The Sri Lankan cinema industry has been able to entertain its audience throughout the years. During the past few decades, it flourished into an industry that receives much appreciation from both local and international audiences. For this, talented Sri Lankan actors and actresses have contributed a lot. In fact, they have always fascinated people with their talents and physiques.
After all, if you are keen on the entertainment industry in Sri Lanka, you will love reading about the details of these talented Sri Lankan actors and actresses. So, here are some detailed descriptions of some of the most well-known Sri Lankan actors and actresses. Continue reading!
Most Famous Sri Lankan Actors and Actresses
Sri Lanka is blessed with many talented artists who have showcased their talents on the silver screen, on television, and even on stage. Most of them have a huge fan base because of their good looks.
Among the most famous actors and actresses of Sri Lanka, we chose a few to share details about. They are as follows.
1. Gamini Fonseka
Gamini Fonseka is undoubtedly a significant personality among the significant Sri Lankan actors and actresses who graced the Sinhala cinema. He is even famous as the uncrowned king of the Sri Lankan cinema industry. Simply, he was a renowned actor, a dedicated politician, and an overall great personality. As an actor, he proved his versatility by displaying his talents in both art and commercial movies.
He was born on the 21st of March 1936. His full name is Sembuge Don Shelton Gamini Fonseka. He began his acting career in the late 1950s. He entered the movie industry as just a technician. However, he was fortunate to start his career under the guidance of the renowned director, Lester James Peiris.
Gamini Fonseka was very keen on the movie industry and he first became a camera assistant on set. His breakthrough as an actor was in the movie ‘Rekawa’. Afterward, he acted in many of Sri Lanka’s popular movies.
His chemistry with renowned actresses such as Malini Fonseka, Veena Jayakodi, and Sandhya Kumari graced the Sinhala cinema for decades. Further, he had an illustrious career in over 108 films and 1 teledrama. Besides, this renowned actor and director later became a respected politician in the country.
In fact, Gamini Fonseka was the deputy speaker of the parliament and the governor of the North-Eastern province. He passed away on the 30th of September 2004 at the age of 68.
2. Rukmani Devi
Rukmani Devi who was famous as ‘The Nightingale of Sri Lanka’ was a famous actor and singer. She was born on 15th January 1963 at Ramboda as Daisy Rasammah Daniels.
Rukmani was equally talented at acting, dancing, and singing. With her melodious voice, she became one of the foremost female singers in the gramophonic era. Rukmani married Eddie Jayamanne who was also a veteran dramatist and an actor.
Rukmani’s cinema career started with the first Sinhala film ‘Kadawunu Poronduwa’ in which she played the role of ‘Ranjani’ becoming the first-ever local actress. However, even though she started her career by taking part in stage plays with her unique voice, her singing career moved to the cinema screen where she made duets with many of the famous and talented singers in the country. Besides, Rukmani contributed to about 100 movies during her lifetime. She was also fortunate enough to be featured in the Indian Filmfare magazine.
Unfortunately, she faced death in a tragic car accident near St. Mary’s Church, Thudella on 25th September 1978. Even after her death, she received many awards such as the Sarasaviya ‘Rana Thisara’ – Lifetime Achievement Award in 1979. A statue in her memory is still visible at Kanuwana Junction, Ja-Ela.
3. Vijaya Kumaratunga
Kovilage Anton Vijaya Kumaranatunga who is popularly known as Vijaya Kumaratunge was born on 9th October 1945 at Ragama. He’s considered to be the most handsome film star-politico in Sri Lankan cinema of all time.
He was able to act in about 120 movies during his two decades of career. Further, he became an iconic actor in Sri Lankan cinema history as he was talented in both acting and singing.
He has recorded about 100 songs and also performed as a playback singer in many movies. In 1974, Kumaratunga deviated from his cinema career and started his career as a politician by joining the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP).
In 1978, he married Chandrika Bandaranaike, who later became the President of Sri Lanka. With her, he had two children.
