The Most Famous
ACTORS from Malaysia
Top 10
The following people are considered by Pantheon to be the top 10 most legendary Malaysian Actors of all time. This list of famous Malaysian Actors is sorted by HPI (Historical Popularity Index), a metric that aggregates information on a biography’s online popularity. Visit the rankings page to view the entire list of Malaysian Actors.
1. Michelle Yeoh (b. 1962)
With an HPI of 62.46, Michelle Yeoh is the most famous Malaysian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 63 different languages on wikipedia.
Yeoh Choo Kheng (Chinese: 杨紫琼; born 6 August 1962), better known by the stage name Michelle Yeoh, is a Malaysian actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards. Credited as Michelle Khan in her early films in Hong Kong, she rose to fame in the 1980s and 1990s after starring in Hong Kong action and martial arts films where she performed her own stunts. These roles included Yes, Madam (1985), Magnificent Warriors (1987), Police Story 3: Super Cop (1992), The Heroic Trio, Tai Chi Master (both 1993), and Wing Chun (1994). After moving to the United States, Yeoh gained international recognition for starring in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) and in Ang Lee's wuxia martial arts film Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), the latter for which she was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Her Hollywood career progressed with roles in Memoirs of a Geisha (2005), Sunshine (2007), and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor (2008). She continued to appear in Hong Kong and Chinese cinema, starring in True Legend, Reign of Assassins (both 2010), Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon: Sword of Destiny (2016), and Master Z: Ip Man Legacy (2018). In 2011, she portrayed Aung San Suu Kyi in the British biographical film The Lady. Yeoh played supporting roles in the romantic comedies Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Last Christmas (2019), as well as in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings (2021) and the television series Star Trek: Discovery (2017–2020). For her starring role as Evelyn Quan Wang, an overwhelmed matriarch navigating the multiverse in Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), she won the Academy Award for Best Actress, becoming the first Asian to win the category, and the first Malaysian to win an Academy Award. Her voice acting work has included Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011), Minions: The Rise of Gru, Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank (both 2022), Transformers: Rise of the Beasts (2023), and The Tiger's Apprentice (2024). The film review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes ranked her the greatest action heroine of all time in 2008. In 1997, she was chosen by People as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the World", and in 2009 the same magazine listed her as one of the "35 All-Time Screen Beauties". In 2022, Time named her one of the world's 100 most influential people on its annual listicle and its Icon of the Year. In 2024, she received the Presidential Medal of Freedom.
2. Michael Gough (1916 - 2011)
With an HPI of 58.86, Michael Gough is the 2nd most famous Malaysian Actor. His biography has been translated into 49 different languages.
Francis Michael Gough ( GOF; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British character actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer horror films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthur Holmwood in Dracula, and for his recurring role as Alfred Pennyworth from 1989 to 1997 in the four Batman films directed by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher. He appeared in three more Burton films: Sleepy Hollow, voicing Elder Gutknecht in Corpse Bride and the Dodo in Alice in Wonderland. Gough also appeared in popular British television shows, including Doctor Who (as the titular villain in The Celestial Toymaker (1966) and as Councillor Hedin in Arc of Infinity (1983)), and in an episode of The Avengers as the automation-obsessed wheelchair user Dr. Armstrong in "The Cybernauts" (1965). In 1956 he received a British Academy Television Award for Best Actor. At the National Theatre in London Gough excelled as a comedian, playing a resigned and rueful parent in Alan Ayckbourn's Bedroom Farce (1977). When the comedy transferred to Broadway in 1978 he won a Tony Award. One of Gough's most well-received West End roles was as Baron von Epp in the 1983 revival of John Osborne's A Patriot for Me.
3. P. Ramlee (1929 - 1973)
With an HPI of 56.29, P. Ramlee is the 3rd most famous Malaysian Actor. His biography has been translated into 21 different languages.
