Based on the novels by Caroline Graham, Midsomer Murders (MM) originally hit UK airwaves in 1997 and plans are in place for the 23rd and 24th seasons, which is a testament to its durability. For those who aren’t familiar with the show, it’s about Detective Chief Inspector Barnaby (there have been two), his assistants (six), and pathologists (five), who solve murder cases in the southern English county of Midsomer. Their families, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and suspects all figure in the rich tapestry of the show, which sometimes features weird and/or grisly means of death. The county is home to a wide variety of people, places, and activities including sports, arts, culinary, civic, and religious functions, which offer a wide variety of circumstances in which to kill or be killed. Folks don’t just get shot or stabbed in Midsomer. They get impaled on relics, beheaded, pelted by wine bottles, or smothered in concrete, to name just a few.

I’m a relatively recent convert to Midsomer Murders (MM), it was a welcome discovery in the early months of the pandemic. Aside from the idyllic beauty of the setting, the English eccentricity and pitch-black humo(u)r, and the lurid nature of the titular crimes, I love seeing actors turn up from other TV shows and movies. Whether they are on their way up or already established, Midsomer County attracts a lot of British thesps (and a few Americans). Since the Rule, Brittania Blogathon is about movies specifically, and I’m already breaking the rules by writing about a TV show (though in my defense its episodes are at least 90 minutes long), the following list focuses on 1) Brits who 2) I know and love from their feature films. The list is in no particular order and is by no means complete. In fact, it’s a tiny, completely arbitrary, sample of some of my favorite guest stars. Some plot points may be revealed, but I wouldn’t call them spoilers — MM is about the journey, not the destination. See who made the list after the jump!

Continue reading “Rule, Britannia: My Favorite ‘Midsomer Murders’ Film Actors” →