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Top 10 Rising British Actors 2011

Following on from last year’s Top 10 Rising Actors, we’ve placed our bets on the latest influx of up-and-coming Brit actors. You’ll recognise a couple from 2010, but most are newcomers to our annual list, poised break through...

Our Top 10

Henry Cavill – born May 1983

Ladies and gentlemen, meet the new Clark Kent. 27-year-old Henry Cavill has been on the short-list for several high-profile roles over the past few years, losing out to Robert Pattinson twice (The Goblet of Fire and Twilight), Daniel Craig for James Bond, and Brandon Routh for Superman Returns. But good things clearly come to those who wait, and after achieving small-screen heart-throb status via BBC series The Tudors, Cavill finally becomes the last son of Krypton in Superman: Man of Steel, Zack Snyder’s rebooted reboot. Things are looking up.

Sam Riley – born January 1980

After starring in Michael Winterbottom’s 24 Hour Party People, Sam Riley’s breakthrough came with a critically acclaimed (and BAFTA Rising Star nominated) performance as Ian Curtis in 2007’s Control. Franklyn, co-starring Ryan Phillipe and Eva Green, and 13, with Mickey Rourke and Jason Statham, have since yielded moderate success, but watch out now: the recent update of Graham Greene’s Brighton Rock will be followed by another literary adaptation, namely Jack Kerouac’s On The Road, starring Kristen Stewart, Kirsten Dunst, Viggo Mortensen and Amy Adams, with Francis Ford Coppola producing.

Luke Evans – born April 1979

At 31, Luke Evans is on the senior side of our Rising Actors list, but his star is rising, albeit at a leisurely pace. After a foundation of West End theatrical performances, bit parts, and supporting roles in last year’s Tamara Drewe and Clash of the Titans, 2011 looks to be his most prominent yet. Luke will star as Aramis in a 3D reimagining of The Three Musketeers, he’s stepped in as Jeremy Renner’s replacement in The Raven, and he’ll crop up in Immortals and Blitz too – the man’s firmly on the radar now.

Sam Claflin – born June 1986

After appearing in a handful of TV series and movies, including The Pillars of the Earth and Any Human Heart, Sam Clafin’s feature film debut will be in a small, modestly-budgeted movie called Pirates of the Caribbean (4): On Stranger Tides. Sam will star as stalwart missionary Philip in a movie that couldn’t plunge him any further into the deep end, but working with Rob Marshall, Johnny Depp, Penelope Cruz and Geoffrey Rush should only mean good things for his burgeoning career.

Eddie Redmayne – born January 1982

Another actor who’s laid down a firm base, Eddie Redmayne has featured in The Good Shepherd, Powder Blue, The Other Boleyn Girl and Glorious 39 to name but a few, and was lauded for his turn in Savage Grace, opposite Julianne Moore. Most recently, he’s worked on My Week with Marilyn starring Michelle Williams and he’ll soon be filming Hick, with Chloe Moretz, Blake Lively and Alec Baldwin. Eddie has also modelled for Burberry (so has Sam Riley, incidentally), and his relationship with Carey Mulligan is bound to generate lots more attention too.

Asa Butterfield – born April 1997

13-year-old Asa Butterfield has just wrapped on Martin Scorsese’s Hugo Cabret, starring opposite Chloe Moretz. Before working with Marty, Asa’s famously blue eyes (along with the rest of him) appeared in TV drama After Thomas and 2007’s Son of Rambow, and his big break was as the title character in The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, a powerful drama set in and around a World War II concentration camp. When not on set, Asa attends school in North London, and you follow him on Twitter as @asabfb.

Tom Sturridge – born December 1985

So far, Tom Sturridge’s career has slow-burned, and he’s probably best known for being Robert Pattinson's best mate. His lead role in sci-fi flick Jumper was snatched back out of his hands and given to Hayden Christensen instead (though whether this constitutes good or bad luck is not completely clear), but soon he will star opposite Rachel Bilson in the indie-romance drama Waiting For Forever, followed by the On the Road adaptation (joining Sam Riley), and then The Treehouse, with Kim Cattrall and Jeremy Irons.

Jamie Campbell Bower – Born November 1988

One of Jamie Campbell Bower’s first roles was as young Anthony in the Tim Burton/Johnny Depp version of Sweeney Todd, and he’s continued to keep good company as Gellert Grindelwald in Harry Potter & the Deathly Hallows: Parts 1 & 2 and Caius in the Twilight films. Next up will be Anonymous, Roland Emmerich’s political thriller about who actually wrote the plays of Shakespeare, and his personal life is looking pretty good as well: Jamie’s engaged to fellow Potter alumni Bonnie Wright, aka Ginny Weasley.

Reece Ritchie – born July 1986

Aged 24, Reece Ritchie was born to a South African father and an English mother, and this ancestral mix has helped secure him such diverse parts as an Indian-American, a Persian warrior and, er, a Mesolithic Man. He’s perhaps best known for three roles: Moha in Roland Emmerich’s caveman epic 10,000 BC, Saoirse Ronan’s love interest in Peter Jackson's The Lovely Bones, and Jake Gyllenhaal's sidekick Bis in Prince of Persia. Reece is currently working on Rafta Rafta, a comedy about the immigrant Indian community in Northern England, directed by Nigel Cole (Calendar Girls, Made in Dagenham).

Charlie Rowe – born April 1996

After getting his first break in The Golden Compass, Charlie Rowe went on to star as the young Tommy in Never Let Me Go, the character Andrew Garfield portrays in the later years. Next up, all eyes will be on Charlie as he stars as Peter Pan in the forthcoming TV drama Neverland, keeping fine British company in a cast that boasts Rhys Ifans, Anna Friel and Bob Hoskins.

Read our 2010 Top 10 Rising Actors here – how many do you think we got right?

Tegan Kniveton