Great Actors You Might Not Know
by stephanieericsson | created - 03 Nov 2015 | updated - 02 Feb 2016 | PublicNot your usual list. Many are giants in their own countries.
In progress.
1. Cillian Murphy
Actor | 28 Days Later...
Striking Irish actor Cillian Murphy was born in Douglas, the oldest child of Brendan Murphy, who works for the Irish Department of Education, and a mother who is a teacher of French. He has three younger siblings. Murphy was educated at Presentation Brothers College, Cork. He went on to study law ...
2. Joel Edgerton
Actor | The Gift
Joel Edgerton was born on June 23, 1974 in Blacktown, New South Wales, Australia, to Marianne (van Dort) and Michael Edgerton, who is a solicitor and property developer. His brother is filmmaker Nash Edgerton. His mother is a Dutch immigrant. Joel went to Hills Grammar School in the Western Suburbs...
3. Logan Lerman
Actor | The Perks of Being a Wallflower
One of today's leading talents across both independent and mainstream film, Logan Lerman is an immensely talented actor who takes on challenging roles and brings dynamic characters to life on screen.
Logan was born in Beverly Hills, to a Jewish family. His parents are Lisa (Goldman), who worked as ...
4. Walton Goggins
Actor | Justified
Walton Goggins is an actor of considerable versatility and acclaim who has delivered provocative performances in a multitude of feature films and television series. He won a Critics' Choice Award for his performance in the HBO comedy series "Vice Principals" and landed an Emmy nomination for his ...
5. Tom Hardy
Actor | Inception
With his breakthrough performance as Eames in Christopher Nolan's sci-fi thriller Inception (2010), English actor Tom Hardy has been brought to the attention of mainstream audiences worldwide. However, the versatile actor has been steadily working on both stage and screen since his television debut...
6. Eddie Marsan
Actor | Happy-Go-Lucky
Eddie Marsan was born in Stepney, East London, to a lorry driver father and a school employee mother, and raised in Bethnal Green. He served an apprenticeship as a printer before becoming an actor twenty years ago. During this time he has worked with directors such as Martin Scorsese, Michael Mann, ...
7. Jon Bernthal
Actor | The Wolf of Wall Street
Jon Bernthal was born and raised in Washington D.C., the son of Joan (Marx) and Eric Bernthal, a lawyer. His grandfather was musician Murray Bernthal. Jon went to study at The Moscow Art Theatre School, in Moscow, Russia, where he also played professional baseball in the European professional ...
8. Benicio Del Toro
Actor | Sicario
Benicio Del Toro emerged in the mid-1990s as one of the most watchable and charismatic character actors to come along in years. A favorite of film buffs, Del Toro gained mainstream public attention as the conflicted but basically honest Mexican policeman in Steven Soderbergh's Traffic (2000).
...
9. Adeel Akhtar
Actor | Four Lions
Adeel was born in London on 18th September 1980 to a Pakistani father and a Kenyan mother and attended Cheltenham College throughout the 1990s. His father was keen for him to become a lawyer and he obtained a law degree but was more interested in acting and studied at the Actors' Studio in New York...
10. Stellan Skarsgård
Actor | Good Will Hunting
Stellan Skarsgård was born in Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden, to Gudrun (Larsson) and Jan Skarsgård. He became a star in his teens through the title role in the TV-series Bombi Bitt och jag (1968). Between the years 1972-88 he was employed at The Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm, where...
11. David Threlfall
Actor | Shameless
David Threlfall was born on October 12, 1953 in Burnage, Manchester, England, UK. He is an actor and producer, known for Shameless (2004), Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) and Hot Fuzz (2007). He has been married to Brana Bajic since 1995. They have two children.
12. Joel Kinnaman
Actor | The Killing
Charles Joel Nordström Kinnaman, known professionally as Joel Kinnaman, is a Swedish actor. He is best known for playing the lead role in the Swedish film Easy Money a role that earned him a Guldbagge Award in the "Best Actor" category - and for his role as Frank Wagner in the Johan Falk film ...
13. Dev Patel
Actor | Slumdog Millionaire
Dev Patel was born in Harrow, London, to Anita, a caregiver, and Raj Patel, who works in IT. His parents, originally from Nairobi, Kenya, are both of Gujarati Indian descent. His first role was in the UK TV series Skins (2007). His breakout role was in the Oscar winning film Slumdog Millionaire (...