Vijaya was also the founder of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party through which he tried to campaign for Sri Lankan peace. But the life of this great character ended unexpectedly on 16th February 1988. He was shot dead outside his home in Colombo. A large number of crowds attended his funeral. The date of his death got the name, “The Horrible Tuesday” or “The Darkest Tuesday in Sri Lankan History”.
4. Tony Ranasinghe
Ranasinghe Hettiarachchilage Ignatius Anthony Silva, well-known as Tony Ranasinghe was born on 31st July 1937 in Modara. He is one of the most complex actors in Sri Lankan cinema.
Tony began his theater career in 1963 with the movie ‘Ran Thodu’ which won him the Governor General’s Award for Best Stage Actor. Besides, by acting in the movie ‘Gamperaliya’ in 1964, he made his debut in his cinema career. He even became famous as the ‘Lover in the 70s’ due to the romantic roles he acted in movies. Moreover, the experts in the industry praised him for his unique facial expressions, voice, and body language. Apart from movies, he displayed his talents in both stage dramas and television serials.
Tony has acted in about 115 films including 72 leading roles winning awards for Best Supporting Actor at the Sarasaviya Award ceremony in 1966 and Best Actor Awards at Sarasaviya, Swarna Sanka, Presidential, and OCIC award ceremonies. Also, Tony Ranasinghe has contributed to the cinema through script writing and drama production.
Sri Lankans consider Tony Ranasinghe as the uncrowned king of the Sinhala cinema after Gamini Fonseka and Joe Abeywickrama. He passed away at the age of 77 on 16th June 2015.
5. Vijaya Nandasiri
Ilukpitiya Mudiyanselage Vijaya Nandasiri was one of the most sought-after personalities among Sri Lankan actors and actresses. His acting career spans a vast variety starting from theater and then to the silver screen and small screen. However, he gained much popularity for his roles in comedy movies.
Apart from that, he was the leading actor in Sri Lanka’s most popular sitcoms such as ‘Nonawaruni Mahathwaruni’, ‘Yes Boss’, and ‘Kathura’. This award-winning actor is also a singer and a producer. Vijaya Nandasiri married the renowned actress, Devika Mihirani, who is the leading actress in Sri Lanka’s first-ever teledrama, Dimuthu Muthu. This couple had two children.
Vijaya was suffering from diabetes for a long time. Unfortunately, he passed away on 8th August 2016 from cardiac arrest after. Nevertheless, he will forever remain in our hearts, as a wonderfully talented Sri Lankan actor.
6. Iranganie Serasinghe
Iranganie Serasinghe was born on 9th June 1927 at Ruwanwella as Iranganie Roxanna Meedeniya. She began her career as a stage drama actress, mainly playing English roles. Then, she also acted in Sinhala plays starting from Henry Jayasena’s ‘Apata Puthe Magak Nethe’.
Then, she started her cinema career by playing a role in Sir Lester James Peiris’s documentary, “Be Safe or Be Sorry”. Followed by that, she acted in ‘Rekawa‘, and it became her debut film. Apart from stage dramas and films, she also played many roles in television serials.
Before entering the cinema industry, she worked as the editor-in-chief of the Time of Ceylon newspaper. Iranganie was first married to Prof. S.B. Dissanayake and got divorced later. Then in 1960 she married Winston Serasinghe and adopted his surname.
She is one of the Sri Lankan actors and actresses, who have won many awards. In fact, she won the Deepashika award for the role she played as a mother in ‘Rekawa’. Apart from that, she has won a Sarasaviya award as well as the Presidential Award for Best Supporting Actress. Besides, this actress is the first Sri Lankan actress who has received academic training in acting. There is also a biography about Serasinghe, and Kumar de Silva wrote it.
7. Malani Fonseka
Malini Fonseka was born on 30th April 1947 at Peliyagoda, Kelaniya. She started her career as a stage drama actress and played leading roles in about 14 stage dramas.