Tan Sri Datuk Amar Teuku Zakaria bin Teuku Nyak Puteh (later Ramlee bin Puteh; 22 March 1929 – 29 May 1973), better known by his stage name P. Ramlee (Puteh Ramlee), was a Malaysian actor, filmmaker, musician, and composer famous in modern-day Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia and Southern Thailand. Born in Penang, Malaya, he is regarded as a prominent icon in Southeast Asia. P. Ramlee's career in the entertainment industry spanned from the late 1940s until his death in 1973. He made significant contributions to the Malayan-Singaporean film industries, starring in and directing numerous films that are considered classics today. Some of his most notable works include Bujang Lapok (1957), Do Re Mi (1966), and Tiga Abdul (1964). In addition to his film career, P. Ramlee was also a prolific musician, composing over 350 songs. His music often incorporated traditional Malay elements and became immensely popular across Southeast Asia. His versatility and talent earned him numerous awards and accolades throughout his life. P. Ramlee's legacy continues to influence and inspire new generations of artists in the region. His films and music remain beloved, and his contributions to the cultural heritage of Malaysia, Singapore and the broader Malay-speaking world (i.e. the Nusantara) are celebrated to this day.
4. Claudia Wells (b. 1966)
With an HPI of 47.98, Claudia Wells is the 4th most famous Malaysian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 22 different languages.
Claudia Wells is an American actress and businesswoman, best known for her role as Jennifer Parker in the 1985 film Back to the Future.
5. Simon Russell Beale (b. 1961)
With an HPI of 44.02, Simon Russell Beale is the 5th most famous Malaysian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 25 different languages.
Sir Simon Russell Beale (born 12 January 1961) is an English actor. He has been described by The Independent as "the greatest stage actor of his generation". He has received various accolades, including two BAFTA Awards, three Olivier Awards, and a Tony Award. For his services to drama, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 2019. Beale started his acting career at the Royal Shakespeare Company and National Theatre. He has received ten Laurence Olivier Award nominations, winning three awards for his performances in Volpone (1996), Candide (2000), and Uncle Vanya (2003). For his work on the Broadway stage he has received a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play nomination for his performance as George in the Tom Stoppard play Jumpers in 2004. For his role as Henry Lehman in The Lehman Trilogy, he won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play and was nominated for an Olivier Award. Beale made his film debut in Sally Potter's period drama Orlando (1992). He gained prominence for his roles in Persuasion (1995), Hamlet (1996), My Week with Marilyn (2011), The Deep Blue Sea (2011), Mary Queen of Scots (2018), Benediction (2021), and The Outfit (2022). In 2017, he portrayed Lavrentiy Beria in Armando Iannucci's The Death of Stalin, for which he received the British Independent Film Award for Best Supporting Actor. Beale has also appeared in the television projects The Young Visiters (2003), Dunkirk (2004), and Vanity Fair (2018). He earned two British Academy Television Awards: one for Best Actor for A Dance to the Music of Time (1998), and the other for Best Supporting Actor for Henry IV, Part I and Part II (2012). From 2014 to 2016, he was part of the main cast of Showtime's Penny Dreadful, and since 2024 in House of the Dragon.
6. Henry Golding (b. 1987)
With an HPI of 40.18, Henry Golding is the 6th most famous Malaysian Actor. His biography has been translated into 32 different languages.
Henry Ewan Golding (born 5 February 1987) is a British actor. He began his career as a television presenter before being known for his film work. He has starred in the romantic comedies Crazy Rich Asians (2018) and Last Christmas (2019), the thriller A Simple Favor (2018), the action comedy The Gentlemen (2019), as well as playing the title character in the action-adventure Snake Eyes (2021), and appearing in the ensemble cast of The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024). He worked as a presenter on ESPN, the BBC and Discovery Channel Asia before refocusing on acting.
