"Brit Pack" is a term that has been used to refer to specific groups of young British actors who have achieved success in Hollywood, as well as more generally to the entire group of such actors. According to a TalkTalk article, "every decade brings a new Brit Pack, another disparate group of actors backed by the media to achieve simultaneous Hollywood stardom." However, the term is most closely associated with the crop of English actors that emerged in the late 1980s, because of the prominence of the American

Brat Pack The ''Brat Pack'' is a nickname given to a group of young actors who frequently appeared together in teen-oriented coming-of-age films in the 1980s. First mentioned in a 1985 ''New York'' magazine article, it is now usually defined as the cast ...

actors at that time.

History

In November 1986, Journalist Elissa Van Poznak conducted an interview with

Colin Firth Colin Andrew Firth (born 10 September 1960) is an English actor and producer. He was identified in the mid-1980s with the " Brit Pack" of rising young British actors, undertaking a challenging series of roles, including leading roles in '' A M ...

, Spencer Leigh,

Paul McGann Paul John McGann (; born 14 November 1959) is an English actor. He came to prominence for portraying Percy Toplis in the television serial '' The Monocled Mutineer'' (1986), then starred in the dark comedy '' Withnail and I'' (1987), which wa ...

Bruce Payne Bruce Martyn Payne (born 22 November 1958) is an English actor, producer, screenwriter, film director and theatre director. Payne is best known for portraying villains, such as Charles Rane in '' Passenger 57'', Jacob Kell in '' Highlander: En ...

and

Tim Roth Timothy Simon Roth (born 14 May 1961) is an English actor and producer. He began acting on films and television series in the 1980s. He was among a group of prominent British actors of the era, the " Brit Pack". He made his television debut ...

for the January 1987 edition of ''

The Face The face is a part of the body, the front of the head. Face may also refer to: Film * ''The Magician'' (1958 film) or ''The Face'' * ''The Face'' (1996 film), an American television film * ''Face'' (1997 film), a British crime drama by Antonia ...

''.

Daniel Day-Lewis Sir Daniel Michael Blake Day-Lewis (born 29 April 1957) is an English retired actor. Often described as one of the preeminent actors of his generation, he received numerous accolades throughout his career which spanned over four decades, incl ...

and

Gary Oldman Gary Leonard Oldman (born 21 March 1958) is an English actor and filmmaker. Known for his versatility and intense acting style, he has received various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and three British Academy F ...

were also invited, but were unable to attend due to acting obligations (although Oldman gave his own interview at a later date). The title of the article was "The Brit Pack": this moniker stuck and has been referenced in subsequent pieces regarding actors from that period.Stern, Marlow
"Gary Oldman Talks 'Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy,' 'Batman' Retirement"
''

The Daily Beast ''The Daily Beast'' is an American news website focused on politics, media, and pop culture. It was founded in 2008. It has been characterized as a "high-end tabloid" by Noah Shachtman, the site's editor-in-chief from 2018 to 2021. In a 20 ...

''. 8 December 2011. Retrieved 21 December 2018. In the February 1988 issue of ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'', Harlan Kennedy stated that Day-Lewis and Oldman, along with

Rupert Everett Rupert James Hector Everett (; born 29 May 1959) is an English actor, director and producer. Everett first came to public attention in 1981 when he was cast in Julian Mitchell's play and subsequent film '' Another Country'' (1984) as a gay pupi ...

and

Miranda Richardson Miranda Jane Richardson (born 3 March 1958) is an English actress. She made her film debut playing Ruth Ellis in '' Dance with a Stranger'' (1985) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for '' Damage'' (1992) and ''Tom & Viv'' (1994). ...

, were the "pack-leaders". According to a retrospective article by Marlow Stern in ''

'', the British press anointed Oldman "

de facto ''De facto'' ( ; , "in fact") describes practices that exist in reality, whether or not they are officially recognized by laws or other formal norms. It is commonly used to refer to what happens in practice, in contrast with '' de jure'' ("by l ...

ringleader" of the Brit Pack. Unlike the Brat Pack or other similarly defined groups of American actors, Brit Pack actors rarely associated with each other socially or in film. Harlan Kennedy wrote that the group "aren't seen together at parties or in restaurants or in gossip columns. And since British cinema has had no equivalent to Hollywood's Eighties conveyor-belt youth movies – '' Weird Science'', '' About Last Night...'', ''

St. Elmo's Fire St. Elmo's fire — also called Witchfire or Witch's Fire — is a weather phenomenon in which luminous plasma is created by a corona discharge from a rod-like object such as a mast, spire, chimney, or animal hornHeidorn, K., Weather Element ...

'', et al. – they don't keep re-meeting each other on-screen either". A July 1993 article in ''The Face'' was titled "The New Brit Pack", which included

Naveen Andrews Naveen William Sidney Andrews (born 17 January 1969) is a British-American actor. He is best known for his role as Sayid Jarrah in the television series '' Lost'' (2004–2010), for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe Award and a Primetim ...

Jaye Davidson Jaye Davidson (born Alfred Amey; March 21, 1968) is an English model, fashion stylist, and retired actor. He made his acting debut as the transvestite Dil in the thriller film ''The Crying Game'' (1992), for which he received an Academy Award no ...

Craig Kelly Craig Kelly (born 29 September 1963) is an Australian politician, who represented the Division of Hughes as a Liberal Party and later United Australia Party MP from 2010 to his defeat at the 2022 Australian federal election. Kelly initially ...

Jude Law David Jude Heyworth Law (born 29 December 1972) is an English actor. He received a British Academy Film Award, as well as nominations for two Academy Awards, two Tony Awards, and four Golden Globe Awards. In 2007, he received an Honorary Cés ...

Rufus Sewell Rufus Frederik Sewell (; born 29 October 1967) is a British film and stage actor. In film, he has appeared in '' Carrington'' (1995), '' ''Hamlet' (1996), ''Dangerous Beauty'' (1998), '' Dark City'' (1998), '' A Knight's Tale ''(2001), '' Th ...

David Thewlis David Wheeler (born 20 March 1963), better known as David Thewlis (), is a British actor, author, director and screenwriter. Thewlis rose to prominence when he starred in the film ''Naked'' (1993), for which he won the Cannes Film Festival Awa ...

and

Samuel West Samuel Alexander Joseph West (born 19 June 1966) is an English actor, narrator and theatre director. He has directed on stage and radio, and worked as an actor across theatre, film, television and radio. He often appears as reciter with orche ...

. In later years, the phrase 'Brit Pack' has been used to describe disparate groups of young British actors of rising prominence. Publications also began including actresses such as

Holliday Grainger Holliday Clark Grainger (born 27 March 1988), also credited as Holly Grainger, is an English screen and stage actress. Some of her prominent roles are Kate Beckett in the BAFTA award-winning children's series ''Roger and the Rottentrolls'', L ...

Kaya Scodelario Kaya Rose Scodelario-Davis (née Humphrey; born 13 March 1992) is an English actress best known for her roles as Effy Stonem on the E4 teen drama '' Skins'' (2007–2010, 2013), and Teresa in the ''Maze Runner'' film series (2014–2018). Oth ...

, and

Suki Waterhouse Alice Suki Waterhouse (born 5 January 1992) is an English model, actress and singer. She began a career in modelling at the age of 16, and she would go on to model for several major fashion labels. Her first feature film as an actress was a min ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brit Pack (Actors) British film actors Groups of entertainers

History

See also

References