Being a European myself, I have a special connection with European actors. Jamie Bamber is one of my favorites. I just love his Archie Kennedy in the Hornblower series but without Archie (and Jamie) the series just isn't the same. Jamie was also in Band of Brothers and he's done much more. As if acting talent, good looks and brains aren't enough, Jamie is a very nice guy too. He answers fan letters, usually in his own handwriting.

And there are more actors from the British Isles who combine outstanding talent with charm and even good looks. Mel Raido (I've only seen him in Midsomer Murders but I know he's done much more), Shaun Dingwall (Touching Evil, Dr Who), Paul Fox (Lifeforce and a lot more), Charlie Hunnam (Queer as Folk), Joe Mc Fadden (Crow Road).

Orlando Bloom (LOTR, Pirates of the Caribbean and more), Ewan McGregor (Velvet Goldmine, Rogue Trader, The Serpent's Kiss), Christian Bale (Mio in the Land of Faraway, Empire of the Sun, Velvet Goldmine, Little Women), Jonathan Rhys Meyers (Velvet Goldmine and much more) and Rupert Graves (A Room With a View, Maurice, Forsyte Saga) are others.

Richard Coyle is another British actor that I feel is very underrated. I've only seen him in the mini series Sword of Honour, based on a novel by Evelyn Waugh, but I know Richard also stars in the popular British comedy Coupling. He's done a lot more. Hugh Laurie (Spooks, Blackadder, Sense and Sensibility, Peter's Friends, Jeeves and Wooster to name just a few) is absolutely fantastic. He's been in several different tv series and movies. Stephen Fry (Peter's Friends, Wilde, Blackadder, Jeeves and Wooster and much more) is really great too. Let's not forget Sean Bean (LOTR, Extremely Dangerous and much more). This guy is actually quite hot. (Help! I just be getting old.)

Two other British actors are John Simm (State of Play and much more) and James McAvoy (State of Play, Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Band of Brothers and much more).

The European continent has produced a couple of other unusually gifted and attractive actors as well. French actor and performer Patrick Bruel (Brothers in Arms/L'Union Sacrée, Profs and many more) not only acts brilliantly and is totally gorgeous, he also sings.

Gedeon Burkhard (Rex, a Cop's Best Friend and several movies) is 'the most beautiful man in the land' (quote from interview in his native German) and also the third most erotic man. He's a good actor, really cute (used to be a model) and seems to be a nice guy too. Some people have all the luck.;)

Finally, I'd like to mention Dominik Castell (Rex a Cop's Best Friend and several other series and movies) . He's German too, and - you guessed it - cute and talented (directs too, it seems). Did you see that boring movie, Before Sunrise, starring Ethan Hawke? Dominik was a street poet. His English is excellent as well.

Among Swedish actors, I'd really like to mention Rikard Wolf. He's a fantastic actor. He was terrific in Angel Farm/House of the Angels (Änglagård), but apparently he prefers to sing.

Niclas Wahlgren anyone? He's cute and sexy and it's nearly impossible to imagine that he's as old as he apparently is. (Wait, Niclas, I don't believe it either). His debut was in a movie called G, in 1983 (or was that 2003?) LOL. He's also a singer and songwriter.

There's another acting Niklas (and a singer/songwriter) - Niklas Hjulström (De Drabbade and various Swedish cop series). He's a good actor, kind of cute and a really sweet guy too.

I really love Ola Rapace (Together, Tusenbröder, Pappa Polis and much more). He's cute, hot, a good actor and seems to be a nice person too. When he's not working, he plays in a band. I have to admit that their music isn't really my thing though.

Another great actor from De Drabbade is Omid Khansari, who has an Iranian father.

Other fantastic Scandinavian actors include the Danes Martin Hestbaek (At the Faber), Mads Mikkelsen (Unit One and several movies), Norwegian Hallvard Holmen (De Drabbade).

I have dozens of favorite North American actors as well. River Phoenix is the one who stands out from the rest. He was it. The definitive actor. Beautiful, talented, not only when it comes to acting, but he sang too, and wrote music, and on top of all that, he was a wonderful person. His younger brother Joaquin shares many of River's qualities. My favorite River movies were Little Nikita, Sneakers and above all, Running On Empty.

I have many favorite Canadian actors. Brendan Fehr från Roswell (wow, totally hot), Sebastian Spence from First Wave and much more (beautiful), Nicholas Lea from the X files (sexy) and Michael McManus from Lexx (not exactly ugly either, to say the least).

Naturally, there are so many Americans, I hesitate to name them all. Of course I will anyway. LOL.

Brad Pitt (naturally! what hasn't he starred in). Johnny Depp (naturally) (Edward Scissorhands, What's Eating Gilbert Grape, Sleepy Hollow, Pirates of the Caribbean, Chocolat and much more. This guy is such a hottie, the page should be burning up by now. Keanu Reeves - Keanu has a rather mixed background (The Matrix, My Own Private Idaho, Johnny Mnemonic, a Walk in the Clouds, Parenthood and many others), Viggo Mortensen - Viggo is half Danish (LOTR and much more).

