickham, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
64. Polly Maberly
Actress | Pride and Prejudice
Polly Maberly was born in 1976 in Reigate, Surrey, England, UK. She is an actress, known for Pride and Prejudice (1995), Foyle's War (2002) and Muscle (2019).
Kitty Bennet, Pride and Prejudice 1995.
65. 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 ...
Mr. Darcy, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
66. Anna Madeley
Actress | In Bruges
Anna Madeley is an English actress. She has been described by the British Theatre Guide's Philip Fisher as one of the United Kingdom's "brightest and most versatile young actresses". She grew up in London and started her career as a child actress. She performed for three seasons with the Royal ...
Lucy Steele, Sense & Sensibility 2008.
67. Jena Malone
Actress | The Neon Demon
Jena Malone was born in Reno, Nevada, raised in Sparks, Nevada; two cities that have merged together over time, to Deborah Malone and Edward Berge. Her grandfather owned a casino, Karl's Silver Club, in Reno. She was raised by her mother and her mother's partner. Beginning as a child actress, and ...
Lydia Bennet, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
68. 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.
Mrs. Norris, Mansfield Park 1983.
69. 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.
Mrs. Weston, Emma 2009.
70. Joseph Mawle
Actor | Game of Thrones
Joseph Daniel Turner Mawle (born 21 March 1974) is an English actor. Mawle is best known for his roles as Benjen Stark in Game of Thrones, Detective Inspector Jedediah Shine in Ripper Street, Firebrace in Birdsong, Jesus Christ in The Passion and Odysseus in Troy: Fall of a City.
Mawle was born in ...
Captain Harville, Persuasion 2007.
71. Gugu Mbatha-Raw
Actress | Belle
Gugu Mbatha-Raw was born Gugulethu Sophia Mbatha in the John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, England. Her father, Patrick Mbatha, is a Black South African doctor, and her mother, Anne Raw, is a Caucasian English nurse. Her parents separated when she was a year old, and she was brought up by her mother ...
Pirhana, Lost in Austen.
72. Ewan McGregor
Actor | Moulin Rouge!
Ewan Gordon McGregor was born on March 31, 1971 in Perth, Perthshire, Scotland, to Carol Diane (Lawson) and James Charles McGregor, both teachers. His uncle is actor Denis Lawson. He was raised in Crieff. At age 16, he left Morrison Academy to join the Perth Repertory Theatre. His parents ...
Frank Churchill, Emma 1996 (Miramax).
73. Janet McTeer
Actress | Albert Nobbs
Janet McTeer was born on August 5, 1961 in Newcastle, England, UK to parents Jean and Allan McTeer. She was raised in York from the age of 6. She attended Queen Anne Grammar School for Girls, where there was not much opportunity for drama. She became interested in acting at age 16, when she saw "...
Mrs. Dashwood, Sense & Sensibility 2008.
74. Tobias Menzies
Actor | Casino Royale
Tobias was born in London. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in 1998 and began his acting career in popular UK series such as Foyle's War (2002), Midsomer Murders (1997), and Casualty (1986). He also appeared in the controversial drama A Very Social Secretary (2005). He is ...
Mr. Elliot, Persuasion 2007.
75. Jonny Lee Miller
Actor | Mindhunters
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 ...
Charles Price, Mansfield Park 1983; Edmund Bertram, Mansfield Park 1999; Mr. Knightley, Emma 2009.
76. Tom Mison
Actor | Sleepy Hollow
English actor Tom Mison has established himself in the world of theater through his roles in Andrew Bovell's When the Rain Stops Falling at the Almeida Theatre, and Posh by Laura Wade at the Royal Court Theatre. Mison trained at the Webber-Douglas Academy and is also a writer who has penned for ...
Mr. Bingley, Lost in Austen.
77. Hattie Morahan
Actress | Beauty and the Beast
Hattie Morahan was born in London in 1978. Her father, Christopher Morahan, is a television and stage director, who is perhaps best known for his television adaptation of The Jewel in the Crown (1984). Her mother, Anna Carteret, is an actress whose most high profile role was that of Inspector Kate ...
Elinor Dashwood, Sense & Sensibility 2008.
78. David Morrissey
Actor | The Walking Dead
David Morrissey started acting at Everyman's Youth Theatre in Liverpool, where he was born and raised. He made an auspicious debut in One Summer (1983), a series about two Liverpool runaways. Following a degree at RADA, he worked with the theatre company Cheek By Jowl. He has also worked at theatre...
Colonel Brandon, Sense & Sensibility 2008.
79. 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 ...
Kitty Bennet, Pride & Prejudice 2005; Isabella Thorpe, Northanger Abbey 2007.
80. 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 ...
Susan Price, Mansfield Park 1999.
81. Phoebe Nicholls
Actress | The Elephant Man
She has worked extensively in the theatre since making her debut in Whose Life is it Anyway with Tom Conti. At the National Theatre she performed in Pravda with Anthony Hopkins and played Sheila Birling in Stephen Daldry's revision of An Inspector Calls. At the Royal Court in London she created the...
Elizabeth Elliot, Persuasion 1995.
82. Alessandro Nivola
Actor | The Many Saints of Newark
Alessandro Nivola was born on June 28, 1972 in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. He is an actor and producer, known for The Many Saints of Newark (2021), American Hustle (2013) and Disobedience (2017). He has been married to Emily Mortimer since January 3, 2003. They have two children.
Henry Crawford, Mansfield Park 1999.
83. 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, ...
Mr. Knightley, Emma 1996 (Miramax).
