Alan Sidney's Patrick Rickman was a director and actor from England. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and became a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, appearing in modern and traditional theatre performances with his deep, languid voice. He played the Vicomte de Valmont in the RSC stage production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses in 1985, and he was nominated for a Tony Award after the performance relocated to the West End in 1986 and Broadway in 1987.

Rickman built a career as one of history's most famous villains, from Hans Gruber in Die Hard to the erratic Professor Snape in the Harry Potter flicks. Aside from that, he was able to demonstrate his gentler side in a Christmas classic, Love Actually, and his deft comic touch in Galaxy Quest.

Rickman was a Tony Award-winning theater performer. His achievements on stage and screen, as well as his depiction of two of cinema's most iconic characters, make it simple to see why he is ranked first on our list. Sadly, as the only performer on the list who is no longer with us, his tragically cut short career is all there is to remember him by, and truly, what a career he left behind.

Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins CBE is a Welsh film director, producer, and actor. He has two Academy Awards, two Primetime Emmy Awards, a British Academy Television Award, and four British Academy Film Awards to his name. He has also earned an honorary Golden Globe Award and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts' BAFTA Fellowship Award. Hopkins commands authority in every job while having a thorough mastery of the content. He is an actor who is equally at home in polite British historical plays as pulpy criminal thrillers.

Hopkins is the oldest person to win an Academy Award for acting, having done it earlier this year for Florian Zeller's film The Father. His film career began in 1968 with The Lion in Winter, in which he co-starred with Katharine Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. Most notably, he received his first Academy Award nomination for his frightening performance as Hannibal Lecter in the Best Picture-winning Silence of the Lambs. Even at number two, Mr. Hopkins may be too far down the list to be included.

Gary Leonard Oldman is a British actor and director. He is well-known for his versatility as well as his passionate acting style. He was honored with an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and three British Academy Film Awards. His films have made more than $11 billion globally, making him one of the highest-grossing performers of all time.

His portrayal of Winston Churchill, possibly the most British figure of all time, is a rare example of a makeup technique that does not overpower the performance. Like all of his characters, Oldman discovers Churchill's humanity. His performance as George Smiley in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is another well-known British classic, this time from the pen of acclaimed author John le Carré.

His place on this list is most likely assured by his roles as Sirius Black in the Harry Potter series and Commissioner Gordon in Nolan's Batman epic. He gives each of those parts particular humanity that shows through despite the weight of the brands. Though it is his more challenging work in films like Mank and The Darkest Hour that will secure his legacy moving forward.

Sir Ian Murray McKellen CBE is a well-known English actor. Throughout his seven-decade career, he has acted in genres ranging from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He has garnered several prizes over his career, including seven Laurence Olivier Awards, a Tony Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. He has also been nominated for two Academy Awards, five Primetime Emmy Awards, and four British Academy Film Awards.

Gandalf is one of the two or three most recognizable fictional figures of all time. McKellen not only physically embodies the character, but he also lends deep emotion to a part that could have been purely surfacing. It's a stunning bit of performance that, like the Lord of the Rings films, stands the test of time.

Aside from that, McKellen has created a very extraordinary body of work. From his role as James Whale in Gods and Monsters to his long-running role as Magneto in the X-Men flicks, he is a generous actor. His depiction of an aged Sherlock Holmes is an excellent example of an actor gracefully accepting their age.

Sir Patrick Stewart OBE is an English actor with a six-decade career in theatrical performances, television, cinema, and video games. He has received Olivier, Tony, Golden Globe, Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, and Saturn Award nominations. Stewart's roles as Captain of the USS Enterprise and Professor Xavier alone would make him one of today's most well-known thespians. With almost two decades in each of these companies, his presence has a sensitivity and a true feeling of time.

His recent chilly and pragmatic turn in the persistently tense Green Room is just another reminder that he is a multifaceted talent who cannot be boxed in. Stewart is more known for his theatrical work, although outside of his two series, he isn't a particularly prolific film actor. A ranking this high demonstrates how well-liked his roles in the Star Trek franchise and the X-Men flicks are.

