Liverpool has proved itself to be a perfect backdrop for several of the most lucrative media productions, as well as a home for some of the best past and present film directors. The dynamic port-city not only works wonders behind and in front of the camera, but it has also produced a plethora of extremely gifted and talented actors.
1. Jodie Comer
Firstly, none other than Jodie Comer had to start off this star-studded list. Comer was born in Liverpool and grew up in the Childwall suburb. Her fascination with acting began when she was just eleven years old, as she consistently attended a local weekend drama school called CALS, situated in the Belle Vale area of Liverpool. Via this school, she was able to enter the Liverpool Performing Arts Festival (2006) at the iconic St. George’s Hall, whereby she came first in her category for her monologue about the Hillsborough disaster.
For her school’s talent show, she performed another monologue, which impressed her drama teacher so much so that she called in a favour at the BBC. This favour allowed Comer to audition for a BBC Radio 4 play, which was the young actress’ first industry gig! Her co-stars even encouraged her to hire an agent and told her she could have a very successful acting career.
Comer’s first appearance on television was at the age of fifteen, portraying the character of Leanne, in an episode of ITV’s medical drama – The Royal Today (2008). Her role as Rae’s (Sharon Rooney) frenemy, Chloe Gemell in teen comedy/drama series, My Mad Fat Diary (2013-2015), and the ‘other woman’, Kate Parks in drama/thriller series, Doctor Foster (2015-2017), gained her even more recognition. Critical acclaim commenced for Comer when she starred as young and kidnapped girl, Ivy Moxham, in BBC Three drama mini-series, Thirteen (2016). This role earned her a nomination for ‘Best Actress’ at the British Academy Television Awards. But, the role that earned her international recognition, was in April of 2018 when Comer began her portrayal as sociopathic Russian assassin, Villanelle, in BBC spy thriller series – Killing Eve (2018-2022).
Killing Eve follows a British intelligence investigator, Eve Polastri (Sandra Oh), who is bored with her office-bound job and craves the thrilling, adrenaline-filled career of a spy. She has been given the immeasurable task of capturing psychopath assassin, Villanelle (Jodie Comer), who has become an expert at murder and thus, is able to lead a lavish lifestyle from her killing-spree earnings. When the two meet, they become inseparable…
Critics have praised Comer, noting her “breakout performance” in the series, that has opened up limitless opportunities for her acting career. Reviews have also commended the programme and its lead female roles, for showing the world that women can play characters traditionally saved for men – and they can do it very well. From the authentic Russian accent, to the quirky and freakish mannerisms and the multi-dimensional portrayal of a psychopathic, yet comedic killer’s aura – Comer hit the nail on the head with the task of playing Villanelle’s character. In fact, this role won her a British Academy Television Award for ‘Best Actress’ and a Primetime Emmy Award for ‘Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series’ (both in 2019).
2. Stephen Graham
Another brilliant actor from the city of Liverpool, is Stephen Graham. Graham was born and raised in Kirkby and has multiracial heritage, originating from his Swedish grandmother and Jamaican grandfather. He attended Overdale Primary School, where he played Jim Hawkins in a school production of Treasure Island (1950), when he was only eight years old. Local actor, Andrew Schofield, saw this production and encouraged Graham to pursue acting. His education continued at Ruffwood Comprehensive School, and soon morphed into a passion for acting, after he discovered Liverpool’s Everyman Theatre at the age of fourteen – spurring him on to train at the Rose Bruford College of Theatre and Performance.
Graham’s first appearance on television was at the age of seventeen, as Mickey Bell in two episodes of ITV’s children’s drama, Children’s Ward (1990), which told the stories of young patients and staff in a children’s ward in (the fictitious) South Park Hospital. He also appeared in the infamous long-running soap opera, Coronation Street (1960 – present), in 1999 for five episodes as Lee Sankey, who was involved in a drug-dealing storyline in the programme.
But, his stand-out role that sparked his critical acclaim was in the independent drama film, This is England (2006), as Andrew “Combo” Gascoigne. The film was a triumph, garnering £5 million at the box office. Despite this success, Graham revealed in an interview that he struggled to get another acting job for eight months after This is England. However, this didn’t last long. Graham soon recovered from this unintentional hiatus, when he starred in three high-grossing BBC productions – Line of Duty (2012-2021), Time (2021) and Boiling Point (2023).
