Not all of the best British actors make their way to Hollywood. Some purposefully stay rooted to their home turf and garner esteem through various productions in TV and film. Others try to cross the pond but face hurdles along the way.
2025 saw names like Jack O’Connell, Alfie Williams, and Wunmi Mosaku represent British talent in major Hollywood productions. However, there lies a string of British actors just waiting for that breakthrough moment. So, here’s our pick of the best British actors who Hollywood needs to take notice of in 2026.
5. James Nelson-Joyce
To British audiences, James Nelson-Joyce is becoming extremely recognisable. He has spent the last decade building a resume that now feels like a “Best of British TV” list. He has played vicious psychopaths, small-time criminals, and a powerful Liverpool crime figure. The latter role in This City is Ours was his biggest moment as a leading man opposite fellow Brit, Sean Bean. The series has been greenlit for a second season, so it doesn’t look like he will be crossing the pond just yet.
However, with his understated ability to captivate as a hero or a villain, Hollywood should certainly take notice of this Liverpool-born actor. While he has had small roles in American productions like The Covenant and Brothers by Blood, these parts were too small to showcase his range. Nelson-Joyce has a working-class authenticity to his swagger, something that has boded well for actors from his area like Stephen Graham.
4. Suranne Jones
Suranne Jones is a massive star on one side of the Atlantic and virtually unknown on the other. This BAFTA-winning actress successfully transitioned out of soap opera territory to lead a handful of esteemed British productions like Doctor Foster, Vigil, and In the Room. While she hasn’t crossed over to Hollywood yet, In the Room was the moment US audiences became aware of her talents due to the show’s residency on Netflix.
Currently, she’s a great example of the “streaming gap”. US Audiences may be wowed by her performance, but because she isn’t doing late-night talk show circuits in Los Angeles, she will slip through the cracks until Hollywood sends an offer. Yet she has proven to be one of the best British actors over the last two decades, shining in comedy, drama, thriller, and action.
3. Peter Mullan
Peter Mullan is a shining example of Hollywood using someone without truly recognising them. In the UK, he has been regarded as a world-class talent since his Cannes win in 1998 for My Name Is Joe. Although he has starred in Hollywood movies like Braveheart and hit American series like Westworld and Ozark, Hollywood has essentially treated him as a reliable, atmospheric presence to drop into a scene rather than someone to build a film around.
What makes this oversight so glaring is the specific quality Mullan possesses. He is the rare actor who can take a character with a hard, even brutal exterior and make you feel the wounded heart beneath it. His latest BAFTA-nominated performance in I Swear has garnered some worldwide attention, however, this isn’t the first time he has enthralled audiences with a powerful performance. His rendition in 2011’s Tyrannosaur should have been enough to land him a leading Hollywood role. Perhaps typecast as an eery villain, this doesn’t downplay his skills, it showcases his extreme intensity. But that intensity could lend itself to a strong protagonist role in Hollywood if he’s ever given the shot.
2. Tim Key
Tim Key is perhaps best known as Steve Coogan‘s recurring sidekick. In the UK, he stands as one of most respected comedic actors, even if he is typically confined to the supporting artist realm. However, if there is one film that could serve as his calling card to Hollywood, it is The Ballad of Wallis Island. Key plays Charles Dowd, an eccentric lottery winner living in splendid isolation on a remote island, who attempts to fulfil his fantasies by luring his favourite musicians to perform for him privately. In a role that demands both precise comic timing and genuine emotional vulnerability – Key delivers on both counts.
Sharing the screen with Carey Mulligan – one of the most respected actresses working today – Key more than holds his own. So, should Hollywood come knocking, even for a supporting role, he has more than enough to offer. Sometimes a sidekick, given the right material, turns out to be the most interesting person in the room.
1. Owen Cooper
There is a moment in Episode 3 of Adolescence where Owen Cooper, playing 13-year-old murder suspect Jamie Miller, sits opposite a psychologist in an increasingly airless room, and the viewer realises they are watching something genuinely extraordinary. What makes it more remarkable still is that this was not just Cooper’s screen debut – it was his first professional acting job of any kind. Selected from over 500 auditions, he delivered his performance across a single, unbroken take. The awards followed swiftly, with Cooper becoming the youngest male actor to win both a Primetime Emmy and a Golden Globe.
Hollywood has already taken notice, but just at a small level so far. Cooper has since been cast as Young Heathcliff in Emerald Fennell‘s 2026 adaptation of Wuthering Heights, alongside Jacob Elordi and Margot Robbie. So, the company he keeps speaks for itself. But other industry titans have taken notice too. When Matt Damon and Ben Affleck appeared on the Joe Rogan Experience and reached for Adolescence as their benchmark of uncompromising storytelling, they didn’t need to name Cooper specifically. Hollywood has a way of finding you. As he ages and matures into the industry, it’s safe to say many big names will be looking to cast him.
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