Film, radio, television and theater
- Douglas Adams (1952–2001): British radio and television writer and novelist. [1]
- Mary Adams (1898–1984): English producer and BBC television administrator. [2]
- Phillip Adams (born 1939): Australian broadcaster, writer, film-maker and left-wing thinker. He was the Australian Humanist of the Year in 1987. [3]
- Adithya Menon (born 1974): Indian actor. [4]
- Joe Ahearne (born 1963): British television screenwriter and director. [5]
- Javed Akhtar (born 1945): Indian Screenwriter and Poet. [6]
- Mikael Åkerfeldt (born 1974): Swedish musician, singer-songwriter, and producer. [7]
- Keith Allen (born 1953): British comedian, actor, singer and writer. [8]
- Woody Allen (born 1935): American film director, writer, actor, comedian, and playwright. [9]
- Robert Altman (1925–2006): American film director. [10]
- Alejandro Amenábar (born 1972): Spanish-Chilean film director. [11]
- Wil Anderson (born 1974): Australian comedian, radio presenter, and television host. [12]
- Seth Andrews (born 1968): American author and host of The Thinking Atheist radio podcast. [13]
- Aziz Ansari (born 1983): American actor and comedian. [14] [15] [16]
- Fred Armisen (born 1966): American actor, comedian. [17]
- Michelangelo Antonioni (1912–2007): Italian modernist film director, screenwriter, editor and short story writer. [18]
- Jane Asher (born 1946): English film and television actress. [19]
- Kevin Bacon (born 1958): American film and theater actor. [20]
- Joan Bakewell CBE (born 1933): English television presenter and journalist. [21]
- Javier Bardem (born 1969): Spanish actor and former rugby player. [22]
- MC Paul Barman (born 1974): American rapper. [23]
- Pelin Batu (born 1978): Turkish actress and author. [24]
- Andréa Beltrão (born 1963) Brazilian actress, comedian and author. [25]
- Sarah Bernhardt (1844–1923): French stage actress. She was asked by French composer Charles Gounod if she ever prayed. Bernhardt replied "No, never. I'm an atheist". [26] Later returned to the Roman Catholicism in which she was baptized as an infant.
- Bernardo Bertolucci (1941–2018): Italian film director and screenwriter. [27]
- Paul Bettany (born 1971): English actor. [28]
- Frankie Boyle (born 1972): Scottish comedian. [29]
- Orla Brady (born 1961): Irish actress. [30]
- Brannon Braga (born 1965): American TV producer and writer. [31]
- Neal Brennan (born 1973): American comedian, writer, producer, and director. [32]
- Jim Broadbent (born 1949): English theatre, film, and television actor. [33]
- Jeremy Brock (born 1959): British actor, producer, writer, and director. [34]
- Charlie Brooker (born 1971): British writer and satirist best known for his TV show Screenwipe . [35]
- Derren Brown (born 1971): English psychological illusionist, mentalist, and skeptic of paranormal phenomena. Professed to being an atheist in his book Tricks of the Mind and described Bertrand Russell's collection of essays Why I Am Not a Christian "an absolute joy."
- Luis Buñuel (1900–1983): Spanish film-maker, activist of the surrealist movement. Known for his one-liner, "Thank God I'm an atheist." [36] [37]
- Richard Burton (1925–1984): Welsh actor. [38]
- Kari Byron (born 1974): American television host and artist. [39] [40]
- Peter Caffrey (1949–2008): Irish actor. [41]
- James Cameron (born 1954): Canadian film director. [42]
- Richard Carleton (1943–2006): Current affairs journalist. [43]
- George Carlin (1937-2008): Actor, Comedian. Speaking about God and religion in his stand-up, saying "an invisible man in the sky."
