The Progress 1000: London's most influential people 2017 - Performers: Screen

Harris has long been one of the UK’s hardest-working actresses, with 28 Days Later, Pirates of the Caribbean and two Bond films on her CV. But the world really took notice this year after her scene-stealing performance in Moonlight. Harris was nominated for an Oscar for playing a wayward mother with a drug addiction, despite initial reluctance to take the intense part. We’ll next see her in action thriller Rampage alongside Dwayne Johnson.

The truth is out there… Last year saw Anderson return to the role that made her famous, Dana Scully in The X Files. A second series of the rebooted sci-fi show was confirmed this year, which the acclaimed actress has juggled with roles in must-watch crime programme The Fall, new hit programme American Gods, and feel-good film Viceroy’s House. She also spoke out against a lack of women in writing rooms, and counts Ruth Davidson among her admirers.

This former Bond girl proved her acting chops in earnest last year, taking the challenging role of Joan of Arc in the Donmar Warehouse’s riveting production, and charming film audiences in British wartime film Their Finest. She also has her own production company and uses her voice to speak out against inequality in film. She will next be seen playing Vita Sackville-West to Elizabeth Debicki’s Virginia Woolf in romantic drama Vita and Virginia.

Earlier this year, Barnard excelled in the notoriously tricky role of Amadeus Mozart, the troubled composer. And he followed the feat by taking a crucial part in Dunkirk, the Second World War drama co-starring an impressive British cast. Previous credits include Cilla and War and Peace, and he’ll soon be seen alongside Tom Wilkinson in comedy drama Dead in a Week: Or Your Money Back.

A playwright and TV writer, Bartlett is responsible for some of the most interesting television programmes to air in the past few years. Doctor Foster, starring Suranne Jones, won Bartlett a National Television Award, while his mock-Shakespearean play King Charles III — offering a vision of the monarchy’s future — was turned into a controversial adaptation earlier this year. He even found the time to pen an episode of Doctor Who.

The president and managing director of Warner Bros UK, Ireland and Spain added another impressive arrow to his quiver last year, replacing Greg Dyke as chair of the British Film Institute. Despite being US-born, he became a British citizen in 2011 and is one of the country’s biggest most prominent industry ambassadors. He’s also on the board at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and is a Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Practically perfect in every way, London-born actress Blunt was the natural choice to play super-nanny Mary Poppins in the forthcoming Disney sequel based on the P L Travers classic. She has spent much of this year filming the Rob Marshall musical alongside Meryl Streep and Hamilton’s Lin-Manuel Miranda. Blunt, who rose to fame through roles in Devil Wears Prada and Sicario, is married to American actor John Krasinski, with whom she has two children.

It takes a talented woman to make a robot compelling. Chan played Mia in Channel 4’s impressive futuristic series Humans, and went big budget with roles in Transformers: Dark Knight and wizard franchise Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. She also impressed on the stage, playing Ruth in Pinter’s The Homecoming in 2015, dates comedian Jack Whitehall, and is also a talented violinist.

This statuesque actress, Vivienne Westwood fan and London party scene regular always makes an impression, whether it be through her work as Brienne of Tarth in HBO’s Game of Thrones or Captain Phasma in the Star Wars films. The Sussex-born Christie also somehow found the time to appear in Top of The Lake, starring opposite Elisabeth Moss and Nicole Kidman in Jane Campion’s acclaimed TV series.

Michaela Coel was born in Tower Hamlets to Ghanaian parents, and while she’s not yet 30, she has become one of television’s most exciting and innovative young writers and actresses. In 2016 she won two Baftas, including Best Female Performance In A Comedy, for her work in self-penned comedy Chewing Gum. A second series was critically acclaimed across the world, and she also starred in Charlie Brooker’s sci-fi series Black Mirror.

The Greenock-born actor has impressed with a wide range of roles in films like Filth, co-starring James McAvoy, and The Disappearance of Alice Creed alongside Gemma Arterton. But his performance in BBC programme Line of Duty, in which he plays main character Arnott, has proved his dramatic prowess and earned him legions of fans. He will next be seen in The Hunter’s Prayer and a biopic of Mary Queen of Scots.