14. Roshan Seth
Actor | Gandhi
A native of New Delhi, India, British character actor of theater and film Roshan Seth honed the skills he learned at London's Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts in British repertory theater. His first break came in Peter Brook's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which toured in 1972. Seth ...
15. Alexander Cobb
Actor | Moon Knight
Alexander Cobb is known for Moon Knight (2022), Grace (2021) and The Outlaws (2021). He is married to Alana Ramsey.
16. Paul Anderson
Actor | Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
Paul Anderson is an English actor of film and stage. He is best known for portraying Arthur Shelby in the BBC series Peaky Blinders.
Anderson began his acting career by appearing in plays written by friend Gregory Burke. His first leading role in a film was in The Firm (2009).
He also has appeared in...
17. Nikesh Patel
Actor | Indian Summers
Nikesh Patel was born on October 17, 1985 in Wembley, London, England, UK. He is an actor, known for Indian Summers (2015), London Has Fallen (2016) and Halal Daddy (2017).
18. Hunter Parrish
Actor | 17 Again
Hunter Parrish Tharp is an American actor and singer. He is known for playing the role of Silas Botwin in the Showtime series Weeds and for his performances in the Broadway productions of Godspell in the role of Jesus and Spring Awakening as Melchior. Parrish was born in Richmond.
19. Jakob Salvati
Actor | Little Boy
Jakob Salvati is known for Little Boy (2015), Cleaners (2013) and Red Widow (2013).
20. François Cluzet
Actor | Intouchables
François Cluzet was born on September 21, 1955 in Paris, France. He is an actor, known for The Intouchables (2011), Tell No One (2006) and French Kiss (1995). He has been married to Narjiss Slaoui-Falcoz since 2011. He was previously married to Chantal Perrin.
21. Omar Sy
Actor | Intouchables
Omar Sy was born on January 20, 1978 in Trappes, Yvelines, France. He is an actor and producer, known for The Intouchables (2011), Jurassic World (2015) and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014). He has been married to Hélène Sy since July 6, 2007. They have four children.
22. Idris Elba
Actor | Beasts of No Nation
An only child, Idrissa Akuna Elba was born and raised in London, England. His father, Winston, is from Sierra Leone and worked at Ford Dagenham; his mother, Eve, is from Ghana and had a clerical duty. Idris attended school in Canning Town, where he first became involved in acting, before he dropped...
23. Oliver Litondo
Actor | The First Grader
Oliver Litondo was born in Kakamega, Kenya. He went to university in the United States. His career which started in broadcast journalism included as correspondent with BBC and Deutche Welle. He was also anchorman for Voice of Kenya (currently Kenya Broadcasting Corporation--KBC) and anchorman for ...
24. Philippe Duclos
Actor | Engrenages
Philippe Duclos was born on December 8, 1946 in Paris, France. He is an actor, known for Spiral (2005), 1788... et demi (2010) and Gandahar (1987).
25. Thierry Godard
Actor | Un village français
Thierry Godard was born on February 8, 1967 in Issy-les-Moulineaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France. He is an actor and writer, known for Un village français (2009), Bastille Day (2016) and Spiral (2005). He is married to Sophie Guillemin. He was previously married to Sandrine Degraef.
26. Grégory Fitoussi
Actor | G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra
Grégory Fitoussi was born on August 13, 1976 in Paris, France. He is an actor, known for G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra (2009), Hostile (2017) and World War Z (2013).
27. David Kross
Actor | The Reader
David Kross was born on July 4, 1990 in Bargteheide, Schleswig-Holstein, Germany next to Hamburg. He attended Eckhorst High School in Bargteheide till 2007. In this period, he first appears in the German movie Verzauberte Emma oder Hilfe, ich bin ein Junge... ! (2002). He also receives his first ...
28. Ricardo Darín
Actor | Nueve reinas
Ricardo Darín was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, on January 16, 1957. He works since he was a little boy, and has obtained with the years a remarkable evolution from soap opera gallant and tv comedies to an excellent leading figure of the most importants Argentinian movies. At the age of 10 he ...
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