Trivia: The 12th of 13 children of a Welsh miner, actor Richard Burton left his humble environs by winning a scholarship to Oxford. Blessed with a thrillingly theatrical voice, Burton took to the stage, and, by 1949, had been tagged as one of Britain's most promising newcomers. Director Philip Dunne, who later helmed several of Burton's Hollywood films, would recall viewing a 1949 London staging of The Lady's Not for Burning and watching in awe as star John Gielgud was eclipsed by juvenile lead Richard Burton: "He 'took' the stage and kept a firm grip on it during every one of his brief appearances." A few years after his film debut in The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949), the actor was signed by 20th Century Fox, which had hopes of turning him into the new Lawrence Olivier -- although Burton was not quite able to grip films as well as he did the stage. Aside from The Robe (1953), most of Burton's Fox films were disappointments, and the actor was unable to shake his to-the-rafters theatricality for the smaller scope of the camera lens. Still, he was handsome and self-assured, so Burton was permitted a standard-issue 1950s spectacle, Alexander the Great (1956). His own film greatness would not manifest itself until he played the dirt-under-the-nails role of Jimmy Porter in Look Back in Anger (1959). In this, he spoke the vernacular of regular human beings -- rather than that of high-priced, affected Hollywood screenwriters -- and delivered a jolting performance as a working-class man trapped by the system and his own personal demons. Following a well-received Broadway run in the musical Camelot, Burton was signed in 1961 to replace Stephen Boyd on the benighted film spectacular Cleopatra (1963). It probably isn't necessary to elaborate on what happened next, but the result was that Burton suddenly found himself an international celebrity, not for his acting, but for his tempestuous romance with co-star Elizabeth Taylor. A hot property at last, Burton apparently signed every long-term contract thrust in front of him, while television networks found themselves besieged with requests for screenings of such earlier Burton film "triumphs" as Prince of Players (1955) and The Rains of Ranchipur (1956). In the midst of the initial wave of notoriety, Burton appeared in a Broadway modern-dress version of Hamlet directed by John Gielgud, which played to standing-room-only crowds who were less interested in the melancholy Dane than in possibly catching a glimpse of the Lovely Liz. Amidst choice film work like Becket (1964) and The Spy Who Came in From the Cold (1966), Burton was also contractually obligated to appear with Taylor in such high-priced kitsch as The V.I.P.s, (1963) The Sandpiper (1965), and Boom! (1968). A few of the Burton/Taylor vehicles were excellent -- notably Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (she won an Oscar; he didn't, but should have) -- but the circus of publicity began to erode the public's ability to take Burton seriously. It became even harder when the couple divorced, remarried, and broke up again. Moreover, Burton was bound by contract to appear in such bland cinematic enterprises as Candy (1968), Villain (1971), The Assassination of Trotsky (1972), The Klansman (1974), and that rancid masterpiece Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977). So low had Burton's reputation sunk that when he delivered an Oscar-caliber performance in Equus (1977), it was hailed as a "comeback," even though the actor had never left. (Once again he lost the Oscar, this time to Richard Dreyfuss.) Burton managed to recapture his old performing fire in his last moviemaking years, offering up one of his best performances in his final picture, 1984 (1984). He died later that year.

Trivia: Another distinguished product of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts, Lancashire-born Ian McShane made his professional stage, film and TV debut all in the same year: 1962. McShane's subsequent stage credits were as extensive as they were impressive, ranging from centuries-old classics to Tennessee Williams and Joe Orton. His TV resumé includes any number of TV-movies and miniseries: he played Judas in the internationally produced Jesus of Nazareth (1977) and was seen as the title character in the British "mini" Disraeli (1979). In America, he was a regular on the 1989-90 season of Dallas, playing Don Lockwood. McShane gained an international fan following as a result of his starring role in the widely-distributed TV series The Lovejoy Mysteries, originally filmed in 1986, then brought back by popular demand in 1990. Throughout the 90s, McShane was mostly absent from both the big screen and the small one. However, in 2000, he received recognition for playing a tough crime boss in the critically acclaimed Sexy Beast. It was certainly this hard-edged persona that attracted the producers of HBO's Deadwood to McShane. In 2004, he found himself with a regular gig on the foul-mouthed Western series, starring as an unscrupulous tavern-owner in a lawless 19th-century American prospecting town. He stayed with the show for its entire run, soon moving on to star as Max in the Broadway revival of Harold Pinter's The Homecoming, before signing on to star in the NBC drama Kings in 2008. Loosely based on the story of King David, the show followed the story of a dynastic family in present-day America, but was cancelled after just a season. He went on to appear in the quirky thriller A 44 Inch Chest, before joining the likes of Donald Sutherland in the fantasy mini-series The Pillars of the Earth in 2010. Sticking with the fantastical theme, McShane next signed on to play the legendary pirate Blackbeard in the 2011 Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides.In years to come, McShane would appear in several films, like Snow White and the Huntsman, as well as the mini series Pillars of the Earth.From 1965 to 1968, Ian McShane was married to actress Suzanne Farmer.