His most celebrated performance is credited to his role as John Corbett in season five of BBC prison drama, Line of Duty (2019). The series follows Superintendent Hastings’ (Adrian Dunbar) anti-corruption team, AC-12, and their investigation into ‘Operation Pear Tree’ – a top-secret undercover operation set up to expose the connection between organised crime and the police service.
Graham’s illustrious portrayal of John Corbett has been highly revered by critics, with reviews commenting on the multi-layered portrayal of emotion he was able to exude. In fact, The Telegraph declared his performance as radiating “enough different emotions into one hour for a Hollywood showreel” – noting his ability to emit several character types within his single role, such as: “a wrathful vigilante”, “heartsick parent”, “arrogant drug-lord” and “hunted prey”.
3. Jason Isaacs
Another big name to add to the list, is Jason Isaacs. Isaacs was born in Liverpool to Jewish parents and grew up in the Childwall suburb, in which he is part of a close-knit Jewish community started by his Eastern-European great-grandparents. When he turned eleven, he and his family relocated to London where Isaacs attended the Haberdashers’ Aske’s Boys’ School in Elstree, alongside the likes of: David Baddiel, Sacha Baron Cohen, Mark Kermode and Matt Lucas.
His education began in the field of law, when he attended Bristol University to study the subject from 1982 to 1985. However, this venture took an unexpected turn as he became interested in the university’s theatre club, in which he acted in over 30 plays and performed each summer at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. This change in interests led to him immediately going to train at London’s Central School of Speech and Drama after graduating university, from 1985 to 1988.
Isaacs’ acting career begun when he was twenty-six, straight after his training had finished at drama school. His debut was as a minor character (‘Doctor 2’) in The Tall Guy (1989). From this point onwards, he made his mark on television, by starring in a multitude of BBC and ITV dramas, such as: ITV’s Capital City (1989), BBC’s Civvies (1992), ITV’s adaptation of Dangerous Lady (1995), etc. But, the role that is considered as his break-out into Hollywood, was as evil sycophant, Lord Felton in Dragonheart (1996). This is the role that began his arc of playing villainous characters, which he revealed in an interview, that he felt prepared for due to the unfortunate bullying he faced during his childhood.
After his performance as Lord Felton, a plethora of Hollywood productions casted him, including the likes of Event Horizon (1997), Armageddon (1998), Neil Jordan’s critically acclaimed adaptation of Graham Greene’s The End of the Affair (1999) and amongst the most momentous – his more recent portrayal of Captain Gabriel Lorca in season one of Star Trek: Discovery (2017).
However, of course, Isaacs’ most notable role is as Lucius Malfoy in seven out of eight films in the Harry Potter film series (2001-2011). The Harry Potter book series written by J.K. Rowling was adapted into a sequence of eight films for the big screen. The magical story follows a tragically orphaned boy called Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe), who discovers on his eleventh birthday that he is in fact a wizard! Gladly escorted away from his horrid uncle and aunt by friendly giant, Hagrid (Robbie Coltrane), he makes his way to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Here, he meets his new best friends, Ron Weasley (Rupert Grint) and Hermione Granger (Emma Watson). Together, they embark on several magical, yet dangerous, adventures in order to uncover the truth about Harry’s parents’ mysterious deaths…
Another villainous character to add to Isaacs’ collection – his portrayal of Lucius Malfoy, the father of Harry’s nemesis at Hogwarts (Draco – played by Tom Felton), is nothing short of perfection. He nails the posh, pompous and arrogant mannerisms in Lucius’ voice and accent, whilst also achieving the sneering facial expressions and untrustworthy aura of his evil character. In fact, his starring in this role earned him a nomination for ‘Best Acting Ensemble’, alongside his Harry Potter co-stars, at the 2003 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards.
4. Peter Serafinowicz
Another of Hollywood’s finest to add to this collection, is Peter Serafinowicz. Serafinowicz was born in Liverpool’s Gateacre suburb and has Polish and Belarusian heritage that stems from his father’s side of the family. When Serafinowicz turned three, he and his family moved to the Belle Vale district of Liverpool, where he attended Our Lady of the Assumption Primary School. After relocating back to his roots in Gateacre at the age of fourteen, his next educational endeavour occurred at St. Francis Xavier’s College in the neighbouring Woolton suburb.
