Britmania

Another shorty but goody from the desk of The Lady Novelist.

I received another 'Dear Author' rejection letter the other day, that wasn't even personally signed. It was a Xerox copy. Ouch! Still, I have 4 more agents to hear from, and one editor, plus another agent wants an exclusive on my partial, and the one agent who wants the full.

I was feeling a little down, so I took out a Colin Firth movie to watch called Fourplay. It was horrible, but it was still Colin Firth, so I felt a little better.

Amazing how watching a favorite actor can perk up your day, and since I'm such an Anglophile, I thought I would list my top ten favorite Brit Actors (in random order).

1. Jason Isaacs - You've probably seen him as Mel Gibson's nemesis in Patriot, or as Hook in Peter Pan. I say he has the most beautiful blue eyes I've ever seen, and he's a good actor to boot.

2. Hugh Laurie - How I love my Hugh. I've been a fan ever since I saw his work on Blackadder and Jeeves and Wooster, but House proves that he's more than just a comedic actor. He manages to be prickly, arrogant, intelligent, scruffy, and yet sexy all at the same time.

3. Daniel Craig - A brit flying under the radar at the moment, but tipped to be the next James Bond. He was excellent in Sylvia with Gwyneth Paltrow and as the lead in Cake. Sexy but dangerous. Yummy!

4. Sean Bean - He usually plays villains but he was a wonderful Odysseus in Troy. Anyone who hasn't seen him play Sharpe needs to hie thee to a video store or Netflix.

5. Rufus Sewell - Yes, he looks somewhat like that Edvard Munch painting the scream, but he has that voice, and those deep green eyes, and wavy dark hair. Also plays villains very well. What is it with Hollywood casting Brits as villains all the time?

6. Jonathan Cake - Diamond Girl was the first time that I saw him, and I thought who is that tall drink of water? Sexy, handsome, but rugged. Must be that broken nose from playing rugby at Cambridge. Very sexy in Baby Doll in the West End. Also usually plays creeps, villains, and assholes.

7. Gerard Butler - Mary knows what I'm talking about! Forget Dracula 2000, watch him in Phantom of the Opera. I saw Phantom 3 times on Broadway, twice with Michael Crawford who originated the role, and Gerard made me forget him completely. He's the best thing about Timeline, and the last Lara Croft movie (sorry Angelina). There's something very playful about him, that makes him very sexy.

8. Clive Owen - How could I forget Mr. Owen? This is the man who should be the next James Bond hands down. He's good-looking but not in a pretty boy way, sexy and very dangerous. It would hark back to the James Bond from the Sean Connery days. I can't wait to see the movie that he made with Jennifer Aniston, Derailed.

9. James Purefoy - Marc Antony in HBO's new series Rome. Beautiful chocolate brown eyes, rangy body but not too skinny. Lovely voice (must be all the vocal training that they get at drama school). First came to America's attention in Vanity Fair with Reese Witherspoon (rent it, it's worth viewing).

10. Colin Firth - the man. The only reason (besides Hugh Grant) that I've watched Love Actually, Pride and Prejudice and both Bridget Jones movies innumerable times. Watch Another Country with Rupert Everett to see where it all started.

Of course, there are other brits that I adore, Timothy Dalton (what's he been doing lately?), Patrick Stewart, Sean Connery, Robbie Coltrane (yes, I said Robbie Coltrane, Hagrid from Harry Potter! Watch Cracker, and you'll see what I mean), but these are my top ten Brits of the moment.

Who are your favorites?