Our new research unveils the top Irish actors as Colin Farrell outshines Peaky Blinders star Cillian Murphy ahead of The Immortal Man release
As Cillian Murphy makes his return to our screens this Friday to return to his role of Tommy Shelby in the upcoming release of Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man, new research takes a closer look at where the award-winning actor ranks among Ireland’s most successful actors in 2026.
The study, conducted by our online casino team, reveals the top-performing Irish stars based on a range of factors – including film and TV credits, award wins and nominations, IMDb ratings, and online Reddit sentiment.
Michael Fassbender was named the most successful, starring in 83 films and TV shows and winning 79 awards overall. The star – known for his roles in Alien, Kneecap and the 2025 release of Black Bag – holds a total score of 83 after receiving 161 nominations, while his IMDb rating average was a strong 6.75.
While Saoirse Ronan didn’t take the top spot, she was named the second most successful star alongside Colin Farrell. Saoirse holds the highest number of award nominations at 206 – surpassing Cillian Murphy and Andrew Scott. Known for her roles in Blitz and Ladybird, the star has also won a total of 75 awards. Colin received a total score of 80 for bagging 76 award wins and 111 nominations altogether.
Fleabag and Ripley star Andrew Scott placed third on the list alongside Kenneth Branagh, while Hamnet award winner Jessie Buckley placed fourth – beating her co-star Paul Mescal.
Meanwhile, after his recent role in 28 Years Later, Cillian followed in fifth place on the list with a score of 76 – receiving a total of 90 nominations, 54 award wins and an IMDb score of seven.
Good Grief actress Ruth Negga and Banshees of Inisherin star Kerry Condon also made the top 10, beating the likes of Brendan Gleeson and 007 star Pierce Brosnan.
Saltburn actor Barry Keoghan, House of Guinness actor Michael McElhatton and Domhnall Gleeson were further down on the list, with Michael having only a total of nine award nominations in total.
The most successful Irish actors 2026
Ranking | Actors/Actresses | Films/TV shows | IMDb rating average | Award wins (IMDb) | Nominations (IMDb) | Reddit comments | Reddit positive Sentiment | Total Score |
1 | Michael Fassbender | 83 | 6.75 | 79 | 161 | 7,707 | 54.9 | 83 |
2 | Colin Farrell | 80 | 6.72 | 76 | 111 | 6,324 | 55.7 | 80 |
2 | Saoirse Ronan | 50 | 6.78 | 75 | 206 | 2,999 | 55.8 | 80 |
3 | Kenneth Branagh | 123 | 6.9 | 64 | 130 | 3,617 | 55.6 | 79 |
3 | Andrew Scott | 89 | 7.23 | 56 | 86 | 5,166 | 56 | 79 |
4 | Jessie Buckley | 44 | 6.78 | 70 | 110 | 3,554 | 56.8 | 78 |
5 | Cillian Murphy | 76 | 7 | 54 | 90 | 6,352 | 54.4 | 76 |
6 | Kerry Condon | 47 | 6.79 | 26 | 42 | 8,819 | 56.7 | 75 |
6 | Steve Coogan | 244 | 6.87 | 16 | 58 | 4,753 | 54.6 | 75 |
7 | Sharon Horgan | 137 | 7.11 | 17 | 38 | 1,722 | 57.5 | 73 |
7 | Ruth Negga | 55 | 6.82 | 30 | 94 | 4,952 | 55.9 | 73 |
8 | Pierce Brosnan | 126 | 6.41 | 23 | 28 | 6,441 | 56 | 72 |
8 | Paul Mescal | 26 | 7 | 26 | 90 | 6,439 | 54.4 | 72 |
9 | Brendan Gleeson | 115 | 6.83 | 24 | 106 | 3,374 | 54.4 | 71 |
10 | Domhnall Gleeson | 77 | 7.06 | 5 | 21 | 6,532 | 54.7 | 69 |
11 | Aidan Gillen | 106 | 6.81 | 7 | 16 | 1,208 | 57.3 | 68 |
11 | Fiona Shaw | 97 | 6.89 | 3 | 26 | 2,943 | 56 | 68 |
12 | Barry Keoghan | 53 | 6.61 | 13 | 88 | 4,747 | 54 | 67 |
12 | Michael McElhatton | 105 | 6.93 | 3 | 9 | 1,755 | 56.3 | 67 |
1. Michael Fassbender
Michael Fassbender is known for his roles in Alien, Inglourious Basterds and Kneecap. He starred in the 2025 release of Black Bag.
2. Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell is known for his roles in The Batman, The Gentlemen, In Bruges, The Banshees of Inisherin and the HBO 2024 series of The Penguin. Most recently, he starred in A Big Bold Beautiful Journey alongside Margot Robbie.
Saoirse Ronan
Saoirse Ronan is known for roles in Ladybird, The Lovely Bones, Little Women and her most recent films, Blitz and The Outrun.
3. Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh is well known for directing and starring in Shakespeare adaptations, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, and Hamlet – as well as roles in Murder on the Orient Express and Belfast.
Andrew Scott
Andrew Scott is known for his roles in Fleabag, Sherlock, Ripley and All of Us Strangers – which saw seven award wins.
4. Jessie Buckley
Jessie Buckley is well known for winning awards for her recent performance in Hamnet alongside Paul Mescal, as well as The Bride.
5. Cillian Murphy
Cillian Murphy is known for his roles in Oppenheimer as well as Peaky Blinders, and starred in the 2024 release of Small Things Like These, which won Best Film at the Irish Film and TV Awards.
6. Kerry Condon
Irish star Kerry Condon is well known for starring alongside Colin Farrell in her role as Siobhán in The Banshees of Inisherin and, more recently, Kate McKenna in F1.
Steve Coogan
Irish actor and producer Steve Coogan is well known for starring in Joker: Folie à Deux, The Penguin Lessons and most recently, Saipan – as well as producing shows such as Gavin and Stacey and The Mighty Boosh.
7. Sharon Horgan
Sharon Horgan is known for her roles in TV sitcoms Catastrophe, Bad Sisters and Motherland.
Ruth Negga
Actress and producer Ruth Negga is well-known for her roles in Passing, Preacher and Good Grief.
8. Pierce Brosnan
Pierce Brosnan is well known for playing James Bond within the franchise and winning two Golden Globe Awards for Nancy Astor and The Matador. Pierce recently starred in the 2025 Netflix film adaptation of Richard Osman’s The Thursday Murder Club.
Paul Mescal
Paul Mescal is known for his recent performance in Hamnet alongside Jessie Buckley after rising to fame in the BBC drama Normal People. He has also starred in Aftersun, Foe, and All Of Us Strangers.
9. Brendan Gleeson
Brendan Gleeson is known for starring alongside Farrell in In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin, for which he was nominated for an Academy Award.
10. Domhall Gleeson
Domhnall Gleeson, son of Brendan Gleeson, is known for his role in About Time alongside Rachel McAdams, Bill Nighy, and Margot Robbie.
11. Aidan Gillen
Aidan Gillen is an acclaimed Irish actor known for his work in Bohemian Rhapsody, Game of Thrones and Peaky Blinders.
Fiona Shaw
Irish actress Fiona Shaw is well known for starring in Killing Eve, Bad Sisters and most recently, Hot Milk.
12. Barry Keoghan
Barry Keoghan is an Irish actor known for his roles in Saltburn, Banshees of Inisherin, as well as starring alongside Cillian Murphy in Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man.
Michael McElhatton
Michael McElhatton is well known for starring in Game of Thrones as well as The Last Duel.
Methodology
Research carried out by Betway in March 2026
Films/TV shows – Number of TV shows/films they have starred in (IMDb)
IMDb rating average – The average rating of all those shows or films they have credits in as actor or actress, producer, writer and director (IMDb)
Awards (Wins) – The number of award wins (IMDb)
Award Nominations – The number of nominations (IMDb)
Reddit comments – The number of comments scraped about that actor on r/movies.
Positive Sentiment – The sentiment score of those comments in r/movies about that actor. Higher means more positive comments, lower means more negative comments.
Total score – This is the overall score given to the individual score from the average of the metrics, which were rated from 50 to 100.
