The Luck of the British

Maybe it has something to do with the accent. Maybe it’s because they are deemed bettertrained and more versatile, but whatever the reason, British actors have always been a dominant force at the Academy Awards.

This year is no different, with veteran British performers Albert Finney (“Erin Brockovich”), Dame Judi Dench (“Chocolat”) and Julie Walters (“Billy Elliot”) nominated for supporting roles. And one of the year’s nominated directors, Ridley Scott (“Gladiator”), hails from England.

Although the British have been mainstays at the Academy Awards, the Oscars’ flirtation with non-Americans goes beyond Britain’s borders. The first best actor winner, Emil Jannings, was German. Oscar-winning performers have hailed from Austria (Paul Muni), Sweden (Ingrid Bergman), Mexico (Anthony Quinn), Puerto Rico (Jose Ferrer), Belgium (Audrey Hepburn), France (Claudette Colbert) and Italy (Anna Magnani). Here’s a closer look at Oscar’s love affair with Brits:

The first British performer to be nominated for an Oscar never uttered a sound. London-born Charlie Chaplin was nominated for best actor of 1927-28 for the silent comedy “The Circus.” Also nominated for best comedy direction, Chaplin received a special award for “versatility and genius in writing, acting, directing and producing ‘The Circus.’ ”

Veteran actor George Arliss was the first English actor to win the Academy Award when he was named best actor of 1929-30 for his performance in “Disraeli.” Fellow countryman Ronald Colman was also nominated that year for best actor for both “Bulldog Drummond” and “Condemned.” Colman would win nearly 20 years later as best actor for 1947’s “A Double Life.”

When England’s Charles Laughton won best actor of 1932-33 for “The Private Life of Henry VIII,” it marked the first time a foreign-produced film won an Oscar. In fact, the 1932-33 awards were dominated by the Brits. “Cavalcade,” Noel Coward’s epic about a British family, won best picture; Scotsman Frank Lloyd won for best director and the film’s English star, Diana Wynyard, was nominated for best actress.

Former British boxer Victor McLaglen won the 1935 best actor Oscar for John Ford’s “The Informer.” Four years later, Clark Gable was considered a shoo-in to win best actor for “Gone With the Wind.” But the award went to British thespian Robert Donat for his impeccable turn as a shy schoolteacher in “Goodbye, Mr. Chips.”

The best actress honors of 1939 also went to England’s own Vivien Leigh, who famously played a Southerner in “Gone With the Wind.” Twelve years later, she would win her second best actress Oscar as Tennessee Williams’ tragic Southern heroine Blanche in “A Streetcar Named Desire.”

But being British didn’t guarantee an Oscar win. Scottish-born Deborah Kerr was nominated six times for best actress and never won; Welshman Richard Burton went home empty-handed seven times as has Ireland’s Peter O’Toole.

The British and the Irish fared relatively well at the Academy Awards in the ‘40s. Scotsman Donald Crisp won best supporting actor for 1941’s “How Green Was My Valley,” while British beauty Greer Garson was named best actress of 1942 for “Mrs. Miniver.” Irish character actor Barry Fitzgerald won as supporting actor for 1944’s “Going My Way,” and Englishman Ray Milland was named best actor of 1945 for playing an American in “The Lost Weekend.” And who could forget British-born Edmund Gwenn’s delightful supporting turn as Kris Kringle in 1947’s “Miracle on 34th Street”?

Laurence Olivier, perhaps England’s most distinguished actor, directed himself to a best actor Oscar in 1948’s “Hamlet.” Though he lost the directing award to John Huston for “The Treasure of Sierra Madre,” Olivier’s “Hamlet” became the first British-made film to win the best picture honors.

Nine years later, Alec Guinness received the Academy Award for “The Bridge on the River Kwai.” In 1958, David Niven received his only Oscar for “Separate Tables.” His co-star, Dame Wendy Hiller, was named best supporting actress.