She made her debut in the cinema industry with the film “Punchi Baba” directed by Tissa Liyansuriya and since then, she has acted in more than 140 national and international movies. In 1984 the film “Sasara Chethana” became a milestone in her career because she was both its director and producer. With time, she also moved into the television industry. Malini married Upali Senanayake in 1965 and they divorced. Then in 1986, she married Lucky Dias which also ended in divorce.
However, Malini was able to receive the honor of being the first-ever female teledrama director in Sri Lankan teledrama history through both directing and acting in the teledrama “Nirupamala”. Further, she became famous as the “Queen of Sinhalese cinema” as she has won a number of International, and National awards for her talent.
In 2010, she became a member of the Sri Lankan parliament. Appreciating Malini Fonseka’s influence on Sri Lankan cinema, a book was written under the title ‘Malini, up Above’.
8. Ravindra Randeniya
Ravindra Randeniya was born on 5th June 1945 in Dalugama as Liyanage Boniface Walter Perera. He is both an actor and a politician in Sri Lanka.
At the age of 25, he got his first starring role in the student production ‘Mudu Puththu’. After this, he appeared in the film ‘Kalu Diya Dahara’ in 1971. Then he received a role in the film ‘Desa Nisa’ by Lester James Peiris along with Joe Abeywickrama and Sriyani Amarasena from which he rose to fame. In 1974, Randeniya married Preethi Pramila Seneviratne, who was a fellow actress and they have two sons.
With his talent and physique, he became a popular actor during the 70s and 80s. Besides, Ravindra Randeniya was able to win the Sarasaviya award for the ‘Best Actor’ in 1984, 1985,1989, and also in 1990. Apart from the Sarasaviya awards, this talented actor has achieved many awards including Presidential film awards, Sumathi Awards, and Raigam Tele’es Awards.
Apart from the movies, he acted in teledramas such as, ‘Deweni Gamana’, ‘Ganga Addara’, ‘Kahala Nadaya‘, and many more. He also became a member of the Sri Lankan parliament through the National list and served the government from 2000-2004.
9. Hiran Abeysekera
Hiran Abeysekera is a well-known Sri Lankan theater actor. He received his education from Nalanda College Colombo. As he obtained a diploma from the Lanka Children’s and Youth Theatre Foundation he was able to play a huge role in the British Council production that came out with the name ‘Equus’ by Peter Shaffer. This helped him to get auditioned at drama schools in the UK.
Accordingly, he secured a place at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art and graduated in the year 2011. In the same year, he was able to make his debut by playing the role ‘Valere’ in the play “Tartuffe”. Then in 2012, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. He also acted in the TV series “Find Me in Paris” which was telecasted on the Hulu platform in 2018.
In 2019, he played the role of Pi Patel in the theater adaptation of “Life of Pi” by Lolita Chakrabarti. This made him win the Olivier Award for ‘Best Actor’ in the year 2022. He gained much fame for winning this award as he is the only Sri Lankan in history who was able to win a ‘Best Actor’ award in such an International award ceremony.
10. Jackson Anthony
The award-winning actor Jackson Anthony was born on 8th July 1958 as Conganige Joseph Malsi Jackson Anthony. He is married to Kumari Munasinghe and they have two sons and a daughter.
Jackson started his career through stage dramas and gradually moved into the television and cinema industry. He has acted in many popular plays such as Madhura Jawanika, Loma Hansa, Dhawala Beeshana, and Tharawo Igilethi. Then he started his cinema career and acted in more than 30 movies including Gini Awi Saha Gini Keli, Sooriya Arana, Mille Soya, and recent movies like Udumbara, Pravegaya, and Rookada Panchi. Apart from acting, he has even directed some famous movies in the recent past.
As a reward for his immeasurable talents, he has been awarded the best actor sixteen times which still remains to be a record. Following a tragic accident in 2022, he is still getting treatment from the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the National Hospital, Colombo up to date.
11. Yashoda Wimaladharma
Yashoda Wimaladharma is one of the most popular actresses in Sri Lankan cinema, television, and stage. She is well-known for her innocent looks and charming acting.