Is there any role that Benedict Cumberbatch can’t handle? He may have found fame as the remarkable detective Sherlock Holmes in the BBC’s much-loved long-running series, but he’s also earned an Oscar nomination in The Imitation Game and gained magical powers in psychedelic superhero film Doctor Strange. He joins Robert Downey Jr in the next instalment of The Avengers series, and welcomed his second child, Hal Auden, in the spring.

Love, Actually is still around. Curtis has provided the world with a very British impression of romance through his films Four Weddings and a Funeral, Notting Hill and About Time. But he caused hysteria this year by announcing the return of Love, Actually for Comic Relief, the charity which he set up with long-term partner Emma Freud. The special recap reunited Hugh Grant, Keira Knightley and Liam Neeson, and he even enlisted Kate Moss for a cameo.

She’s not just a pair of eyebrows. The country’s biggest model since Kate Moss has been plotting her film career for a few years now, with starring roles in Paper Towns and Suicide Squad already under her Chanel belt. But 2017 cemented her status as a bona fide star as she headed into space for Luc Besson’s sci-fi film Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets.

The ultimate National Treasure, Dame Judi has proved a box office draw in Philomena and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and has enjoyed decades of success in the theatre in everything from Shakespeare to Cabaret. This year she returned to the role of Queen Victoria: (she played her in Mrs Brown in 1997) in the critically acclaimed Victoria & Abdul, with awards success a given.

One of British cinema’s favourite behind-the-scenes figures, Des Forges is the director and founder of the Independent Cinema Office, which supports independent exhibitors across the country. A regular host of a variety of film panels and Q&As, she knows her stuff: she spent more than two decades working for organisations including BFI and the Arts Council, and is a frequent face in the crowd at key industry events.

Fifty Shades Darker, the second instalment in the EL James bonkbuster series, may not have made the critics applaud, but Dornan’s performance as sexually adventurous millionaire Christian Grey certainly got pulses racing. The Irish actor will be back for the final film next year, but in the meantime has been filming Robin Hood — he plays Will Scarlett — and TV film My Dinner with Hervé.

Is this Britain’s best new hope for a Hollywood transfer? Egerton’s previous roles in Kingsman and Eddie the Eagle endeared him to the public but he has been quick to add to his portfolio. He showed off an impressive set of pipes voicing a talented gorilla in Sing, took the lead in the Kingsman sequel alongside Colin Firth and Julianne Moore, and will play the legendary Robin Hood in a gritty adaptation of the tales next year.

From Kinky Boots to Twelve Years A Slave, Love Actually to Doctor Strange, Ejiofor has displayed remarkable versatility in a vast range of parts. He returned to Love Actually for this year’s Comic Relief reunion and has a busy release schedule coming up: he appears in Tonight at Noon and Come Sunday, before tackling the crucial role of Peter to Joaquin Phoenix’s Jesus in forthcoming biblical drama Mary Magdalene.

The name’s Bond? Maybe not, as Elba has repeatedly shut down rumours that he will ever be 007. But he’s definitely got the public vote. This year the actor starred in Sky’s Guerrilla, filmed Stephen King adaptation The Dark Tower, confirmed the return of BBC drama Luther and hit headlines when an online listing requesting extras for his next production led to gridlock in the streets. He’s also a gent.

Mr Darcy’s still got it. In fact, he may be improving with age. The Oscar-winning actor is one of this country’s finest performers, winning plaudits for dramatic triumphs A Single Man and The King’s Speech. But he really had some fun last month with the release of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, the hit spy caper co-starring Julianne Moore and Jeff Bridges. He’s also married to Livia Firth, the whip-smart founder of Eco Age Ltd, and has recently taken Anglo-Italian citizenship.

Arise, queen of the screen. Foy dabbled with regality playing the doomed Anne Boleyn in the BBC’s acclaimed Hilary Mantel adaptation Wolf Hall, for which she was rightly lauded. But she really managed the stiff upper lip by playing Elizabeth II in The Crown, the most expensive programme in Netflix history and a complete awards smash. Foy will next be seen in cinemas later this month in emotional drama Breathe, alongside Andrew Garfield.