I mustn't forget Andrew McCarthy (Less Than Zero, Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle, The Sight to name a few), Kevin Bacon (Flatliners, Apollo 13, Sleepers, Mystic River etc) och John Cusack (Stand By Me, Grosse Pointe Blank, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, he also produces movies himself and acts). Good looking and talented are just their first names.

I also like Simon Rex (Jack and Jill and various movies), Randy Vazquez (Love Boat the Next Wave, Beverly Hills Cop), Thomas Gibson (Dharma and Greg), David Duchovny from the X files (who's a vegetarian!), Seth Green (Buffy the Vampire Slayer).

Tom Verica (American Dreams and much more) and Enrique Murciano - Enrique is from Cuba (Without a Trace again). Danny Pino from Cold Case is another sexy American - though he's of Cuban ancestry too, apparently.

I also really like Casey Affleck (American Pie, American Pie 2, Good Will Hunting and much more). Casey is a close friend of Joaquin Phoenix, and they're both vegetarians.

Jake Gyllenhaal (Brokeback Mountain, Proof, Homicide: Life on the Streets, Josh and S.A.M) is another hottie. I was surprised to learn that Jake has Swedish ancestry. He's even a nobleman. How's that for a bit of weird, off-beat trivia? Lucky Heath Ledger who got to make out with Jake. ;)

In fact, there are any number of enormously talented Americans... Like Martin Freeman (many different movies, like the Shawshank Redemption), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix and more), Samuel L Jackson (The Long Kiss Goodnight and others) och Will Smith (I, Robot recently, but all kinds of other movies as well). Lately, I've discovered some more actors. Mainly through the tv series Heroes. My favorites are Sendhil Ramamurthy (Heroes), Milo Ventimiglia (Heroes, American Dreams) and Thomas Dekker - (Heroes, House). Milo is a vegetarian and Thomas is a vegan. That's always popular with me. :) I don't know anything about Sendhil's diet, but he's an incredibly beautiful and talented actor.

Let's not forget Australia. Alex Dimitriades is a totally gorgeous guy and a great actor too. I've seen him in The Heartbreak Kid, HeartBreak High and Young Lions. He was fantastic. I haven't seen Head On, but I'd love to. You get to see quite a lot of Alex there, if you know what I mean;). Miranda Otto (see below) is also Australian.

Yahoo Serious is another Australian. He's really in a league of his own. Yahoo Serious makes movies, sings and he's really sexy too. The movies I've seen him in are Young Einstein and Reckless Kelly.

Tom Long who was in Young Lions has done much more and he's really good, and kind of cute too.

Geoffrey Rush is another really good actor from Australia. A real 'modern' classic already. I saw him in two movies that were very different - Pirates of the Caribbean and Lantana, but he was just as good in both.

Now for the classics: British actor Laurence Olivier (Rebecka, A Little Romance and much more), Gregory Peck (Spellbound, Arabesque) - mom agrees with me about him, James Stewart (The Man Who Knew Too Much, Vertigo, Bell Book and Candle, North and South), Glenn Ford - who was born in Canada (Gilda, Blackboard Jungle, The Teahouse of the August Moon, Superman !).

Hasse Ekman is a Swedish actor who has been immensely important in Swedish film. He was an actor and director who influenced the business during much of the 20 century. Hasse was a member of a famous Swedish acting family, and among them, he was definitely my favorite.

You might ask if I don't like any female actors, but of course I do. I'll start with the classics. Rita Hayworth (Gilda, The Lady from Shanghai and much more), Swedish Ingrid Bergman (Casablanca, Spellbound, Gas Lights, Notorious and so much more) and Katharine Hepburn (The African Queen and much more).

If you haven't done so already, you absolutely must see Rita Hayworth and Glenn Ford in Gilda. That's one experience you can't do without. The entire movie is one of the best ever. Ingrid Bergman is at her usual level of excellence in Spellbound, Notorious and naturally, Casablanca.

From more modern times, I can mention the British actors Emma Thompson (Sense and Sensibility, Junior, Peter's Friends, Dead Again, Fortunes of War) and Kelly Macdonald (State of Play and much more).

There are quite a few Americans too: Sandra Bullock (Practical Magic and much more), Geena Davis (Cutthroat Island and The Long Kiss Goodnight, Commander in Chief and much more), Alyson Hannigan (Buffy, American Pie) and Tina Majorino (Veronica Mars, Without a Trace).

There are also some terrific Australians: Miranda Otto (LOTR) and Alexandra Davies (Young Lions).

Finally, I'd like to mention some Scandinavian actors: Danish Paprika Steen (De Drabbade, and several movies) - she's also a director and half-American. Eva Röse (De Drabbade (The Befallen), Storm, White Trash)

Please! If you have any more info about any of the European and Australian actors, I'd be extremely grateful if you could contact me and let me know (use the guestbook). I'd love to know more about those guys.

If you'd like to know more about these actors, you can visit the Internet Movie Database. You'll find facts about pretty much all actors in the world.