She received her education from St. Paul’s Convent, Milagiriya, and from the University of Kelaniya. Yashoda made her television debut in the teledrama, Atta Bindei in 1988. She is also famous for being the first Sri Lankan actress to host her own website.
In recent times, her most popular performance was in the teledrama, Thanamalvila Kollek. Apart from that, she has acted in more than 25 teledramas and 20 movies. Yashodha has been awarded for her immense talents in several award ceremonies. In 2019, she also became the first Sri Lankan to judge an international film festival
12. Jacquelin Fernandez
Jacqueline Fernandez is a Sri Lankan actress working in the Indian film industry. She was born in Manama, Bahrain to a multi-ethnic family on 11th August 1985. She has a degree in mass communication from the University of Sydney.
Fernandez got the attention of the Bollywood industry after becoming the Miss Sri Lanka for Miss Universe in 2006. She made her debut in the movie, Aladdin where she acted in the leading role alongside popular and renowned actors like Amitabh Bachchan and Ritesh Deshmukh.
However, her breakthrough role is considered to be her role in the movie, ‘Murder 2’. Afterward, she acted in a number of Bollywood movies making her one of the most popular Sri Lankan actresses in the international film industry. She also acted in a Sri Lankan crime thriller.
13. Pooja Umashankar
Pooja Gauthami Umashankar is a popular Sri Lankan actress who initially worked in the South Indian movie industry. This renowned actress has a Master’s degree in Business Administration from Mount Carmel College, Bangalore.
She made her debut in the cinema with the Tamil movie, Ullam Ketkumae. First, she began acting as a hobby and had no plans to pursue an acting career. Yet, she received much popularity and many offers after her debut. This made her rethink her decision and she continued acting in several movies in Tamil and Kannada languages.
She entered the Sri Lankan movie industry with the movie, ‘Anjalika‘ which was directed by Channa Jayakody. Afterward, she received much love from Sri Lankan fans for her roles in movies like Kusa Paba and Paththini. She also starred in the teledrama, ‘Daskon‘.
14. Hemal Ranasinghe
Hemal Ranasinghe is one of the most popular and loved names in the Sri Lankan movie industry. This young actor is known for his good looks, incredible talents, and charismatic personality.
He received his education from St. Thomas College, Matale. Hemal had the desire to be a popular actor in Sri Lanka from a young age. His first step in becoming an actor was winning the ‘manhunt’ contest in 2007. The movie, ‘Super Six’ is considered his debut movie but he received the most attention and popularity from the movie, ‘Pravegaya’.
Afterward, he carried on acting in several commercially successful movies. He is also one of the Sri Lankan actors who performed in South Indian cinema. There are several movies of Hemal which will be screened in the near future. Besides, he is famous as the future of Sri Lankan cinema.
15. Roshan Ranawana
Roshan Ranawana is another much sought-after Sri Lankan actor and model. He worked as a travel executive and a model before his big debut as an actor.
His debut movie is ‘Hiripoda Wessa’ which was screened in 2006. For his performance in the movie, he won the presidential award for the best upcoming actor. He often credits this movie for his success.
Then, he acted in many commercially successful movies in the industry. His most popular movies are, Tharaka Mal (2007), Asai Man Piyabanna (2007), Rosa Kale (2008), Feel My Love (2008), Dancing Star (2009), and Suwanda Denuna Jeewithe (2010).
Over the years, he has obtained the award for the most popular actor multiple times. Apart from his acting career, he has also gained fame as a humanitarian and an advocate for vegetarianism.
The Bottom Line
Sri Lanka is a country with a unique cinema industry. Over the past few decades, it has improved into a very impressive state. With regard, the contribution of Sri Lankan actors and actresses cannot be ignored. Owing to their wonderful talents, now, the industry is receiving attention from both local and international audiences. That is indeed an accomplishment of the country as a whole. So, we wish all our talented Sri Lankan actors and actresses the very best to achieve more, and do great in the cinema industry!