Trivia: A character player even in youth, British actor Nigel Davenport spent nearly fifty years in briskly businesslike stage, screen and TV roles. He made his film debut as the police sergeant in Michael Powell's notorious Peeping Tom (1959). Among his many colorful screen characterizations were the Duke of Norfolk in A Man For All Seasons (1966), Bothwell in Mary Queen of Scots (1971), Van Helsing in the 1973 Frank Langella version of Dracula and Lord Birkenbed in the Oscar-winning Chariots of Fire. Nigel Davenport's TV credits include the miniseries Prince Regent (1979, as King George III), and Masada (1981). Towards the end of his career, he made appearances in popular British TV series such as Keeping Up Appearances and Midsomer Murders, and played Dan Peggotty in a TV movie version of David Copperfield (2000). Davenport died in 2013 at age 85.

Trivia: British stage actor Donald Sinden transferred his base of operations to the screen in 1948. He was best known in the 1950s for his characterization of Dr. Benskin in the popular Doctor in the House film series. He later starred in the TV series Two's Company (1974), Never the Twain (1981), and Playing Shakespeare (1988), and was heard as the voice of Doc in the 1995 animated feature Balto. Donald Sinden wrote his autobiography in 1982, titled A Touch of the Memoirs. He continued to work, both on the stage and on the screen, until his death in 2014, at age 90.

Trivia: Sometimes brunette, sometimes redheaded, British actress Fiona Lewis was always easy on the eyes. Lewis's acting style was graced with an ethereal air that worked well in horror/fantasy efforts like The Fearless Vampire Killers (1971), Dr. Phibes Rises Again (1973), and the TV-Movie Dracula (1973), in which she played the unfortunate Lucy. Later roles in films like Lisztomania (1978) have emphasized Lewis's quiet sensuality, while her parts in such films as Strange Invaders (1983) and Innerspace (1987) have tapped an engaging kinky streak. And how can one classify her work in The Fury (1978), in which her "reward" for attempting to mess with Amy Irving's telekinetic powers is to be blown to smithereens? Whenever she's found the time, Fiona Lewis has dabbled in screenwriting, though thus far none of her works have been filmed.

Trivia: Born Thomas Patrick McKenna. Character actor, onscreen from the early '60s.

Trivia: Another illustrious graduate of London's Central School of Speech and Drama, Joss Ackland made his first professional stage appearance at 17 in the 1945 production The Hasty Heart. For the next decade, Ackland learned his craft in a variety of regional theatre troupes, taking time out for an unheralded film debut in 1949's Seven Days to Noon. He quit acting in 1955 to manage a Central African tea plantation, finding creative outlets as a playwright and radio disc jockey. Upon his return to the British theatre in 1957, Ackland joined the Old Vic. From 1962 through 1964, he was associate director of the Mermaid Theatre. He subsequently established himself on the West End musical stage, playing such showcase roles as Captain Hook in Peter Pan and Juan Peron in Evita. Launching his film career proper in 1965, Ackland has flourished in characterizations calling for outsized gestures and orotund vocal calisthenics. Among his better-known screen roles are Greta Scacchi's decadent, untrustworthy aristocrat husband in White Mischief (1988), and homicidal South African diplomat Arjen Rudd in Lethal Weapon 2 (1990). On TV, Ackland was seen as C.S. Lewis in the 1985 BBC production of Shadowlands, and as Isaac in the 1994 made-for-cable Biblical drama Jacob. He has also provided voiceovers for the animated features A Midsummer's Night's Dream (1961) and Watership Down (1978). Over the coming decades, Ackland would appear in several projects over the coming decades, including K-19: The Widowmaker, Asylum, and Flawless.

Trivia: British actress Cathleen Nesbitt took the first step toward a career that would span nine decades when she made her stage debut in the 1910 London revival of Pinero's The Cabinet Minister. While appearing with the Irish Players, Nesbitt made her first journey to America in 1915, where she would star in the Broadway premiere of Playboy of the Western World. After four years in the U.S., Nesbitt returned to England in 1919, where she concentrated on classic roles and where she would make her first film in 1922. Hundreds of stage roles later, Ms. Nesbitt appeared in her first American movie, 1954's Three Coins in the Fountain. Two years later, she played Mrs. Higgins in the Broadway hit My Fair Lady. When she accepted a co-starring role as William Windom's mother in the 1963 TV sitcom The Farmer's Daughter, some observers opined that this would be the capper of her long career. Not so: Cathleen Nesbitt had over 15 years of work still in her, including the demanding role of an octogenarian drug addict in The French Connection II. And in 1981, at the age of 92, Ms. Nesbitt again portrayed Mrs. Higgins in the Broadway revival of My Fair Lady. Cathleen Nesbitt wrote her autobiography, A Little Love and Good Company, in 1973.

Trivia: British actor and screenwriter Colin Welland made his big-screen debut in 1969 following experience as a television actor and writer. Following the screenplay for John Schlesinger's Yanks in 1979, he focused more on the writing aspect of his career and only made occasional forays into acting. In 1981, his screenplay for Chariots of Fire earned him an Academy Award. Welland continued to act and write through the 1990s before retiring; he died in 2015, at age 81.

Trivia: Irish-born character actor, onscreen from the '60s.

Trivia: Actor James Cossins was one of the ranks of British character players seemingly put on earth to play fussy, officious roles. Cossins' movie work commenced in the mid '60s and embraced such films as Richard Lester's How I Won the War (1968), Hammer's Lost Continent (1968), the Jack Wild vehicle Melody (1970) and the turgid Richard Burton meller Villain (1971). Seldom permitted more than five to ten minutes a film, James Cossins had his best showing in the 1967 picture The Anniversary. He contrived not to blend into the scenery despite the daunting competition of star Bette Davis, here playing a one-eyed, incestuous monster mama.