Frears, one of the UK’s most prolific directors, has enjoyed great success through the decades, directing such acclaimed films as Dangerous Liaisons, The Queen, High Fidelity and Florence Foster Jenkins. He reunites with Dame Judi Dench, who starred in his moving comedy Philomena, in historical drama Victoria & Abdul, and will next direct Hugh Grant in A Very English Scandal, the BBC’s treatment of the historic trial of Jeremy Thorpe.

Elementary, my dear Martin… Freeman gained a reputation for comedy in The Office, a flair for exasperation in Sherlock, and a remarkable way with dwarves in The Hobbit. But this year saw him return to the stage, impressing in political drama Labour of Love, co-starring Tamsin Greig and written by James Graham. He’s also keeping his toe in the blockbuster world with a role in Marvel’s Black Panther.

Grove may hail from Canada, but he is an honorary Brit when it comes to contributing to our film industry. Grove founded the Raindance Film Festival, created to showcase the UK’s achievements in movie-making to locations across the world, and he set up the British Independent Film Awards in 1998. It is now one of the highlights of the UK film calendar, rewarding impressive achievements both behind and in front of the camera.

Be still our beating hearts. Tom Hardy, already an acclaimed actor, has had a very good year. He entered 2017 still on a high from a 2016 Oscar nomination for The Revenant, but went from strength to strength through roles in BBC drama Taboo and Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. He also became a national hero by conducting a citizen’s arrest, and is responsible for getting many a parent to a restful sleep through his CBeebies Bedtime Stories appearances.

The end is nigh. This year saw Harington return to the role that made him famous: Jon Snow in dragons and dungeons epic Game of Thrones. The final series will air next year, freeing the young actor for an inevitable Hollywood career after stage performances in Doctor Faustus and a few big screen turns. The Death and Life of John F. Donovan, in which he stars with Jessica Chastain, is out next year. He has also just announced his engagement to Rose Leslie, making it a Games of Thrones romance.

Before this year, Hauer-King had few TV and film credits to his name, best known for theatre roles in The Entertainer and Punk Rock. 2017 changed all that, with roles in Postcards From London, Howards End and The Last Photograph bringing him to national attention. Ashes in the Snow, a drama set in Stalin’s Russia and co-starring fellow up-and-comer Bel Powley, will come to cinemas this year.

One would think, with Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield, that the world would have tired of Spider-man. But after Holland slipped into Spandex for the release of the latest reboot of the web-slinging superhero Spider-man: Homecoming, international audiences proclaimed him the best ever. The actor, who previously played Billy Elliot in the West End musical, is an unsurprisingly impressive dancer, and became an internet sensation through his rendition of Rihanna’s Umbrella on US television.

Lily made her name playing Rose in Downton Abbey but is now one of Hollywood’s bona fide rising stars. She appeared in hit film Baby Driver with Ansel Elgort and Kevin Spacey, Churchill drama Darkest Hour, and will next be seen playing a young Meryl Streep in Mamma Mia 2.

This Birmingham-born English Rose best known for her performances as restrained women with clipped accents forged a new path with a star-making role in Rogue One, a Star Wars prequel, and broke hearts in A Monster Calls. She missed out on an Oscar for A Theory of Everything back in 2015, but the little gold man will surely be hers soon.

From soapstar to superstar… Jones enjoyed years of success on ITV’s Coronation Street, but more serious roles beckoned. After starring in crime procedural Scott & Bailey with Lesley Sharp, Jones changed profession’s for the BBC’s critically acclaimed, publicly adored drama Doctor Foster, in which she played a scorned wife. The series returned last month.

Get Out, the global film phenomenon, presented social commentary and horror in a neat, thrilling package. At the film’s centre was Kaluuya, the London-born actor who took the leading role of Chris Washington. The performance earned Daniel a Next Generation Award at the MTV Film and TV Awards, and he’ll next be seen in Marvel film The Black Panther, as well as alongside John Boyega and Gemma Arterton in the BBC’s much-anticipated version of Watership Down.

