Many famous actors have played Hamlet, but who is the most famous? Mel Gibson tops our list. Gibson played Hamlet in Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 film. Oscar-winning actor Daniel Day-Lewis played Hamlet at the National Theatre in London in 1989.

Correspondingly, who has played Hamlet in movies?

Best Hamlet Performance in Movie and stage

  1. Laurence Olivier. Actor | Sleuth.
  2. Ethan Hawke. Actor | Training Day.
  3. Kenneth Branagh. Actor | Henry V.
  4. John Gielgud. Actor | Arthur.
  5. Jonathan Pryce. Actor | The Two Popes.
  6. Mark Rylance. Actor | Bridge of Spies.
  7. Simon Russell Beale. Actor | The Death of Stalin.
  8. David Warner. Actor | Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country.

One may also ask, who first played Hamlet? Richard Burbage

Likewise, people ask, who played the best Hamlet?

Top 5 best actors to play Hamlet

  • MEL GIBSON (1990)
  • KENNETH BRANAGH (1996)
  • ETHAN HAWKE (2000)
  • DAVID TENNANT (2008)
  • CHRISTOPHER PLUMMER (1964)

Who has played Hamlet in London?

The 10 Great Hamlets of our Time

  • Mark Rylance, RSC, 1988.
  • Rory Kinnear, National Theatre, 2010.
  • Kenneth Branagh, Phoenix Theatre 1988.
  • Stephen Dillane, Gielgud Theatre, 1994.
  • Ian Charleson, National Theatre, 1989.
  • David Tennant, RSC, 2008.
  • Ben Whishaw, Old Vic, 2004.
  • Jude Law, Wyndham's Theatre, 2009.

Related Question Answers

What is the most quoted line from Hamlet?

“To be, or not to be: that is the question”. Hamlet quote (Act III, Sc. I). “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend, and borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry”.

What is the best Hamlet movie?

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead is the best Hamlet inspired movie (1990).

What movies are based on Hamlet?

Wait A Second… Is EVERYTHING Based On Hamlet?
  1. My Own Private Idaho (1991) Henry IV Part I, Part II, and Henry V.
  2. Get Over it (2001) A Midsummer Night's Dream.
  3. O (2001) Othello.
  4. The Truman Show (1998) Hamlet.
  5. She's The Man (2006) Twelfth Night.
  6. The Lion King (1994) Hamlet. Secured in the Disney canon is The Lion King.

What's the longest Shakespeare play?

Hamlet

What defines a hamlet?

A hamlet is a small or very small human settlement. The word and concept of a hamlet have roots in the Anglo-Norman settlement of England, where the old French hamlet came to apply to small human settlements.

How many versions of Hamlet are there?

50

What is the setting of Hamlet?

The story of Hamlet is set in the late middle ages (14th and 15th centuries, or 1300 to 1499) in and around (mostly) the royal palace in Elsinore, a city in Denmark.

Do be or not to be?

“To be, or not to be” is the opening phrase of a soliloquy uttered by Prince Hamlet in the so-called “nunnery scene” of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Act 3, Scene 1.

How many plays are attributed to Shakespeare?

37 plays

What role is believed that Shakespeare once played himself in Hamlet?

The Ghost in his Own Hamlet

Scholars believe Shakespeare might have played the title role in Edward I (a play by Edward Peele) in 1593. Nicholas Rowe, Shakespeare's first biographer, mentioned that Shakespeare's role as “the Ghost in his own Hamlet” was “the top of his performance.” Read on

How many times has hamlet been made into a film?

Over fifty films of William Shakespeare's Hamlet have been made since 1900.

When was Hamlet first performed on stage?

The Play History of Hamlet

The first recorded production of Hamlet was by the Chamberlain's Men in 1600 or 1601, so it is likely that Shakespeare composed the play in early 1600.

How old is the play Hamlet?

30 years old

Why was Hamlet written?

Shakespeare wrote the play “Hamlet” in 1601, in 1556 Shakespeare's only son died of an unknown illness. The death of his son was believed to be the reason of “Hamlet“.

Why are William Shakespeare's plays still popular?

Shakespeare's plays are as popular as they are because he was perhaps the greatest writer who has ever lived. It's partly because he was writing plays which go on being performed and therefore which can be brought freshly to life for each generation by actors of the present.

Who played Hamlet role in Shakespeare?

Richard Burbage

When and where was Hamlet first performed?

1609

Who was the monarch of England when Hamlet was written?

Queen Elizabeth I