The Hollywood movie: America's big cultural gift to the world, along with jazz, rock 'n' roll, and blue jeans. But from the beginning, even as Hollywood was becoming Hollywood, American film had a strong British accent. One of our first stars, and still among our most iconic, was Charlie Chaplin, the product of a Dickensian London childhood. Perhaps it helped that his movies were silent? Then again, the advent of talkies made no difference. Gone with the Wind, as American a novel as there is, for better or worse, was brought to the screen with three of its four principal stars—Vivien Leigh, Olivia de Havilland, and Leslie Howard—holding British passports.

As Paul Revere warned, they just keep coming, fearless in taking on even the most sacred of American roles. Do they think they still own the place? In the last couple of years, we have seen Abraham Lincoln reanimated by Daniel Day-Lewis—formally, as of last November, Sir Daniel Day-Lewis, to make him sound even more English—while Solomon Northup, author of the de facto Gone with the Wind corrective 12 Years a Slave, was played by yet another of Queen Elizabeth's honored subjects: Chiwetel Ejiofor, O.B.E. How did David Oyelowo prepare to play Martin Luther King Jr., one of the most revered of all American heroes, in Selma? By being born 4,000 miles away from Alabama, in Oxford (England, not Mississippi), and training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

In this light, it is noteworthy that four of the most prominent British names in the current Oscar derby—Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Eddie Redmayne, and Felicity Jones—are being celebrated for staying home and playing actual Brits. Over the years, too, the U.S. has lobbed a few of our own thespians back at the mother country: Meryl Streep as Margaret Thatcher, Renee Zellweger as Bridget Jones, Dick Van Dyke as Bert the chimney sweep. But did America get a single decent part in the Harry Potter series? As evidenced quite gloriously on the following pages, this is a cultural trade imbalance that shows no signs of abating.

PHOTOGRAPHED ON MOUNT LEE, IN THE HOLLYWOOD HILLS.

EMILY BLUNT

25 films, including Sicario (2015) and Into the Woods and Edge of Tomorrow (2014). 

 PHOTOGRAPHED ON THE RIVER THAMES, NEAR TOWER BRIDGE, IN LONDON.

TIMOTHY SPALL 

61 films, including Sucker (2015) and Mr. Turner and The Love Punch (2014).

 PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE BURLINGTON ROOM, AT THE RITZ HOTEL, LONDON.

JUDI DENCH

44 films, including The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) and Philomena (2013); one Academy Award, 12 BAFTAs, 7 Oliviers, one Tony.

 PHOTOGRAPHED WITH A BLOODHOUND ON WIMBLEDON COMMON, IN LONDON.

BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH

23 films, including Black Mass (2015) and The Imitation Game and The Hobbit: The Battle of Armies (2014); on television, Sherlock; one BAFTA, one Emmy, one Olivier.

PHOTOGRAPHED IN A 1954 JAGUAR XK120 ON NORTH BEDFORD DRIVE, IN BEVERLY HILLS.

TOM HIDDLESTON

16 films, including High-Rise (2015) and Only Lovers Left Alive and Thor: The Dark World (2013); one Olivier.

FELICITY JONES

18 films, including Autobahn (2015) and The Theory of Everything and The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (2014).

 PHOTOGRAPHED AT ANDERSON & SHEPPARD BESPOKE TAILORS, IN LONDON.

JUDE LAW

42 films, including Spy and Black Sea (2015), The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), and Side Effects (2013); one BAFTA.

 PHOTOGRAPHED WITH A FELLOW LONDONER ON AN OPEN-TOP ROUTEMASTER BUS IN PICCADILLY CIRCUS, LONDON.

MICHAEL CAINE

109 films, including Kingsman: The Secret Service and The Early Years (2015) and Interstellar (2014); 2 Academy Awards, 3 BAFTAs.

PHOTOGRAPHED AT WROTHAM PARK IN BARNET, ENGLAND.

JAMES MCAVOY

27 films, including Victor Frankenstein (2015), The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby and X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), and Filth (2013); one BAFTA.

SALLY HAWKINS

22 films, including Paddington (2015), Godzilla (2014); and Blue Jasmine (2013). 

PHOTOGRAPHED AT PARMA CAFÉ, IN LONDON.

KEIRA KNIGHTLEY

29 films, including Everest (2015), The Imitation Game (2014), and Anna Karenina (2012). 

 PHOTOGRAPHED IN A VISTAJET CHALLENGER 350 AT FARNBOROUGH AIRPORT, HAMPSHIRE, ENGLAND.

CHIWETEL EJIOFOR

28 films, including Z for Zachariah and Triple Nine (2015) and 12 Years a Slave and Half of a Yellow Sun (2013); one BAFTA, one Olivier.

PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE GEORGE TAVERN IN LONDON.

EDDIE REDMAYNE

14 films, including Jupiter Ascending (2015), The Theory of Everything (2014), and Les Misérables (2012); one Olivier, one Tony.

 PHOTOGRAPHED IN LOS ANGELES.

LUKE EVANS

16 films, including High-Rise (2015) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies and Dracula Untold (2014).