As CEO of Lionsgate UK and Europe, Kamasa is at the helm of one of Britain’s leading independent distributors. This Swedish Brit started his film success story in 1998, after co-founding Redbus Film Distribution, and co-producing hit comedy Bend it Like Beckham saw Lionsgate’s international heads take notice and put in a multi-million offer to absorb the company. Since then, Kasama has overseen over 500 films and 200 top 10 UK hits. He has committed to invest in 25 British films in the next four years.

This Hackney-born director, writer and producer is responsible for Amy, the poignant glimpse into the life of the late singer Amy Winehouse. The film earned Kapadia an Oscar and cemented his reputation for documentary-making, previously displayed in the acclaimed film Senna. He directed the Christmas campaign from Burberry, and his next film, about iconic footballer Maradona, will be a must-see.

Yes she Khan… Last year Deeyah, a director and human rights defender, hosted a rousing TED talk entitled What We Don’t Know About Europe’s Muslim Kids and Why We Should Care. The presentation solidified her work as founder of Sister-hood Magazine, which puts focus on the diverse voices of Muslim women. She also founded Fuuse, a documentary film company, her documentary, Jihad: A Story of the Others, received a Bafta nomination, and she is the Unesco goodwill ambassador for artistic freedom and creativity.

As a child, Kirby was so shy that his mother sent him to acting classes at the Battersea Arts Centre in the hope it would bring him out of his shell. Last year, it paid off when he was awarded the daunting role of Kunta Kinte in a new TV adaptation of the acclaimed Seventies mini-series Roots. He impressed in an episode of Black Mirror, the surrealist drama from Charlie Brooker, and will next be seen alongside Indira Varma in TV film The Machine.

Claire Foy may have played Elizabeth II in Netflix smash The Crown, but Vanessa Kirby stole the show through her portrayal of the complicated, passionate Princess Margaret. The role brought the compelling actress to the global stage, and even caught the attention of Tom Cruise: she will star alongside the actor in the next instalment of the Mission: Impossible films.

Born in Edmonton and the former head of BBC Films, Langan was behind hits including My Week With Marilyn, Quartet and Saving Mr Banks, serving in the post with aplomb since 2009. But she announced a move to pastures new last year, with revelation of a move to UK production company Baby Cow leading to reams of warm tributes from her fans and contemporaries. One of her first projects will be an adaptation of Swing Time, the bestselling book from Zadie Smith.

Last year Lester enjoyed one of his most interesting TV roles to date in his prolific career, playing a husband under scrutiny in BBC miniseries Undercover, with Sophie Okonedo. But he headed to the south of France this year to star with Julia Stiles in glamorous Euro-caper Riviera. He is also a talented stage actor and is married to actress and writer Lolita Chakrabarti.

After appearances in programmes like ITV’s Doctor Thorne, Martini really stuck her teeth into stardom by playing a young Jane Tennison in Prime Suspect 1973, a prequel to the series that starred Dame Helen Mirren. The performance impressed viewers and critics alike, and she will next star in Crooked House, Julian Fellowes’s version of the Agatha Christie mystery, also starring Gillian Anderson and Christina Hendricks.

A graduate of Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and Rada, Mays is a versatile and multi-faceted performer on the stage, film and cinema. In recent years, he has enjoyed roles in Vera Drake, Line of Duty and Byzantium, but made a particular impression in Born to Kill, Channel 4’s tense drama about a schoolboy with psychopathic desires. He’ll be back in cinemas next year in Swimming With Men, a comedy about a male synchronised swimming team that could be the next Full Monty.

McClure, already an award winner through her work with Shane Meadows in his This Is England series, was this year responsible for two of the most acclaimed performances on television. She is a constant presence in the critical and commercial BBC hit Line of Duty, but also gave expectant mothers everywhere nightmares through her role as Paula, a woman covering a colleague’s maternity leave, in The Replacement.

