Top 19 British Actors Quotes

It’s often assumed that British actors read Shakespeare and sonnets as we’re going to bed at night and we’re all very familiar with it.

I had to choose between American and British actors, and it didn’t take me more than a second to decide: Russians are Europeans and should be played by other Europeans.

British actors used to be scared of the multi-year options that U.S. TV shows demand. That has changed, because the same is now happening in the U.K.

I think there’s a quality of passion to the American actor. I’m certainly attracted to it, and I like to hope that underscoring it is a characteristic of my work. That quality is certainly also present in some British actors, but I tend to feel the mechanical and intellectual process is dominant in the British.

British actors wear wigs a lot. I find it to be a nice ritual at the end of the day, take the wig off, clean the makeup off, go home, leave work behind me.

I think, as a generation of British actors, we’re becoming a bit soft and too manipulated by the business.

Everyone the world over talks about British actors and British talent and I think that’s because we were trained – until now – in theatre.

The public must suffer untold pangs from the stiffness, the deliberate stifling of emotion, on the part of many British actors.

I was offered and accepted a part in ‘A Few Best Men,’ and then the Australian actor’s union argued that there were too many British actors. And the director decided to lose me.

I think we’re very lucky that there is a tradition of British actors working in America and being respected in America, and I’ve always liked Kate Winslet and her work and respected her.

British actors are renowned for being great villains in movies, like Bond films, all the rest of it.

I think it would be a problem if Hollywood was casting British actors only as villains; if that were the case, then certainly there would be cause for concern.

With most British actors, it’s amazing. I think they start with the character on the outside and work in.

British actors behave like Europeans; they are also extremely well trained.

I have to audition for everything; there is no Mrs. Robbie Williams free pass, and because I’m working with British actors everyone is so polite – no one mentions Robbie.

I used to pre-rehearse everything and then bring my pre-rehearsed performance to the set. Now, I’m learning to let it happen in the moment. American actors are much better at that than British actors. If I knew how to trust myself, I would have been much more relaxed. Maybe I would have less gray hairs today.

Not surprisingly, there is a cultural divide between American and British actors regarding the self-promotion associated with new media.

There’s an honourable tradition of British actors who’ve gone to Hollywood playing baddies. Part of that is because we grow up with Richard III and Macbeth – we’re not afraid of our villains.

I used to pre-rehearse everything and then bring my pre-rehearsed performance to the set. Now, I’m learning to let it happen in the moment. American actors are much better at that than British actors. If I knew how to trust myself, I would have been much more relaxed.