The Best Actors Who Have Played Hamlet, Ranked

Shakespeare’s prince has been performed for more than four centuries and the role contains more lines than any other character in the canon. Productions have appeared on major stages, in feature films, on television, and through cinema broadcasts that carried individual interpretations to audiences far beyond one theater.

Archival recordings, screen adaptations, and festival tapings have preserved many of these performances for later viewing. Companies such as the Royal Shakespeare Company, the National Theatre, and Broadway houses have served as frequent homes for the play, and several entries below reached viewers worldwide through film releases or live cinema screenings.

15. Kevin Kline

Kevin Kline led the role for the Public Theater in New York and later directed and starred in a version for the television series ‘Great Performances’. That taping presented a full stage production with minimal cuts and brought his interpretation to a national audience in the United States.

He performed the role at a time when the Public Theater was expanding access to classical work through both indoor and outdoor seasons. The broadcast version preserved the staging, music cues, and text choices and has been used widely in classrooms and libraries.

14. Paapa Essiedu

Paapa Essiedu became the first Black actor to play ‘Hamlet’ for the Royal Shakespeare Company under director Simon Godwin. The production toured widely after its Stratford-upon-Avon run and was captured for cinema presentation through the RSC’s live screening program.

Costume and setting placed the story in a contemporary West African influenced court while keeping Shakespeare’s text intact. The tour included extended engagements in the United Kingdom and international stops that introduced new audiences to both the staging and Essiedu’s approach to the language.

13. Jonathan Pryce

Jonathan Pryce took on the role at the Royal Court Theatre in London with Richard Eyre directing. A notable feature of this production allowed the voice of the Ghost to seem as if it spoke through Hamlet during certain scenes, a choice realized with amplified sound and physical staging.

The performance was recognized by London theater awards during its run. The Royal Court engagement stood out for its focus on vocal clarity and for a rehearsal process that emphasized the play’s political context within a small theater space.

12. Ethan Hawke

Ethan Hawke starred in a feature film version directed by Michael Almereyda that set ‘Hamlet’ in modern Manhattan. The Denmark Corporation replaced the royal court and scenes were relocated to offices, high rise apartments, and city streets while preserving Shakespeare’s language.

The cast included Julia Stiles as Ophelia, Bill Murray as Polonius, Liev Schreiber as Laertes, Kyle MacLachlan as Claudius, and Sam Shepard as the Ghost. The production used video diaries, news tickers, and handheld cameras and notably staged the “to be or not to be” soliloquy in a video store aisle.

11. Mel Gibson

Mel Gibson headlined Franco Zeffirelli’s film of ‘Hamlet’ with location work in Italy and studio photography at Cinecittà. The screenplay trimmed several scenes to emphasize family conflict and court intrigue while keeping key speeches in place.

Glenn Close played Gertrude, Alan Bates played Claudius, Helena Bonham Carter played Ophelia, Ian Holm played Polonius, and Paul Scofield appeared as the Ghost. The film was released internationally through a major studio and remains one of the most widely distributed screen versions of the play.

10. Jude Law

Jude Law played ‘Hamlet’ in a Donmar Warehouse production directed by Michael Grandage that moved from London’s West End to Broadway. The West End run took place at Wyndham’s Theatre before the company transferred to the Broadhurst Theatre in New York for a limited engagement.

The staging used a large ensemble with a focus on the court scenes and fencing sequences. The transatlantic transfer maintained the original creative team and presented the same text cuts, allowing audiences in two major theater capitals to see the production in its original form.

9. Andrew Scott

Andrew Scott led Robert Icke’s production that opened at the Almeida Theatre and transferred to the Harold Pinter Theatre in London. The production was later broadcast to cinemas, making the staging widely accessible across the United Kingdom and abroad.

Juliet Stevenson played Gertrude and Angus Wright played Claudius, with Jessica Brown Findlay as Ophelia. The design incorporated surveillance monitors and interpolated contemporary sound to frame court scenes as modern press events while leaving Shakespeare’s dialogue intact.

8. Benedict Cumberbatch

Benedict Cumberbatch starred at the Barbican in a production directed by Lyndsey Turner with design by Es Devlin. The performance was filmed and broadcast live to cinemas around the world, reaching one of the largest global audiences for a stage ‘Hamlet’.

The production used a large rotating set to shift between Elsinore’s public spaces and private rooms. The company included Sian Brooke as Ophelia and featured extensive onstage music and movement to connect scenes that are often played with breaks.

7. David Tennant

David Tennant’s Royal Shakespeare Company ‘Hamlet’ was directed by Gregory Doran, with Patrick Stewart as Claudius and later also as the Ghost for the screen version. The stage production was recorded for television and released on DVD and streaming platforms.

During the graveyard scene the company used the donated skull of pianist André Tchaikowsky as Yorick’s skull. The broadcast included location shooting in period appropriate interiors and preserved the full fencing finale with the original choreography.

6. Derek Jacobi

Derek Jacobi played ‘Hamlet’ for the BBC Television Shakespeare series, bringing the role to a wide broadcast audience. Patrick Stewart appeared as Claudius, and the production used studio sets designed to resemble interior chambers and battlements.

Jacobi had previously taken the role on stage and later returned to the play as Claudius in Kenneth Branagh’s feature film. His work across both stage and screen versions documents shifts in performance style and textual choices over several decades.

5. Ralph Fiennes

Ralph Fiennes performed ‘Hamlet’ for the Almeida Theatre in a production directed by Jonathan Kent that transferred to the West End and then to Broadway. His work in the role on Broadway earned him the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play.

The staging employed a stripped back design with strong use of light and shadow to frame soliloquies. The Broadway transfer kept the London creative team intact, allowing the same scenic and costume elements to be reproduced for an American audience.

4. Richard Burton

Richard Burton’s ‘Hamlet’ appeared on Broadway under the direction of John Gielgud. The production was filmed using the Electronovision process and screened in cinemas for a limited engagement, an early example of a stage performance distributed to movie theaters.

The film version preserved the Broadway staging, including the rehearsal clothes aesthetic and a thrust platform that brought actors close to the audience. Burton’s run included a long sequence of sold out performances that kept the play in the public eye during a major New York season.

3. John Gielgud

John Gielgud played ‘Hamlet’ repeatedly in London, including notable seasons at the Old Vic. He later directed other actors in the role and served as director for the Broadway production that starred Richard Burton.

Recordings preserve Gielgud’s delivery of key speeches and provide an audio record of mid twentieth century verse speaking. His involvement with the play spanned acting, directing, and teaching, which helped shape later approaches to the role on major stages.

2. Kenneth Branagh

Kenneth Branagh directed and starred in a feature film of ‘Hamlet’ photographed in 70mm and presented at epic length with the full text. The production set the story in a late nineteenth century European court and used large palace interiors for state scenes.

The ensemble included Julie Christie as Gertrude, Derek Jacobi as Claudius, Kate Winslet as Ophelia, Brian Blessed as the Ghost, Billy Crystal as the Gravedigger, Charlton Heston as the Player King, Jack Lemmon as Marcellus, and Robin Williams as Osric. The film received multiple Academy Award nominations and was released internationally in roadshow style presentations.

1. Laurence Olivier

Laurence Olivier directed and starred in the black and white film of ‘Hamlet’ that won Academy Awards for Best Picture and Best Actor. The screenplay streamlined the text and removed the Fortinbras material to concentrate on the central family story.

Production took place on studio sets with fog, arches, and stairways that defined Elsinore as an inward looking castle. The film’s success led to wide international distribution and established a template for screen adaptations of the play for many years.

Tell us which performance of the prince stands out for you and why in the comments.