An acclaimed actress on both television and the stage, McCrory has impressed in the West End in Deep Blue Sea and as Aunt Polly in Peaky Blinders. But she took the lead and went prime-time this year in Fearless, ITV’s thrilling drama about a brilliant crusading lawyer, with her at the centre of the nail-biting series. She is married to Homeland actor Damian Lewis, with whom she has two children.

There’s nothing like a Sir. Sir Ian has been in the industry for decades, delivering electrifying performances in Shakespeare, Beckett and Pinter. But he can also do the occasional multi-million blockbuster, known to many as Gandalf from Lord of the Rings, Magneto from X Men, and even Cogsworth the clock in this year’s Beauty and the Beast. He is also an ambassador for Stonewall, and can occasionally be found running the pub quiz at his Limehouse pub, The Grapes.

Watch this face. Middleton, born in Bristol, made an impression alongside Lily James and James Norton in War and Peace and Dickensian, and starred in popular US series Sense8. But she has an even more impressive future ahead, starring alongside Benedict Cumberbatch as Mary, wife of Thomas Edison, in The Current War, and TV film Diana and I.

If you love television, chances are you love Steven Moffat. This veteran writer launched his career with early hit Press Gang, and has since been responsible for everything from pithy sitcom Coupling to the award-winning, mind-bending Sherlock. He helms the BBC’s beloved Doctor Who, and his 2007 series Jekyll will be turned into a film starring Captain America’s Chris Evans next year.

Writer of Suffragette and The Iron Lady, she continued her trend for women in politics by making a short election video for the Women’s Equality Party last year. Morgan, who also created BBC hit The Hour, will next bring together a cast including Nicola Walker and Meera Syal in The Split. Expect affairs, legal settlements and fraught relationships.

In 1986, Mulville co-founded Hat Trick Productions and, since then, has turned it into an internationally renowned entertainment companies. Its acclaimed programmes include Father Ted, Outnumbered, Dinner Date and long-running current affairs show Have I Got News For You. Mulville was rightly awarded a Bafta for Outstanding Creative Contribution to Television.

With his icy-blue eyes and razor-sharp cheekbones, Cillian Murphy has made a career out of playing heroes with an edge. Peaky Blinders, the BBC series about Irish gangsters, has gained an international following, and it’s Murphy’s performance as Thomas Shelby at the core. He also starred in Dunkirk, the wartime drama directed by his frequent collaborator Christopher Nolan, with IRA film H-Block set for production next year.

With appearances on Channel 4’s Misfits and roles in Hollywood films like World War Z and Warcraft: The Beginning, Negga has been a prolific character actress for years. But 2017 saw her welcomed into Hollywood circles, after her heartbreaking performance in Loving. Playing a black American woman chastised for marrying a white man, Negga received an Oscar nomination for Best Actress but was defeated by La La Land actress Emma Stone.

Nevill is perhaps the most important woman working in British film today. As the CEO of BFI, which she joined in 2003, she has transformed the organisation into a major player on the international film scene, pioneered the development of the BFI’s online streaming system, and championed the London Film Festival as one of the world’s must-visit annual destinations.

Norton became a heartthrob as the ultimate man in uniform in the BBC’s adaptation of War & Peace. But he’s more than a pretty face: his role as priest Sidney Chambers in Grantchester has been a hit with the primetime crowd, he stars in horror sequel Flatliners and appeared alongside Diane Keaton and Brendan Gleeson in quirky romance Hampstead. He’s also a talented stage actor, having impressed as a soldier with intense millennial drama Bug.

This former Skins star rose to fame in Oscar-winning hit Slumdog Millionaire, but he really came into his own this year. Patel starred alongside Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara in Lion, the emotional drama about a young man who, adopted as a child by an Australian couple, seeks his lost family back in India. His performance was rewarded with a well-deserved Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor. The boy done good.

Patel is a Breakthrough Brit, at least according to Bafta. And if he’s good enough for them… His devastating script Murdered By My Father was one of BBC3’s most-acclaimed programmes of 2016, and his series Good Karma Hospital has aired on ITV. He’s also a trustee for High Tide Theatre, a theatre initiative supporting new talent.