7. Angelica Lee (b. 1976)
With an HPI of 36.01, Angelica Lee is the 7th most famous Malaysian Actor. Her biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Lee Sinje (Chinese: 李心潔; pinyin: Lǐ Xīnjié; Pe̍h-ōe-jī: Lí Sim-kiat; born 23 January 1976) is a Malaysian film actress and pop singer. She started her career in singing and later moved on to acting in Taiwan, Hong Kong and Malaysia. Lee starred in The Eye, the hit Asian horror film by the Pang Brothers, winning her the Golden Horse Award for Best Actress, Best Actress at the Hong Kong Film Awards and a Hong Kong Golden Bauhinia Awards. She is among the very few Asian artists to be awarded Best Newcomer Awards at the Berlin Film Festival in 2001 for her role in Betelnut Beauty. Lee has also starred in the films 20 30 40 (where she co-starred with the person who discovered her, Sylvia Chang), and Koma. She worked with the Pangs again on Re-cycle, which was screened at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
8. Ronny Chieng (b. 1985)
With an HPI of 27.67, Ronny Chieng is the 8th most famous Malaysian Actor. His biography has been translated into 18 different languages.
Ronny Xin Yi Chieng (Chinese: 钱信伊; pinyin: Qián Xìnyī; born 21 November 1985) is a Malaysian comedian and actor based in the United States. He is a senior correspondent on Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and he created and starred in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation sitcom Ronny Chieng: International Student. He has also appeared in films such as Crazy Rich Asians and the English version of Inspector Sun and the Curse of the Black Widow.
9. Nigel Ng (b. 1991)
With an HPI of 27.27, Nigel Ng is the 9th most famous Malaysian Actor. His biography has been translated into 15 different languages.
Nigel Ng ( UNG; born 15 March 1991) is a Malaysian comedian and YouTube-personality. He is best known for co-creating (alongside Evelyn Mok) and portraying Uncle Roger, a character representing a middle-aged Asian uncle with an exaggerated Cantonese accent who is often seen critiquing people's attempts at cooking Asian food.
10. Remy Hii (b. 1986)
With an HPI of 27.04, Remy Hii is the 10th most famous Malaysian Actor. His biography has been translated into 17 different languages.
Remy Hii is a Malaysian-Australian actor born in Kota Kinabalu, Sabah, Malaysia. Hii attended the National Institute of Dramatic Art for three years, and appeared in various theatre productions, before being cast in his first television role. Hii starred as Van Tuong Nguyen in the four-part miniseries Better Man and was cast as Hudson Walsh in the soap opera Neighbours in 2013. He is also known as Prince Jingim from the Netflix original series Marco Polo. From 2018 to 2019, Hii played Simon Van Reyk in the Australian television crime drama Harrow. Hii has also appeared in the series Sisters, the romantic comedy film Crazy Rich Asians, and Marvel's Spider-Man: Far From Home.
People
Pantheon has 10 people classified as Malaysian actors born between 1916 and 1991. Of these 10, 8 (80.00%) of them are still alive today. The most famous living Malaysian actors include Michelle Yeoh, Claudia Wells, and Simon Russell Beale. The most famous deceased Malaysian actors include Michael Gough, and P. Ramlee. As of April 2024, 4 new Malaysian actors have been added to Pantheon including P. Ramlee, Ronny Chieng, and Nigel Ng.
Living Malaysian Actors
Go to all Rankings
Michelle Yeoh
1962 - Present
HPI: 62.46
Claudia Wells
1966 - Present
HPI: 47.98
Simon Russell Beale
1961 - Present
HPI: 44.02
Henry Golding
1987 - Present
HPI: 40.18
Angelica Lee
1976 - Present
HPI: 36.01
Ronny Chieng
1985 - Present
HPI: 27.67
Nigel Ng
1991 - Present
HPI: 27.27
Remy Hii
1986 - Present
HPI: 27.04
Deceased Malaysian Actors
Go to all RankingsNewly Added Malaysian Actors (2024)
Go to all RankingsP. Ramlee
1929 - 1973
HPI: 56.29
Ronny Chieng
1985 - Present
HPI: 27.67
Nigel Ng
1991 - Present
HPI: 27.27
Remy Hii
1986 - Present
HPI: 27.04
