Half a century of excellence
Before he played the despicable Joffrey Baratheon in the HBO series 'Game of Thrones' and attended Trinity College in Dublin, he could be found growing up as a young boy in Cork.
Highly respected as both an actor and filmmaker, Kenneth Branagh was born in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
The highly respected actor hails from Ireland's capital city, Dublin.
An A-lister for already over two decades, Colin Farrell began his life in Castleknock, an affluent suburb not far from Dublin.
Sheehan has gained worldwide notoriety through his performance in Netflix's 'The Umbrella Academy.' His hometown is the town of Portlaoise in County Laois.
Brosnan, best known for playing James Bond in the 'Bond' film series in four films from 1995 to 2002, is from Drogheda, County Louth.
Son of respected actor Brendan Gleeson, Domhnall has become quite the film actor himself. He was born in Dublin.
Norton was born in Clondalkin, a town not far from Dublin, and was raised and educated in Bandon, Cork. An actor as well, he's nonetheless these days better known for his talk show.
Cillian Murphy, who's perhaps best known for his role in Christopher Nolan's 'The Dark Knight Trilogy' of Batman films and as the ruthless gangster Thomas Shelby in 'Peaky Blinders,' was raised in Ballintemple in Cork.
Dublin native Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is best known for his starring role in the television series 'The Tudors.'
Dornan was born in Holywood, County Down, Northern Ireland. He's best known for playing Christian Grey in the 'Fifty Shades' film trilogy. From Holywood to Hollywood!
The 'Taken' star comes from Ballymena, a town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
The Irish actress, who was a Hollywood star from the 1940s through to the 1960s, was born and raised in Ranelagh in Dublin.
The actress was born in Ethiopia, but was raised in Limerick. Negga is best known for her Oscar-nominated performance in 'Loving' (2016).
Another successful and talented actor hailing from Dublin is Aidan Gillen. He's widely known for playing Littlefinger in HBO's 'Game of Thrones.'
The 'Brooklyn' (2015) actress was actually born to two Irish parents in the Bronx, New York City, but grew up in Dublin from age three onwards after the family moved there.
Evanna Lynch is best known for portraying the eccentric character Luna Lovegood in the 'Harry Potter' film series. Lynch is from Termonfeckin in County Louth.
Turner is from Dublin and is best known for his starring role in the series 'Poldark.'
Coming from County Kildare, the actor is best known for playing Irish half-blood wizard Seamus Finnigan in the 'Harry Potter' film series.
The actor is from Cabra in Dublin and is best known for portraying Professor Albus Dumbledore in the 'Harry Potter' film series from 2004 to 2011.
A-lister Michael Fassbender was born in Germany to an Irish mother, and raised in Killarney in County Kerry.
The retired actress was born and raised in Dublin. She was the first Irish actress to win an Academy Award, taking home the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for 'My Left Foot' (1989).
The Emmy-nominated and BAFTA- and Olivier Award-winning actress was born and raised in Cobh, County Cork.
Meaney is best known for playing Miles O'Brien in 'Star Trek: The Next Generation' and 'Star Trek: Deep Space Nine.' He grew up in Finglas, Dublin.
Katie McGrath is a growing star of television, most recently as Lena Luthor on 'Supergirl.' She's from Ashford, County Wicklow.
Dominique McElligott is getting a lot of attention lately for her performance in the TV series 'The Boys.' She hails from Dublin.
Younger audiences fell in love with Maria Doyle Kennedy's work on the critically-acclaimed series 'Orphan Black.' The actress is from Clontarf in Dublin.
Richard Harris was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor for 'This Sporting Life' (1963), and played King Arthur in 'Camelot' (1967). He also portrayed Albus Dumbledore in the first two 'Harry Potter' films before Michael Gambon took over for him upon his death. He hailed from Limerick.
Sources: (IMDb)
See also: Famous Americans with Irish roots
Chris O'Dowd is a comedian and actor well known for his role in 'Bridesmaids' (2011), as well as the series 'The IT Crowd.' He was born and raised in Dublin.
It seems that if there's one place that Hollywood directors and film moguls like to recruit their talent from, it's the island of Ireland. Being a nation that prides itself on its culture of music, poetry, and theater, it comes as no surprise that Ireland and Northern Ireland have produced world-class actors and actresses who have been making the leap across the pond to appear on the big screen for decades. Some of them appear so Hollywood that you would almost forget that they hail from the Emerald Isle.
Click through this gallery to discover just how many household name actors and actresses come from Ireland and Northern Ireland.
Your favorite Irish actors ever
The best actors out of Ireland and Northern Ireland
CELEBRITY Ireland
It seems that if there's one place that Hollywood directors and film moguls like to recruit their talent from, it's the island of Ireland. Being a nation that prides itself on its culture of music, poetry, and theater, it comes as no surprise that Ireland and Northern Ireland have produced world-class actors and actresses who have been making the leap across the pond to appear on the big screen for decades. Some of them appear so Hollywood that you would almost forget that they hail from the Emerald Isle.
Click through this gallery to discover just how many household name actors and actresses come from Ireland and Northern Ireland.