British Actors - From Cary Grant to Hugh Grant Quiz

Answer: Jeremy Irons

Jeremy Irons won an Academy Award for his portrayal of Claus Vob Bulow in "Reversal of Fortune" in 1990. He made his film debut in 1980 in "Nijinsky". Other notable film roles included the diplomat in the fascinating 1993 film "M. Butterfly" (in which he fell in love with a male Chinese opera singer), and Humbert Humbert in the 1993 version of "Lolita".
Jeremy Irons was born in Cowes, Isle of Wight, in 1948. On March 28, 1978, Irons married actress Sinead Cusack.

Answer: Terence Stamp

Stamp's performance in "Billy Budd" earned him an Academy Award nomination. He quickly became very popular, for his good looks and as well as his interesting acting. He appeared in "The Collector" in 1965 and "Poor Cow" in 1967.

Terence Stamp was born in London, England in 1939. He was known for his many romances, the most significant being a 1960's affair with model Jean Shrimpton. When she ended their relationship, he became depressed and left his film career to move to an ashram in India. He spent several years there before resuming his film career. His later films include "The Sicilian" (1987), "Wall Street" (1987) and the 1994 hit "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert".

Answer: False

Cary Grant was actually nominated twice for Best Actor, for "Penny Serenade" in 1941 and "None But the Lonely Heart" in 1944. He never won an Oscar, although he was awarded an honorary Oscar in 1970 for "his unique mastery of the art of screen acting with the respect and affection of his colleagues." He was magnificent, in my opinion. Cary Grant (1904 - 1986) was born Archibald Leach in Bristol, England.

He came to the U.S. as a young man while traveling with a troupe of stage entertainers, and stayed on to become one of the finest and most popular actors in film history.

He made so many great films, several with director Alfred Hitchcock. They are among his best, and include "Suspicion" (1941), "Notorious" (1946), "To Catch a Thief" (1955) and "North by Northwest" (1959).

Answer: Gary Oldman

Gary Oldman was born in 1958 in London, England. He made his film debut in "Remembrance" in 1982, and went on to play the Sex Pistol's late bassist Sid Vicious in "Sid and Nancy" in 1986. Other films include "JFK" (1991), he played Joe Orton in "Prick Up Your Ears" (1987), Bram Stoker's "Dracula" in 1992, and three Harry Potter films-"Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban" (2004), "Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire" (2005)(voice), and in 2007's "Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix". Oldman married actress Lesley Manville in 1988-the marriage lasted two years.

He then married actress Uma Thurman in 1990, they parted in 1992. His marriage to model Donya Fiorentino lasted a bit longer, from 1997-2001.

Answer: Laurence Harvey

Laurence Harvey was born in Lithuania in 1928 - his real name was Zvi Mosheh Skikne. He grew up in Johannesburg, South Africa and moved to England as a teenager. He enrolled in the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, and changed his name to Laurence Harvey. His first big role was in the 1959 classic "Room at the Top", for which he received much critical praise. Some of his other films include "Butterfield 8" with Elizabeth Taylor, "A Walk on the Wild Side" in 1962, and the 1965 hit "Darling" with the marvelous Julie Christie. He is best known for his performance as the brain-washed soldier in 1962's "The Manchurian Candidate", with Frank Sinatra and Angela Lansbury.

Harvey's first wife was actress Margaret Leighton. When they divorced a few years later, he married Joan Cohn, widow of Columbia Studios mogul Harry Cohn. They eventually divorced, and he then married Paulene Stone. They had a daughter, the late bounty hunter, Domino Harvey. She was the subject of the 2005 biographical film "Domino", starring Kiera Knightley. Laurence Harvey died of stomach cancer at the young age of 45.

Answer: Hugh Grant

He was born Hugh John Mungo Grant in 1960, in London. Grant worked in television for some time before landing the role of Clive in "Maurice", opposite James Wilby. He has appeared in several period films, including "The Remains of the Day" in 1993 and "Sense and Sensibility" in 1995.

