Cinema of Wales - Welsh Movie Actors

Welsh Movie Actors

Wales has a long tradition of producing film-actors who have made an impact on the world stage. During the silent period Welsh actors of note included Ivor Novello, who came to prominence through cinema after starring in The Lodger (1927) and Downhill (1927); Gareth Hughes, often cast as a youthful charmer, gained excellent notices for the now-lost Sentimental Tommy (1921) and Lyn Harding, whose stature and presence made him a sought after villain playing Moriarty in several early Sherlock Holmes films.

The 1940s saw Rhondda's Donald Houston break through in his first two features The Blue Lagoon (1949) and A Run for Your Money (1949). In 1945 Ray Milland became the first Welsh actor to win the Academy Award for Best Actor, for his role as an alcoholic writer in The Lost Weekend.

The most significant period for Welsh actors came during the 1950s and 1960s. A new wave of realism entered British acting, and at the forefront came Welsh actors Richard Burton, Stanley Baker and Rachel Roberts. The period also saw Welsh character actor's such as Hugh Griffith, who won the Best Supporting Actor Academy Award for his role in the 1959 version of Ben Hur.

The most distinctive Welsh actor of the 1990s through to the 2000s was Anthony Hopkins. Hopkins has appeared in film since the 1960s, starring in Hollywood costume dramas such as The Lion in Winter. Starring in films as diverse as Richard Attenborough's Magic and David Lynch's The Elephant Man, Hopkins became a Hollywood star after his Academy Award winning performance as Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs (1992). Hopkins continued to impress throughout the 1990s with critically acclaimed performances in Shadowlands and Remains of the Day.

The 1990s produced an abrasive group of Welsh actors, including Rhys Ifans and Matthew Rhys. The 1990s also saw the success of Catherine Zeta-Jones, who became one of Hollywood's highest paid stars, appearing alongside Antonio Banderas and Anthony Hopkins in The Mask of Zorro and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Chicago. The 2000s are most notable for the emergence of Ioan Gruffudd, who took the lead role in 2006 historical drama Amazing Grace, and Michael Sheen who appeared as Tony Blair in Peter Morgan's 'Blair Trilogy' and played David Frost in Frost/Nixon.