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The academy carried on a real love affair in the ‘60s with not only British performers, but also foreign-language film actors. In fact, in some years there were no American nominees in certain acting categories.

The ‘60s began with British-born Elizabeth Taylor winning best actress for 1960’s “Butterfield 8.” Six years later she won again for “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf.” The year 1960 also saw Peter Ustinov receive best supporting actor for 1960’s “Spartacus.” Four years later, he won in the same category for “Topkapi.”

Eccentric British character actress Margaret Rutherford won supporting actress of 1963 for “The V.I.P.s.” The following year, the academy bestowed both the best actor and best actress Oscars to English performers: Rex Harrison won for “My Fair Lady” and Julie Andrews took home an Oscar for her film debut in “Mary Poppins.” Another British Julie, Julie Christie, won best actress of 1965 for “Darling.”

Englander Paul Scofield was named best actor of 1966 for “A Man for All Seasons” and Maggie Smith was the recipient of the best actress Oscar of 1969 for “The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.” Nine years later, Smith would receive a supporting actress Oscar for the comedy “California Suite.”

The ‘70s was a prolific and inventive decade for American filmmakers and the majority of the acting Oscars were handed out to American performers.

Exceptions include Glenda Jackson, now a member of the British parliament, who won two best actress Oscars--for 1970’s “Women in Love” and 1973’s “A Touch of Class.” Veteran British star Sir John Mills picked up a supporting actor award for 1970’s “Ryan’s Daughter,” and Vanessa Redgrave was best supporting actress of 1977 for “Julia.”

Most of the ‘80s were also dominated by American performers with just a few British winners. Only John Gielgud won an Oscar as best supporting actor for the 1981 comedy “Arthur” and Ben Kingsley, an unknown in America, won best actor for 1982’s “Gandhi.” Dame Peggy Ashcroft took home the best supporting actress trophy for 1984’s “A Passage to India.”

After three best actor nominations, Michael Caine was named best supporting actor of 1986 for Woody Allen’s “Hannah and Her Sisters.” Caine also won in that category 13 years later, playing an American doctor in “The Cider House Rules.” And Scotsman Sean Connery won his supporting actor Oscar for 1987’s “The Untouchables.”

The decade ended with nearly a clean sweep by the Brits when Daniel Day-Lewis (“My Left Foot”) and Jessica Tandy (“Driving Miss Daisy”) were named best actor and actress of 1989. And Dublin’s Brenda Fricker won supporting actress for “My Left Foot.” That year a young actor from Northern Ireland named Kenneth Branagh burst onto the scene, receiving a best actor and director nomination for “Henry V.”

The ‘90s kicked off with British actor Jeremy Irons winning the best actor Oscar for 1990’s “Reversal of Fortune.” The following year, Welshman Anthony Hopkins received a best actor award for “The Silence of the Lambs.” Hopkins, who recently became an American citizen, scored three more Oscar nominations in the ‘90s for “The Remains of the Day,” “Nixon” and “Amistad.”

British actress Emma Thompson won best actress for 1992’s “Howards End,” as well as best adapted screenplay for 1995’s “Sense and Sensibility.” And Dench, nominated this year in the supporting category for “Chocolat,” won supporting actress for 1998’s “Shakespeare in Love.” Though only four British performers won Oscars in the ‘90s, several non-American and non-English performers were honored by the academy: Australia’s Geoffrey Rush won best actor of 1996 for “Shine”--he’s nominated this year for “Quills”--and French actress Juliette Binoche, nominated this year for best actress for “Chocolat,” won best supporting actress for 1996’s “The English Patient.” Italian star Roberto Benigni received the best actor Oscar for 1998’s “Life Is Beautiful.”

The Oscar nominees of 2000 continue to reflect the international appeal with New Zealand-born Russell Crowe nominated for best actor (“Gladiator”), Spanish superstar Javier Bardem nominated in the same category for “Before Night Falls” and Puerto Rican-born Benicio Del Toro up for a primarily Spanish-language role as supporting actor for “Traffic.”