The UK’s Most Popular Actor

Starting alphabetically from the coasts of Aberdeen to the Welsh borders of Wrexham, the top 75 data reveals which actor from (nearly) every county in the UK has achieved the highest net worth and ultimately the most success, surpassing the fellow acting folk from their county. 

Lights, camera, action - now it’s time to see who’s really the most successful actor from your neck of the woods. 

The Man with the Golden Wallet: Daniel Craig tops the list of 20 most successful UK actors 

Having seen the length and breadth of British & Northern Irish talent, now it’s time to reveal who’s in the top 20 of the UK’s most successful actors, many of which have become household names. 

As both actors hold an eye-watering net worth of £131.9 million, Cheshire-born Daniel Craig and film-screen Welsh legend, Anthony Hopkins, born in the county of Glamorgan, top the list as the most successful actors in the UK. However, with a slightly higher YouGov fame score of 96, Craig tops the list overall.

He and Hopkins are closely followed by London-born character impersonator and producer Sasha Baron Cohen.  Hopkins isn’t the only standout success from Wales, however, as Oscar-winner and Hollywood starlet Catherine Zeta-Jones tops the list as the most successful actress in the UK. 

Lack of diversity? What the most successful actors have in common

It’s no secret that there is a lack of diversity in the entertainment industry. And while the UK's most successful actors are undeniably talented, there is a clear whitewash across the board as well as a privilege and gender gap within this group.

Of the most successful actors in the UK:

• Men made up 70% of the top 20 most successful

• Only 4% or 2 out of the top 50 most successful actors were non-white

• Southern-based Brits made up 70% of the top 20

Although in recent years there has been a greater push to address a lack of diversity in the entertainment industry, there are still many inclusion issues that remain ongoing. 

Historically, the film industry has been dominated by men, both in front of and behind the camera. Key decision-making roles like producers, directors and casting executives have been given to men from an advantaged background, which has ultimately led to a lack of diversity in the types of perspectives and stories told. This is highlighted by the data which showed men made up 70% of the top 20 most successful actors in the UK and 2 out of the top 50 most successful actors were non-white, with Jewish actor Sacha Baron Cohen coming in third and London-born black actor Idris Elba coming in 36th of the top 100 list. 

The top 20 data has also revealed a socio-economic shift. Although Northern British-born Daniel Craig tops the list as the most successful actor, the majority of the list was born in the South of Britain. As the south of England, especially, tends to be more affluent than other areas of the country, and so, residents may have easier access to the resources they need to pursue their acting dreams. 

For instance, some of the country's most prestigious drama schools, such as the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA) in London. These schools have produced many successful actors over the years and are often seen as a gateway to the industry. Likewise, living close to the capital adds to an actor’s advantage as it offers easier access to opportunities for auditions, casting calls, and other industry events.

Unsurprisingly, London has birthed the most stars…

It’s probably of no surprise that the city which has some of the wealthiest residents have afforded the privilege of having some of the most successful actors. 

That being said, actors of all backgrounds and classes have been able to reach the highest levels of stardom. But there’s no denying that being from London has its perks within the acting field. 

Of the 100+ most successful actors in the UK, a whopping 35 were from London. Ranked from the highest to the lowest net worth, Borat star, Sacha Baron Cohen, tops the London list with a net worth of £131 million, while rom-com heartthrob Hugh Grant features in second place of the most successful actors born in London. 

Beating Grant and Cohen in terms of fame score is Harry Potter child star, Daniel Radcliffe, who features in third place.  

At the bottom end of the London list is Shane Richie, who despite his high 91 fame score, features in last place for net worth with £150,000 to his name. 

At the peak of his soap career, Richie was reportedly earning £230,000 a year for his role as Alfie Moon on EastEnders, but in 2022, the actor has said he had been struggling for cash. 

He told The Mirror: “I was going on tour, doing a TV series and panto but it all got cancelled in March. Now I am literally skint!

“You save for a rainy day but you don’t expect the rainy day to last eight months. Thankfully, I’ve been able to borrow money from mates, my family and the bank.”

Hammersmith is the London district with the most acting talent

'It isn't where you came from; it's where you're going that counts' is a phrase that doesn’t necessarily ring true for those born in Hammersmith, as this is the district that birthed the most amount of acting success in the UK. 

The 100+ most successful actors in the UK saw 35 London-born actors and, of those, seven (including the top three richest) were from the Hammersmith district. 

According to IMDB, there are 357 actors whose birthplace matches "Hammersmith, London". The six featured in the main list are not the only household names from Hammersmith though, as we have handpicked the 15 most prominent West London actors below. 

Are you happy with your county’s most successful actor? Who else is famous from your area? Let us know in the comments below.

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Methodology: 

This analysis was conducted using Wikipedia and IMDB for location purposes, YouGov fame scores were used to determine the most famous actors, while the team combed through the list to find the 100 most successful British actors only. 

Having sourced the list of 100, we researched the counties the actors were from, and we then checked to see how many counties were not displayed in the list. Of the counties remaining, we used IMDB to find the actors who were most popular from their county - if there were two or more with a similar level of success we checked their net worth to see who had the most financial success and they were classed as the most successful for their county. 

Although this list features the majority of the counties across England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, there are some missing counties - this is because the top actors from these counties were relatively unknown. 

This research was accurate as of Feb 15th 2023.