4. Colin Firth
It seems somewhat hard to remember Colin Firth pre-The King's Speech. He's become the award show darling after finally abandoning tiresome British rom-coms in favour of more substantial and difficult material. That's not to say he was annoying or anything when he was playing loveable, bumbling romantics - he did it better than anyone - it was just clear to see he was much better than the films he was appearing in. Ever since he rose to fame as Mr. Darcy in the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, it was inevitable he would go down the British rom-com route and end up in a film with Hugh Grant. Despite being unconventionally handsome, he has the hearts of every young girl who has watched Love Actually in his palm, but Firth is at his mighty best when straying from the rom-coms and toning down his sex appeal. His subtle turn in Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy is a masterclass in acting - his eyes tell more of a story than words ever could. His performance in A Single Man still remains his best performance, and was the one he should have won the Oscar for: he shows such a painful humanity in grief, his heart being torn apart by loss, and the opening scene of that film being one of the most powerfully devastating of that year, all thanks to Firth's performance. Firth appears to have shook off typecasting in favour of more serious material now he is a little older, and despite Love Actually and Bridget Jones' Diary being popular "guilty pleasures", Colin Firth the actor, is much better than Colin Firth the sex symbol.