Starring opposite Maisie Williams in schoolgirl film The Falling in 2014, Pugh made a distinct impression. But it was this year’s Lady Macbeth that saw her earn awards by the bucketload and prove her promise as a leading actress, playing a mistreated wife who discovers the passion within. She will next star with Liam Neeson and Vera Farmiga in mystery The Commuter and with Dwayne Johnson in comedy Fighting with my Family.

Ridley has had a stratospheric rise to fame after taking the lead in Star Wars: The Force Awakens, playing plucky potential Jedi Rey in one of the most successful films of all time. Her acting chops will be tested in the next instalment, The Last Jedi, this Christmas, but she’s also one of the prime suspects in November’s Murder on the Orient Express, directed by Kenneth Branagh.

When Taylor-Johnson met director Sam Taylor-Wood on the set of Nowhere Boy, where he played a young John Lennon, few could have guessed that a Hollywood love story was about to begin. Eight years later and the pair are still going strong, making them one of the British film industry’s most talented pairs, and 2017 proved particularly lucrative for Aaron: his role in Nocturnal Animals, Tom Ford’s lauded film, earned him a Golden Globe.

Nominated for a Bafta Rising Star Award this year, Anya has walked more red carpets than anyone else in 2017, by our reckoning, and she does so in a never-ending range of stylish gowns. Her performance in Split, the tense M Night Shyamalan thriller, made the world sit up and notice, and she will appear in both The Miniaturist, the BBC’s much-anticipated adaptation of the bestseller, and X Men: New Mutants. Now that’s versatility.

He’s the man who proved that scythe matters. After one topless photograph made him a star, Turner has set heart rates rising yet again this year in series three of Poldark, in which he plays the brooding, tempestuous Ross. He also appeared in new film Loving Vincent, about Van Gogh.

Phoebe Waller-Bridge’s Fleabag, in which she starred as an emotionally tumultuous cafe owner, was a hit in fringe theatre, before a TV adaptation became a critical darling. The role won her a BAFTA for best Female Performance, and a second series is hotly anticipated, but she will soon go to a galaxy far, far away — Hollywood — with a part in the much-anticipated Star Wars prequel Han Solo.

He spent a few years with espionage on the brain, playing gadget whizz Q in the Bond films and taking the lead in acclaimed show London Spy. But this year has seen the talented actor embrace his inner child, voicing Paddington Bear in the forthcoming sequel and playing a grown-up Michael Banks in the next Mary Poppins film. He will also play Brutus in The Bridge Theatre’s highly anticipated Julius Caesar. Et tu Ben?

This young actor held a lot of weight on his shoulders this year, playing the lead role of Tommy in Christopher Nolan’s historical blockbuster Dunkirk. Sharing scenes with Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and even Harry Styles, Whitehead handled the pressure with gusto and made the film one of the year’s must-sees. He will next star alongside Emma Thompson and Stanley Tucci in The Children Act, based on the book by Ian McEwan.

The Doctor will see you now... this summer, Jodie Whittaker caused mass hysteria as she was announced as the new Doctor Who in the seminal BBC sci-fi series, the first woman in the history of the programme. She will debut in the Christmas special, but the role is in good hands: the Yorkshire actress has previously impressed in Broadchurch — in which she played the grieving mother of a murdered child — and acclaimed 2014 drama Venus.

Sometimes it’s best to keep it in the family. Harry and Jack are the brothers responsible for ITV’s nail-biting series, and the distinctly Scandinavian One Of Us, which starred Juliet Stevenson. They returned to the airwaves this year with Rellik, starring Jim Sturgess, and have been commissioned for an eight-part series entitled The Widow.

When Williams filmed the pilot of series one of Game of Thrones, she was just a child. Seven series later, she will leave a star, after her performance as the persistent Arya Stark became a fan favourite. She will follow her on-screen sister Sophie Turner into the Marvel superhero universe with a role in X-Men spin-off The New Mutants.