10 Greatest Actors Alive (And Currently Working)

An altogether different type of British actor is Chiwetel Ejiofor, who would make it onto this list for his iconic performance in Steve McQueen’s 12 Years a Slave alone. That role, a once-in-a-career opportunity, ensured that Ejiofor’s name was finally on the lips of a wider audience who mightn’t have been familiar with his work prior to his Oscar nominated turn as Solomon Northup.

Before that, Ejiofor had form in turning out role after impressive role. In fact, his career looked set to kick-start in 2002, when the actor helmed Stephen Frears’ admirable Dirty Pretty Things. Ejiofor excelled alongside co-star Audrey Tautou, playing an illegal Nigerian immigrant who discovers a near-literal seedy underbelly to life in London. For whatever reason though, Ejiofor didn’t really further himself (at least not on screen, he has always been a respected stage actor), and he was reduced to bit parts in movies of middling quality.

Always solid, Ejiofor just needed a run of decent films to really get in the groove. Kinky Boots, Inside Man, Children of Men, American Gangster, and Redbelt provided him with this, followed a few years later by his performance for the ages in 12 Years a Slave.

See Him In: Redbelt: playwright David Mamet’s tale of an MMA expert offered a strange job in the film industry.