Heather Angel (1909-1986)
Heather Grace Angel was born in Oxford in 1909. Before moving to Hollywood, she appeared in numerous British films as an actress. She can be seen in the Hitchcock flicks “The Lifeboat” and “Suspicion”. Angel can be heard as the voice actress in the original versions of “Alice in Wonderland” and “Peter Pan”. She died in California in 1986.
Rowan Atkinson (born 1955)
comedian and actor. Rowan Sebastian Atkinson was born in Consett in 1955 and later studied in Oxford. He started his career in front of the camera at the BBC. In 1982 he played a role in the James Bond film “Never Say Never”. He achieved world fame with his comic character “Mr. Bean”, which was broadcast on television from 1989 and of which several films have already been made.
Richard Attenborough (born 1923)
actor and director. Sir Richard Attenborough was born in Cambridge in 1923 and took acting lessons at London’s Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. His most famous film as a director was “Gandhi” and was released in 1982. He also made “Chaplin” from 1992. Attenborough played in Spielberg’s box office hit “Jurassic Park”.
James McAvoy (born 1979)
James Andrew McAvoy was born in Glasgow in 1979 and studied at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He took his first steps in the acting business in theater performances such as “West Side Story” and “Romeo and Juliet”. McAvoy is known from films like “The Chronicles of Narnia: The King of Narnia” (2005) or “Beloved Jane” (2007), where he was in front of the camera with Anne Hathaway.
Christian Bale (born 1974)
Christian Charles Phillip Bale was born in Haverfordwest in 1974 and began working in commercials as a child. He then played a leading role in Steven Spielberg’s film “Im Reich der Sonne” in 1987 and really took off. In 2007 he played Bob Dylan in the hit film “I’m not there”. The multi-award winning Hollywood actor received his first Oscar in 2011. In 2012 he came out with “The Dark Knight Rises”.
Peter Brook (born 1925)
theater and film director. Brook was born in London in 1925. He studied at Magdalen College, Oxford, among other places. There he discovered his passion for Shakespeare, which continues to inspire him to new productions and film adaptations to this day. Brook had his breakthrough with lectures on modern theater, which in book form (“Empty Space”) exerted international influence on directors. He also successfully filmed the novel “Lord of the Flies”.
Janet Brown (1923-2011)
Janet McLuckie Brown was born in Rutherglen in 1923, where she also received training at the local academy. She started out with the BBC, but made a name for herself by roles in films such as the 007 flick “In Deadly Mission”. Her performance by Margaret Thatcher was celebrated internationally. The actress also appeared in the classic “Inspector Barnaby”. Brown died in Hove in 2011.
Richard Burton (1925-1984)
who lived in Pontrhydyfen as Richard Walter Jenkins jr. born actor Richard Burton is one of the great British actors. One of his most famous and impressive films was certainly “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” from 1966, which is also seen as a reflection of his own life with then-wife Elizabeth Taylor. Burton studied at Oxford. His last role was in 1984, the year he died, a film adaptation of the disturbing novel by George Orwell.
Gerard Butler (born 1969)
Gerard James Butler was born in Glasgow in 1969 and studied law at the local university. His law firm soon put him on the street because of too frequent absences. Without acting school, Gerard Butler made the leap to the top with roles in the James Bond film “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), in “PS I Love You” (2007) or in “The Naked Truth” (2009). Curious: He was discovered in a café.
Robert Carlyle (born 1961)
Robert Carlyle was born in Glasgow in 1961 and trained as an actor at the Glasgow Arts Center. Carlyle started his career in a television series called “Just in Case Fitz”. Then came the big cinema with “Trainspotting – New Heroes”, “James Bond – The World Is Not Enough” and “Hitler – The Rise of Evil”. In the latter he played the main role of the dictator. The Scot has already sniffed the music business and played in an “Oasis” video (“Little by Little”).
Charlie Chaplin (1889-1977)
actor, director, comedian and composer. Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. was born in London in 1889 and began his career in the theater at the age of nine. In 1913 he made his second US tour with Stan Laurel and was discovered by the Keystone film company. Soon he developed the “tramp” character in his films, which would make him world famous. He parodied American society and his satirical slapstick comedy was also directed against US state power. His most famous works include the films “City Lights”, “Modern Times” and “Limelight”.
John Cleese (born 1939)
actor, screenwriter, voice actor and member of the Monty Python comedian troupe. John Cleese was born in Somerset in 1939 and received a private school education. While studying law at Cambridge, he met Graham Chapman, with whom he founded the Monty Pythons. Cleese still knows the world from the 1988 film “A Fish Named Wanda”. He is an English veteran in the film business.
