5) Kenneth Branagh

4) Liam Neeson

3) Richard Harris

2) Peter O'Toole

1) Daniel Day-Lewis

Leaving out some popular modern choices like Cillian Murphy, Pierce Brosnan and Colin Farrell, I really do think this represents the best list of Irish movie actors you could come up with.

Branagh received an Oscar nomination for writing, directing and starring in one of the great Shakespeare adaptations, Henry V. He's also brilliant in Dead Again, Hamlet and Much Ado About Nothing. In fact, he's probably the best pure Shakespearean actor working in films.

Neeson we know all about. Richard Harris and Peter O'Toole might seem like they're interchangeable, but they're actually quite different when you look at what it is they bring to a role. Harris is far more hardscrabble and working class than O'Toole, who is more blue blood than blue collar.

And Daniel Day-Lewis is just a flawless actor. He'll finally win his second Oscar this year, though it should be at least his third, if not his fourth.

You could make this list about English speaking actors or probably even broaden the list to living actors or actors who have ever lived and you would be able to argue that Daniel Day-Lewis belongs at number one.