The film "Four Weddings and a Funeral" (1994) was a big success for him. Grant has been the focus of quite a bit of media attention for his private life, his long-time romances with Elizabeth Hurley and Jemima Khan.

Answer: George Sanders

George Sanders (1906-1972), actually born in Russia, began his career in entertainment in London cabaret and radio. He made his U.S. film debut in in 1936, in "Lloyd's of London", and made several movies as Simon Templar, aka "The Saint". Other films: 1940's "Foreign Correspondent", "The Picture of Dorian Gray" in 1945, "Call Me Madam" in 1953, and "Solomon and Sheba" (1959). He won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor as the cynical theater critic Addison DeWitt in "All About Eve" in 1950.

Sanders was once married to Zsa Zsa Gabor, and after their divorce later wed her sister Magda. He made over 100 films and had a long career in television as well. George Sanders committed suicide in Barcelona, Spain in 1972-his suicide note read in part: "Dear World, I am leaving because I am bored."

Answer: Alan Bates

He made his theater debut in 1956 starring in "Look Back in Anger", which made him a star. He appeared in his first film role in "The Entertainer" in 1960, and went on to star in "The Fixer" in 1968, for which he received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination. His performance in the TV movie "An Englishman Abroad" in 1983, in which he played real-life spy Guy Burgess, is a favorite of mine. He was the winner of two Tony Awards for Best Performance by an Actor, one in 1973 for "Butley", and the other for "Fortune's Fool" in 2002. He also appeared in "Georgy Girl" (1966), "Far From the Madding Crowd" (1967), "Women in Love" (1969) and "An Unmarried Woman" (1978), all classic films.
Sir Alan Bates (1934-2003) was born in Derby, England.

In 1996 he received the CBE (Commander of the Order of the British Empire), and in 2003, he was awarded a Knighthood.

Answer: Daniel Day-Lewis

Daniel Day-Lewis was born in London, England in 1957. One of his first appearances in films was a small part in the biographical "Gandhi" in 1982.
He is selective about the roles he accepts, and has gone years between films on several occasions. He won the Academy Award for 1989's "My Left Foot", playing painter Christy Brown.
He had a long romance with the French actress Isabelle Adjani, with whom he has a son. He later married Rebecca Miller, daughter of American playwright Arthur Miller. Day-Lewis became an Irish citizen in 1993.
Day-Lewis' films include the 1984 film "The Bounty", 1985's "My Beautiful Laundrette", 1985's "A Room with a View" (he played the very refined Cecil Vyse, fiance of Helena Bonham Carter), 1993's "In the Name of the Father" (Oscar nominated) and 2002's "Gangs of New York" (nominated for this film as well).

Answer: Laurence Olivier

Baron Olivier was born in 1907 in Surrey, England. He studied acting at various schools as a young man, and eventually he became known as one of the finest Shakespearean stage actors, playing all the great roles. His film career began in 1930, and would last almost sixty years. He appeared in some great films: "Wuthering Heights" with Merle Oberon in 1939, "Rebecca" co-starring Joan Fontaine in 1940, "That Hamilton Woman" in 1941 with Vivien Leigh. As a director, he made three very successful films, "Henry V" in 1944, "Hamlet" in 1948 (for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor and Best Picture), and "Richard III" in 1955.

His first marriage in 1930 was to actress Jill Esmond, and they had a son in 1936. Lord Olivier would meet his second wife, the actress Vivien Leigh, while still married to Esmond. They began an affair, and eventually were able to marry in 1940. Vivien Leigh was afflicted with bipolar disorder, and their marriage was filled with turmoil as a result of her illness. They finally divorced after twenty years of marriage. Olivier then married actress Joan Plowright, and they remained married until his death in 1989.
Olivier was knighted in 1947, and was made a life peer in 1970. He was the first actor to receive such an honor.