British Invasion: 15 Hot Young Actors From Across the Pond

As of next year, three of America's most famous superheroes will be played by Brits: Superman (Henry Cavill), Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield), and Batman (Christian Bale). No, we're not going to protest out of some misguided jingoism (although we will point out the horror with which our friends across the Atlantic responded to Renee Zellweger playing Bridget Jones once upon a time).

We don't know if it's the popularity of rigorous youth drama programs or what, but the British are invading Hollywood at a rate that rivals the arrival of the Aussies in the late '90s. Looking at the more established young slate of English talent (Keira Knightley, Carey Mulligan, the Harry Potter trifecta, and Robert Pattinson to name a few), we say welcome to the next gen of Bright Young Brits.

Andrew Garfield

After this last awards season, it’s impossible to ignore the "Social Network" star, whose on-screen raging outburst made Justin Timberlake's Sean Parker flinch. He’ll next play Peter Parker in Matthew Vaughn's new "Spider-Man" flick. We're not sure what it is about Brits taking over our favorite Superhero films, but if it means more of Garfield (and Cavill), we're all for it. For more evidence of his serious acting chops, check out his brooding, intense performance in the English made-for-television "Red Riding" trilogy or the riveting indie drama "Boy A."

Lily Collins

The petite beauty broke into Hollywood as the high-school-aged daughter of Oscar winner Sandra Bullock in "The Blind Side." But Collins is no Southern belle. The daughter of rocker-turned-composer Phil Collins, she has since scored leading roles in two thrillers, "Priest" with Paul Bettany and "Abduction" with Taylor Lautner, both of which roll out this year. She also snagged the better-than-Bella role of Clary in the "The Mortal Instruments" series, a potential "Twilight"-sized franchise.

Jamie Campbell-Bower

He first played the lovesick young sailor in Tim Burton's Oscar-nominated musical "Sweeney Todd, " then landed supporting roles in two of Hollywood's biggest movie franchises. He's Caius the vampire in the "Twilight" saga and Grindelwald the legendary wizard in the final "Harry Potter" films. Apparently he can't get enough of period costumes: Campbell-Bower makes his prime-time debut next month as a young King Arthur in the sexy new Starz series, "Camelot."




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Carrie