Starting off in broadcasting, Serafinowicz made his radio debut at the age of twenty-one, on the Radio 1 show – The Knowledge, a spoof documentary about the music industry. Branching out into more comedy, he appeared in another spoof, The Election Night Armistice (1997) as fictional press secretary to Gordon Brown, Moz Bingham. Following on from this, his comedic roots landed him some television gigs, on Comedy Nation (1998), You Are Here (1998)and Simon Nye’s sitcom, How Do You Want Me? (1998). Then came along 2004, the year of Serafinowicz’s breakthrough into film, when he starred as uptight flatmate, Pete, in horror/comedy, Shaun of the Dead (2004). His voice acting also lends itself to a myriad of animated children’s films, including: Sing (2016), Sing 2 (2021), Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget (2023) but also to a major sci-fi classic, Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999).
Nonetheless, a huge role that included his complete acting, rather than merely his voice, was his portrayal of Denarian Garthan Saal (AKA Supernova) in Marvel’s action/fantasy film, Guardians of the Galaxy (2014). The film is based on the Marvel series of comics that go by the same name, and follows space adventurer, Peter Quill (Chris Pratt), who has just stolen a coveted orb from powerful villain, Ronan (Lee Pace). Forced to make an uneasy truce with an eccentric band of outliers in order to save him from the relentless bounty hunters that are hot on his tail, Quill is left with no choice. Together, they discover the orb’s true power and the threat it poses to the cosmos, compelling them to team up to save the universe…
As always with Serafinowicz’s characters, he adds an air of comedy to his performance as Supernova. Using dry and witty humour, he adds to the comedic aura of the film, cohesive with the rest of Marvel’s productions. Once again, his voice is the star of the show, as he perfected the low, monotone and matter-of-fact tone present in Supernova’s dialogue. Consequently, this brilliant portrayal gained him and his fellow Guardians of the Galaxy actors a duo of award nominations and one win for ‘Best Ensemble Acting’, at: the 2014 Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards (nomination), the 2014 Detroit Film Critics Society Awards (nomination) and the 2015 Central Ohio Film Critics Association Awards (win).
5. Alison Steadman
Last but certainly not least, who better to end on than Alison Steadman? Steadman was born in Liverpool and grew up in the Childwall suburb, where she attended Childwall Valley High School for girls. Her passion for acting started young, as she was educated at the East 15 Acting School in Loughton, Essex. This honed her drama skills, securing her jobs in several regional repertory theatres, beginning in Lincoln where she played Sandy in a theatrical adaptation of Muriel Spark’s novel, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1961) in 1968.
This theatre debut established her a career on television, where she took part in several plays adapted for TV, such as Mike Leigh’s Nuts in May (1976) and Abigail’s Party (1977). Succeeding these roles, she stepped foot into the world of BBC and ITV productions – including playing Mrs Marlow in BBC’s The Singing Detective (1986) and Betty Simpson in ITV’s Fat Friends (2000-2005). She was welcomed into the major broadcasting realm with open arms, as she received BAFTA TV Award nominations for both of these titles. Amongst some of her most recognisable work in film, includes her appearances in A Private Function (1984) as Mrs Allardyce, Topsy-Turvy (1999) as Madame Leon, The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004) as a casting agent and more recently, Dad’s Army (2016) as Mrs Fox and The King’s Man (2021) as Rita.
However, her most well-known role has to be as Pam Shipman in BBC’s sitcom, Gavin and Stacey (2007-2010). The first season of the show follows the long-distance relationship between young Englishman, Gavin Shipman (Matthew Horne), and Welsh girl, Stacey West (Joanna Page). The couple become increasingly infatuated and end up tying the knot after a romantic rendezvous in London. The rest of the series follows their married life and relocation to Gavin’s family home in Essex, but the honeymoon stage soon starts to wear off as Stacey begins to miss her Welsh roots…
Critics raved about Steadman’s performance as Gavin’s slightly overbearing, yet sweet and very proud stereotypical Essex mother. Fans adored her, with many choosing her as their favourite character in reviews. Steadman plays the house-proud, doting mother role very well, with her attitude that Gavin can do no wrong and her charming hospitality towards guests. A lot of critical reception noted the refreshing realism within the show and a fan favourite was definitely the binary opposition between Pam and the rugged, outspoken Nessa (Ruth Jones). The chemistry between the pair on screen really made for a hilariously dynamic duo.
There you have it, the top five actors from Liverpool’s vast pool of talented on-screen stars. The city has proved once again, that it really does have it all.