Tennant, David John, is a Scottish actor. Tennant rose to prominence as the ninth incarnation of The Doctor in the BBC science fiction program Doctor Who. Other notable roles include Giacomo Casanova in the BBC comedy-drama serial Casanova, Hamlet in the Royal Shakespeare Company's film adaptation, Barty Crouch Jr. in the fantasy film Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, DI Alec Hardy in the ITV crime drama series Broadchurch, and Kilgrave in the Netflix superhero series Jessica Jones.

Tennant is best known as the 10th Doctor in the long-running BBC television series Doctor Who. Furthermore, he is highly renowned for Broadchurch's crossover success. The Scottish actor is a well-known theatrical legend and a prolific voiceover actor. While he is not as well-known in the United States, he is regarded as one of Britain's best current performers. This placement demonstrates that, aside from talent, having a strong fan base is critical to achieving a high ranking on the list.

Colin Andrew Firth CBE is an actor of English and Italian descent. He has won an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, two European Film Awards, two British Academy Film Awards, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and the Volpi Cup for Best Actor at the Venice Film Festival. In 2010, he received the Academy Award for Best Actor for his depiction of King George VI in Tom Hooper's The King's Speech.

From his early work in the much-loved BBC series Pride and Prejudice to his Academy Award-winning performance in The King's Speech, he is one of the most dependable film presences around. Firth is an actor who fluctuates between high and poor status. He has the type of low-key sex appeal that allows him to pass for an everyday guy while yet possessing a ruthless charisma that allows him to slip into comedies and tragedies equally.

Recently, he has appeared in minor roles in major motion pictures to provide a sense of calm and dignity in films such as 1917. He'll be reuniting with his Shakespeare in Love director, John Madden, for The Staircase, a reenactment of the true-crime docuseries of the same name. Because he is still relatively young, Academy Award winner Colin Firth has many parts ahead of him to solidify his place as one of the great British actors.

Hiddleston, Thomas William, is an English actor. He made his feature film debut in the drama Unrelated, but he rose to worldwide prominence as Loki in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, appearing in Thor, The Avengers, Thor: The Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame, and the Disney+ series Loki. In 2011, he was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award and won the Empire Award for Best Male Newcomer.

Hiddleston is a real chameleon who has gained much of his renown as the MCU's cheeky trickster. He has also collaborated with well-known filmmakers such as Guillermo del Toro, Jim Jarmusch, Steven Spielberg, and Terrence Davies.

Hiddleston has demonstrated that he is a multifaceted talent who appeals to a wide range of people. His strength as an actor isn't limited to playing the MCU's jester, but also to his capacity to transform into a multitude of roles. With multiple projects in the works, including the recently completed Loki TV series, Hiddleston demonstrates that he is up for practically anything as a performer. From a popularity aspect, his position makes sense.

Sir Michael Caine CBE is a well-known British actor. Known for his unique South London accent, he has acted in over 160 films throughout a seven-decade career and is regarded as a British cinema hero. Caine's films have made over $7.8 billion worldwide as of February 2017.

Caine is the list's oldest member, having turned 90 just 18 months ago. He was a British sex icon in films like Alfie, but he was never pigeonholed by the limits that would have come with it, and he has since gone on to enjoy a career that has spanned over seventy years.

Caine has reintroduced himself to a new generation through his work with Christopher Nolan. The six-time Academy Award candidate (and two-time winner) has created a genuinely exceptional body of work. Even at the age of 88, he is still constantly working, accumulating a career that many regards as one of the most renowned cinema performers in history. Mr. Caine appears to be in the wrong place at number nine.

Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch CBE (born Benedict Timothy Carlton Cumberbatch) is an English actor. He has garnered several honors during his career for his work on the screen and stage, including a Primetime Emmy Award, a British Academy Television Award, and a Laurence Olivier Award. Cumberbatch received a Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role in a Play for his performance in Frankenstein, as well as a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or Movie for his performance in Sherlock.

Cumberbatch's diverse credits, which span from Doctor Strange to The Grinch to Alan Turing, demonstrate that he isn't a one-size-fits-all performer. He is well-liked by his peers and is well-liked by the audience. His characterization depth has earned him an Academy Award nomination.

He is now starring in Jane Campion's The Power of the Dog, for which he looks to be on track to win his second Academy Award nomination. Following that, he will appear as Doctor Strange in Spider-Man: No Way Home before returning to the genre in Sam Raimi's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.