84. Frances O'Connor
Actress | A.I. Artificial Intelligence
Frances Ann O'Connor is a British-Australian actress and director. She is known for her roles in the films Mansfield Park (1999), Bedazzled (2000), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), The Importance of Being Earnest (2002), and Timeline (2003). O'Connor has won an AACTA Award for Best Actress in a...
Fanny Price, Mansfield Park 1999.
85. Laurence Olivier
Actor | Sleuth
Laurence Olivier could speak William Shakespeare's lines as naturally as if he were "actually thinking them", said English playwright Charles Bennett, who met Olivier in 1927. Laurence Kerr Olivier was born in Dorking, Surrey, England, to Agnes Louise (Crookenden) and Gerard Kerr Olivier, a High ...
Mr. Darcy, Pride and Prejudice 1940.
86. Gwyneth Paltrow
Actress | Shakespeare in Love
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow was born in Los Angeles, the daughter of noted producer and director Bruce Paltrow and Tony Award-winning actress Blythe Danner. Her father was from a Jewish family, while her mother is of mostly German descent. When Gwyneth was eleven, the family moved to Massachusetts, where ...
Emma Woodhouse, Emma 1996 (Miramax).
87. Rosamund Pike
Actress | Gone Girl
Born in 1979 in London, England, actress Rosamund Mary Elizabeth Pike is the only child of a classical violinist mother, Caroline (Friend), and an opera singer father, Julian Pike. Due to her parents' work, she spent her early childhood traveling around Europe. Pike attended Badminton School in ...
Jane Bennet, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
88. Harold Pinter
Writer | Sleuth
Harold Pinter, the 2005 Nobel Laureate for Literature, was born October 10, 1930, in London's working-class Hackney district to Hyman and Frances Pinter, Eastern European Jews who had immigrated to the United Kingdom from Portugal. Hyman (known as "Jack") was a tailor specializing in women's ...
Sir Thomas Bertram, Mansfield Park 1999.
89. Billie Piper
Actress | Secret Diary of a Call Girl
Billie Piper studied at the prestigious Sylvia Young Theatre School. She caught the eyes of record producers who were interested in signing a young vocalist when she was the poster girl for the ad campaign of a British pop music magazine, "Smash Hits". She released her first single, "Because We ...
Fanny Price, Mansfield Park 2007.
90. Angela Pleasence
Actress | Your Highness
Angela Pleasence was born in Chapeltown, South Yorkshire. She is the daughter of actor Donald Pleasence and his first wife, Miriam Raymond. The surname for both daughter and father has occasionally been credited as "Pleasance".
She remains best known for her performance as Catherine Howard in the ...
Lady Bertram, Mansfield Park 1983.
91. Anna Popplewell
Actress | The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
Anna Popplewell was born on December 16, 1988 in London, England as Anna Katherine Popplewell. She is an actress, known for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005), The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2008) and Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn (2012). She is also known ...
Betsey, Mansfield Park 1999.
92. James Purefoy
Actor | Rome
James Brian Mark Purefoy was born and brought up in Taunton, Somerset, England, the son of Shirley (Taylor), who ran an employment agency, and Anthony Chetwynd Purefoy. After leaving school at the age of sixteen, he took a succession of different jobs, including working on a pig farm and as a ...
Tom Bertram, Mansfield Park 1999.
93. Laura Pyper
Actress | Reign of Fire
Laura Pyper was born in 1980 in Magherafelt, County Derry, Northern Ireland, UK. She is an actress, known for Reign of Fire (2002), Hex (2004) and Emma (2009).
Jane Fairfax, Emma 2009.
94. Corin Redgrave
Actor | A Man for All Seasons
Corin Redgrave, a towering, award-winning force on the British stage but a lesser universally recognized third-generation scion of the acting dynasty, was the reddish-haired middle brother of his more internationally famous sisters, Vanessa Redgrave and Lynn Redgrave who achieved widespread ...
Sir Walter Elliot, Persuasion 1995.
95. Kelly Reilly
Actress | Pride & Prejudice
Jessica Kelly Siobhán Reilly (born July 18, 1977) is an English actress. Her performance in After Miss Julie at the Donmar Warehouse made her a star of the London stage and earned her a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress of 2003. Reilly was born and brought up in Chessington, ...
Caroline Bingley, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
96. 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). ...
Colonel Brandon, Sense and Sensibility 1995.
97. Talulah Riley
Actress | Westworld
Talulah Riley is an English actress. She has appeared in films such as Pride & Prejudice (2005), St. Trinian's (2007), The Boat That Rocked (2009) and Inception (2010).
She made her stage debut in The Philadelphia Story at the Old Vic in 2005. Her television credits include episodes of Poirot (...
Mary Bennet, Pride & Prejudice 2005.
98. Tom Riley
Actor | The Woman in the House Across the Street from the Girl in the Window
Tom Riley born 5 April 1981 is an English actor, producer and director. Riley was born in Maidstone, Kent. He became involved in drama in his hometown at the age of four, and spent his school years writing and directing plays. He attended Maidstone Grammar School. He studied English literature and ...
Mr. Wickham, Lost in Austen.
99. Blake Ritson
Actor | RocknRolla
Blake Ritson started acting when he was 13, debuting in White Chameleon at the Royal National Theatre, directed by Sir Richard Eyre for which he received rave reviews. He worked with Sir Richard Eyre again two years later on Macbeth, and went on to appear in the original West End run of Tom ...
Edmund Bertram, Mansfield Park 2007; Mr. Elton, Emma 2009.
100. Lucy Robinson
Actress | The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel
Lucy Robinson is known for The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2011), Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) and Revelations (1994). She has been married to Nicholas Murchie since December 18, 1999. They have one child.
Mrs. Hurst, Pride and Prejudice 1995; Mrs. Elton, Emma 1996 (ITV).
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