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Curated playlist

English male Shakespearean actors

  • William ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare called himself in "perfect health" in his will, then died within a month.
  • Jude LawJude Law dropped out of school at 17 to become an actor. It led to an Oscar nomination for The Talented Mr. Ripley.
  • Ian McKellenIan McKellen came out as gay on BBC radio in 1988, while Parliament weighed Section 28.
  • John GielgudJohn Gielgud was arrested months after being knighted. Backstage in Liverpool, he feared he could not face an audience.
  • Peter O'ToolePeter O'Toole asked the Academy to wait when it offered him an honorary Oscar. He hoped to win the award outright.
  • Tom HiddlestonTom Hiddleston is a British actor who once played Hamlet in a theatre of just 160 seats, with tickets given out by lottery to raise money for RADA, the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. The run lasted three weeks in September 2017. Millions…
  • Benedict CumberbatchA play titled Benedict Cumberbatch Must Die was meant as a love letter to his fans.
  • Laurence OlivierLaurence Olivier's 1948 film Hamlet was the first non-American film to win Best Picture.
  • Ralph FiennesRalph Fiennes has played a Nazi camp commandant, a dark wizard, a British spymaster and a flirtatious hotel concierge, and audiences have believed every one of them. Born in 1962, the English actor and director carries the full name Ralph…
  • Alan RickmanAlan Rickman almost turned down Die Hard. He took the villain role of Hans Gruber anyway.
  • Alec GuinnessAlec Guinness privately called Star Wars "fairy-tale rubbish" in letters to friends.
  • Henry CondellHenry Condell helped prepare the First Folio of Shakespeare's plays, published in 1623.
  • Ben KingsleyBen Kingsley turned down an offer to become a pop star in 1966. He auditioned for the Royal Shakespeare Company instead.
  • Patrick StewartPatrick Stewart grew a moustache for Macbeth and saw his father's face in the mirror.
  • Andy SerkisDoes an actor in a suit covered in tracking dots deserve an Oscar? Andy Serkis became that debate's living proof.
  • William KempeWilliam Kempe morris danced about 110 miles from London to Norwich. The Elizabethan clown did it in 1600.
  • Tim CurryTim Curry titled his memoir Vagabond, and Grand Central Publishing released it on the 14th of October 2025. When a fan asked about the title, the English actor and singer offered two reasons. In the 17th and 18th centuries, he said, actors…
  • David GarrickA wine merchant's apprentice packed London's theater with dukes. David Garrick played Richard III in 1741.
  • Richard BurbageRichard Burbage first played Hamlet, Othello, King Lear and Macbeth, yet most people today have never heard his name.
  • John HemingesShakespeare's fellow actor John Heminges was formally a grocer. He also managed the theater and edited the First Folio.
  • Robert ArminA goldsmith's apprentice from King's Lynn, Robert Armin, is credited with Shakespeare's Touchstone and Feste.

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