CARMEN EJOGO

17 films, including Selma (2014) and Alex Cross (2012); on television, Zero Hour.

ANNABELLE WALLIS

11 films, including Grimsby (2015) and Annabelle (2014).

DEV PATEL

8 films, including The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2015) and Slumdog Millionaire (2008); on television, The Newsroom.

IMOGEN POOTS

22 films, including She's Funny That Way (2015) and Jimi: All Is by My Side (2014).

DAVID OYELOWO

26 films, including A Most Violent Year (2015) and Selma (2014).

JAMIE DORNAN

5 films, including Fifty Shades of Grey and The 9th Life of Louis Drax (2015); on television, The Fall.

GUGU MBATHA-RAW

8 films, including Jupiter Ascending (2015) and Belle (2014).

 PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE CHILTERN FIREHOUSE IN LONDON.

JACK O'CONNELL

11 films including Unbroken and 300: Rise of an Empire (2014); on television, Skins.

 PHOTOGRAPHED AT CHISWICK HOUSE AND GARDENS, IN LONDON.

KENNETH BRANAGH

36 films as an actor, including Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014); 14 films as a director, including Cinderella (2015); 4 BAFTAs, one Emmy, one Olivier; on television, Wallander.

RICHARD MADDEN

4 films, including Cinderella (2015) and A Promise (2013); on television, Game of Thrones.

LILY JAMES

8 films, including Cinderella (2015) and Fast Girls (2012); on television, Downton Abbey.

 PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE STUDIOS AT PARAMOUNT, IN HOLLYWOOD.

ORLANDO BLOOM

21 films, including Digging for Fire (2015) and The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014).

 PHOTOGRAPHED AT TRUEFITT & HILL BARBERSHOP, IN LONDON.

CLIVE OWEN

31 films, including Last Knights (2014) and Words and Pictures and Blood Ties (2013); on television, The Knick; one BAFTA.

 PHOTOGRAPHED IN THE LONDON SUITE AT THE INTERCONTINENTAL LONDON PARK LANE HOTEL.

MICHELLE DOCKERY

3 films, including Non-Stop (2014); on television, Downton Abbey and Restless.

DAMIAN LEWIS

17 films, including The Silent Storm (2014); on television, Wolf Hall, Homeland, and Band of Brothers; one Emmy.

PHOTOGRAPHED IN A 1960S MINI COOPER NEAR PARSONS GREEN, IN LONDON.

JAMES CORDEN

23 films, including Kill Your Friends (2015) and Into the Woods and Begin Again (2014); on television, The Late Late Show with James Corden; one BAFTA, one Tony. 

PHOTOGRAPHED ON THE RIVER THAMES NEAR HAMPTON COURT PALACE, SURREY, ENGLAND

SAM CLAFLIN

8 films, including Love, Rosie and The Riot Club (2015) and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay—Part I (2014).

SOPHIE TURNER

3 films, including Alone and Barely Lethal (2015); on television, Game of Thrones.

PHOTOGRAPHED ON THE CHELSEA EMBANKMENT, IN LONDON. (MARK IS JULIET'S STEPFATHER.)

JULIET RYLANCE

5 films, including Days and Nights (2014) and Frances Ha (2013); on television, The Knick.

MARK RYLANCE

12 films, including The Gunman (2015) and Days and Nights (2014); on television, Wolf Hall; one BAFTA, 2 Oliviers, 3 Tonys. 

PHOTOGRAPHED AT THE CHILTERN FIREHOUSE, IN LONDON.

NATALIE DORMER

11 films, including The Hunger Games: Mockingjay— Part I (2014); on television, Game of Thrones.

JACK HUSTON

15 films, including American Hustle (2013); on television, Boardwalk Empire.

RUTH WILSON

5 films, including Suite Française (2015); on television, The Affair; 2 Oliviers.

DOMINIC WEST

27 films, including Testament of Youth (2015); on television, The Affair and The Wire.

SIENNA MILLER

24 films, including Mississippi Grind and Unfinished Business (2015) and American Sniper (2014)

MATTHEW GOODE

17 films, including Selfless (2015) and The Imitation Game (2014); on television, The Good Wife. 

PHOTOGRAPHED AT STARVIN' MARVIN'S, IN LONDON.

TERENCE STAMP

63 films, including Big Eyes (2014) and The Adjustment Bureau (2011).

JEREMY IRONS

52 films, including The Man Who Knew Infinity (2015) and Beautiful Creatures (2013); one Academy Award, 3 Emmys, one Tony. 

 PHOTOGRAPHED ON WHITTAKER AVENUE IN RICHMOND, SURREY, ENGLAND.

RALPH FIENNES 

3 films, including A Bigger Splash (2015) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014); director of 2 films including The Invisible Woman (2013); one BAFTA, one Tony.

 PHOTOGRAPHED AT WEST WITTERING BEACH, CHICHESTER, ENGLAND.

KATE WINSLET

33 films, including Insurgent, Triple Nine, and A Little Chaos (2015); one Academy Award, 3 BAFTAs, one Emmy.