Learn about the great actors who have played Hamlet in London

Ahead of Hiran Abeysekera playing the Prince of Denmark at the National Theatre, revisit performances by Laurence Olivier, Andrew Scott, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Marianka Swain1 August, 2025, 16:00

From Life of Pi to Elsinore: this autumn, Olivier Award winner Hiran Abeysekera tackles the mighty title role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet at the National Theatre, in a new production directed by the venue’s deputy artistic director Robert Hastie.

Abeysekera is taking on one of the most iconic roles in theatre, which has been inhabited by our greatest thespians – from John Gielgud and Laurence Olivier to Andrew Scott, Simon Russell Beale, Mark Rylance, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Learn more about the actors who have played Hamlet in London ahead of Abeysekera giving us his “To be or not to be”.

Book Hamlet tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk.

Early Hamlets

Richard Burbage most likely originated the role in Shakespeare’s day at the Globe Theatre. It continued to be a test of acting might through the centuries, kept centre stage by figures like David Garrick in the 18th century, Sir Henry Irving in the late 19th century, and John Barrymore, who was a celebrated Hamlet both in London and on Broadway in the 1920s.

Although male actors inevitably dominate the list of famous Hamlets, women have also played the Prince of Denmark – including Sarah Bernhardt at the turn of the 20th century, and Frances de la Tour in the 1970s.

John Gielgud (1930)

Hamlet became a signature role for Gielgud: he played it around 500 times in six different productions. He also directed Richard Burton in Hamlet on Broadway in 1964 – a battle of wills brilliantly dramatised in Jack Thorne’s play The Motive and the Cue.

Gielgud’s first experience of the role was in 1930 at the Old Vic in London. This landmark production used the complete text, running to almost five hours, but both audiences and critics adored it, and the smash-hit production transferred to the Queen’s Theatre in the West End.

Laurence Olivier (1937)

Olivier also took to the Old Vic stage to give his Hamlet a few years after Gielgud. His performance suffered by comparison (Gielgud was held up as the gold standard for a long time), but Olivier’s magnetism and energy won praise.

He followed in Gielgud’s footsteps by reprising the role actually at the castle at Elsinore in Denmark, where the play is set, with Vivian Leigh playing Ophelia. Olivier later made a film adaptation of Hamlet, and directed Peter O’Toole in the play – that was the opening production of the new National Theatre in 1963.

Daniel Day-Lewis (1989)

Hamlet demands a great deal of an actor: it’s a richly psychological and emotionally draining role, in addition to the extensive verse-speaking. But Day-Lewis had a more dramatic time than most. He played Hamlet for the National, but collapsed mid-scene and burst into sobs when the ghost of Hamlet’s father appeared.

Day-Lewis later claimed that he had seen the ghost of his own late father in that fraught moment. It was so traumatic that he hasn’t appeared on stage since. Jeremy Northam took over the role on the night, and Ian Charleson later replaced him.

Mark Rylance (2000)

Rylance first played Hamlet for the RSC; that production toured the UK and then the US. It was a radical take, in which Hamlet’s madness was laid bare: Rylance wore stained pyjamas, and he was alarmingly volatile. When the show played at the high-security psychiatric facility Broadmoor, one of the patients praised Rylance for his credible portrayal.

Rylance then reprised the role while artistic director of Shakespeare’s Globe in a more traditional but still riveting production. Critics praised his seemingly spontaneous delivery of the soliloquies, letting us into Hamlet’s feverish mind, as well as mastering his bitingly sardonic wit.

Simon Russell Beale (2000)

That year saw another celebrated Shakespearean play Hamlet in London. Russell Beale starred in John Caird’s production at the National Theatre, and it was a performance that left audiences shattered thanks to his extraordinarily raw portrait of overwhelming grief. That was authentic despair, in fact: Russell Beale lost his mother shortly before.

In contrast to some of the showier Hamlets, his was a still performance, as though weighed down by sadness. The ending of the play was particularly memorable, and almost unbearably poignant, as Russell Beale’s prince approached death with a kind of acceptance.

Hamlet Benedict Cumberbatch - LT - 1200

Ben Whishaw (2004)

Trevor Nunn took a big risk when he cast the fresh-faced 23-year-old Whishaw, a recent drama school graduate, in his modern-dress production at the Old Vic. Previously, Hamlet had been treated more as a reward for an already-established actor, not an opportunity for a newcomer.

But the risk absolutely paid off. Whishaw gave audiences a relatable, troubled adolescent Hamlet, left utterly bewildered by his beloved father’s death and the loss of his safe family unit. It was a prime example of how this legendary role can be reinterpreted by each generation.

Jude Law (2009)

It was a Hollywood Hamlet at the Donmar Warehouse as Jude Law returned to London to star in Michael Grandage’s stylish production. This was a major event, attracting plenty of young audiences, thanks to Law bringing his leading man charisma to the role.

His was a passionate, intense Hamlet, both a doomed romantic hero and a furious idealist raging against the rotten state of his kingdom and disgusted by the corruption of the elite. Although the production itself got a mixed response, Law’s commitment was praised.

Benedict Cumberbatch (2015)

We got an even more hyped Hamlet a few years later when Cumberbatch, who had become a household name thanks to TV series Sherlock, returned to the stage to lead a revival of the play at London’s Barbican. Lyndsey Turner directed, and the run sold out in record time.

Opinion was more divided on the actual interpretation however, with some criticising the overly busy production and Turner’s radical decision to reorder various scenes and speeches. But Cumberbatch’s blazingly intelligent Hamlet, fatally hampered by indecision, won through, and the actor was nominated for an Olivier Award.

Andrew Scott (2016)

Cumberbatch’s Sherlock castmate (Scott played devilish villain Moriarty) gave his own Olivier-nominated Hamlet the following year at the Almeida Theatre and then in the West End. Robert Icke’s revelatory contemporary production, which evoked a surveillance state with its intrusive CCTV, was universally adored for this classic play feel new-minted.

Critics and audiences were equally enamoured of Scott’s heart-wrenching Hamlet. The emotion simply poured out of him, viscerally conveying that this is a man who simply cannot contain his feelings, even if it costs him everything. Scott’s Hamlet still carried hope in his heart right until the end – an exquisitely tragic hope.

Cush Jumbo (2021)

Jumbo also scored an Olivier nomination for her Hamlet, which she gave at London’s Young Vic. Jumbo is part of a wave of recent female Hamlets, which includes Maxine Peake, Michelle Terry, Tessa Parr, and Ruth Negga.

Greg Hersov’s uneven production wasn’t a winner, hemming the actors in with hulking mirrored pillars. But Jumbo’s interpretation of Hamlet as a swaggering, street-smart bully was compelling, offering modern commentary on the character’s toxic masculinity and gaslighting. Violence was always simmering under the surface.

Hiran Abeysekera (2025)

The latest actor to play Hamlet at the National Theatre is Abeysekera, who previously starred in The Father and the Assassin at the venue in 2023. He has also appeared in Hamlet before, albeit in a supporting role: he played Horatio for the RSC in 2016.

Robert Hastie’s production is described as “darkly funny” and a “fearless, contemporary take”, which not only portrays the prince’s struggle to reconcile his duty and his doubt, but also examines the court’s power and privilege. It will be fascinating to see how Abeysekera makes Hamlet his own.