Emma Thompson in the context of "Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (film)"

British cinema has significantly influenced the global film industry since the 19th century. The oldest known surviving film in the world, Roundhay Garden Scene (1888), was shot in England by French inventor Louis Le Prince. Early colour films were also pioneered in the UK. Film production reached an all-time high in 1936, but the "golden age" of British cinema is usually thought to have occurred in the 1940s, which saw the release of the most critically acclaimed works by filmmakers such as David Lean, Michael Powell, and Carol Reed.

Many British actors have accrued critical success and worldwide recognition, including Alec Guinness, Patrick Stewart, Julie Andrews, Michael Caine, Joan Collins, Sean Connery, Olivia Colman, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Craig, Daniel Day-Lewis, Judi Dench, Helen Mirren, Olivia de Havilland, Audrey Hepburn, Anthony Hopkins, Glynis Johns, Vivien Leigh, Ian Mckellen, Peter O'Toole, Gary Oldman, Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Maggie Smith, Joan Plowright, Emma Thompson, Rachel Weisz, Kate Winslet and Keira Knightley. Some of the films with the largest ever box office profits have been made in the United Kingdom, including Harry Potter and James Bond, the fourth and fifth highest-grossing film franchises of all time.

Philippe Gaulier (born 4 March 1943) is a French professor of theatre, drama theorist, pedagogue, and master clown. He is the founder of École Philippe Gaulier, a French theatre school in Étampes, outside Paris. After studying under Jean Vilar and Alain Cuny at Théâtre National Populaire and then under Jacques Lecoq, Gaulier was an instructor at L'École Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq. Known for his 'legendarily terrifying teaching style,' he has published The Tormentor (Le Gégèneur), a book discussing his thoughts on the theatre and containing exercises designed to develop an actor's skill. Gaulier has had a significant influence on the British Theatre, where his teaching has inspired the creation of numerous theatre companies including the Théâtre de Complicité. Gaulier is known for performing both clown and bouffon comic genres, as well as his work as a playwright and director.

Emma Thompson, Sacha Baron Cohen, Helena Bonham Carter, Roberto Benigni, Rachel Weisz, Simon McBurney, Geoffrey Rush, Kathryn Hunter, Yolande Moreau, Viggo Venn, Mathew Baynton number among his students. Cohen has particularly praised him for "help[ing him] understand how to be funny," and in 2001 stated that he was "probably the funniest man I have ever met."