- Adam Carolla (born 1964): American comedian, actor, author, radio host, and podcaster. Regularly refers to himself as an atheist. [44] [45]
- Jimmy Carr (born 1972): English comedian, author, actor, and presenter of radio and television. [46]
- Asia Carrera (born 1973): Former American pornographic actress. [47]
- Matthew Chapman (born 1950): English journalist, screenwriter, and director. [48]
- Jeremy Clarkson (born 1960): English journalist and broadcaster. [49]
- Scott Clifton (born 1984): American soap opera actor. [50]
- George Clooney (born 1961): American actor, director, producer, screenwriter. [51]
- Billy Connolly (born 1942): Scottish comedian, actor, former musician. [52]
- Jim Cornette (born 1961): American professional wrestling manager, commentator, promoter, and booker. [53]
- Malakai Black (born 1985): Professional wrestler [54]
- Sir Noël Coward (1899–1973): English actor, playwright, and composer of popular music. [55]
- Daniel Craig (born 1968): English actor, well known for playing James Bond from 2006 to 2021. [56]
- David Cronenberg (born 1943): Canadian film director, one of the principal originators of the 'body horror' genre. [57]
- Mackenzie Crook (born 1971): English actor and comedian. [58]
- David Cross (born 1964): American actor, writer. [59]
- Adrianne Curry (born 1982): American model, television host, and film actress. [60]
- Ileana D'Cruz (born 1987): Indian-Portuguese actress [61]
- Rodney Dangerfield (1921–2004): American comedian and actor. [62]
- Paul Daniels (1938–2016): Magician and Entertainer [63]
- John Davidson (born 1941): American singer, actor, and game show host. [64]
- Larry David (born 1947): American comedian, writer, actor, director, and television producer
- Alan Davies (born 1966): English comedian, writer, and actor. [65]
- Russell T Davies (born 1963): Welsh television producer and writer. [66]
- Terence Davies (born 1945): English screenwriter, film director, actor, and novelist. [67]
- William B. Davis (born 1938): Canadian actor. [68]
- John de Lancie (born 1948): American Actor, comedian, director, producer, and writer. [69]
- Guillermo del Toro (born 1964): Mexican director and screenwriter. [70]
- Andrew Denton (born 1960): Australian comedian and television host. [71]
- Johnny Depp (born 1963): American actor, well known for playing Captain Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean . [72]
- Marlene Dietrich (1901–1992): German-born American actress, singer and entertainer. [73]
- Phyllis Diller (1917–2012): American actress and comedian. [74]
- Stanley Donen (1924–2019): American film director. [75]
- Natalie Dormer (born 1982): English film and television actress. [76]
- Jamie Dornan (born 1982): Irish actor, model and musician.
- John Doyle (born 1953): Australian comedian, actor, and writer. [77]
- Bruno Dumont (born 1958): French film director and screenwriter. [78]
- Clint Eastwood (born 1930): American actor, film director, composer, and producer. [79]
- Christopher Eccleston (born 1964): English stage, film, and television actor. [80]
- David Edgar (born 1948): British playwright. [81]
- Sergei Eisenstein (1898–1948): Soviet Russian film director and film theorist. [82] [83] [84]
- Ben Elton (born 1959): English comedian, writer and director. [85] [86]
- Frances Farmer (1913–1970): American film, television, and theater actress. [87] [88]
- Diane Farr (born 1969): American actress. [89]
- Harvey Fierstein (born 1952): American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. [90]
- Brian Flemming (born 1966): American film director and playwright, notable for his 2005 film The God Who Wasn't There . [91]
- Dave Foley (born 1963): Canadian actor. [92]
- Peter Fonda (1940–2019): American actor. [93]
- Sir Denis Forman (1917–2013): British director (1949–1954) and later Chair (1971–1973) of The British Film Institute, Chairman and managing director of Granada Television, and Director of the Royal Opera House in London. [94]
- Jodie Foster (born 1962): American film actress, director, and producer. [95]
- Nick Frost (born 1972): English actor, comedian, and writer. [96]
- Stephen Fry (born 1957): British humourist, writer, actor, and filmmaker. [97] [98]
- Bob Geldof (born 1951): Irish musician, businessman and political activist. [99]
- Ricky Gervais (born 1961): British actor, film and TV director, screenwriter, producer, and comedian. [100] [101]
- Paul Giamatti (born 1967): American film and television actor. [102]
- Ira Glass (born 1959): American radio personality and host of This American Life. He has stated that he is a staunch atheist. [103]
- Theo van Gogh (1957–2004): Dutch film director, television producer, publicist, and actor, murdered following the broadcasting of his anti-Islamic film Submission . [104]
- Bobcat Goldthwait (born 1962): American actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film and television director. [105]
- Dan Gordon (born 1961): Northern Irish actor, director and author. Calls himself agnostic. [106]
- Angela Gossow (born 1974): German Singer-songwriter, manager, and journalist. [107]
- Richard E. Grant (born 1957): British actor. [108] [109]
- Alice Greczyn (born 1986): American actor. Author of "Wayward". Founder, "Dare to Doubt" web portal. [110]
- Seth Green (born 1974): American actor and comedian. [111] [112]
- Peter Greenaway, CBE (born 1942): Welsh-born English film director. [113]
- Kathy Griffin (born 1960): American actress and comedian. [114] [115]
- Shenae Grimes (born 1989): Canadian actress. [116]
- Kamal Haasan (born 1954): Indian film actor and film director. [117] [118] [119]
- Paul Haggis (born 1953): Canadian born, American citizen screenwriter and producer for consecutive Best Picture Oscar winners, Million Dollar Baby (2004) and Crash (2004), the latter of which he also directed. [120] [121]
- Brian Hall (1937–1997): English actor. [122]
- Tony Hancock (1924–1968): British actor and comedian. [123]
- Sir David Hare (born 1947): English dramatist and theatre and film director. [124]
- Nina Hartley (born 1959): American pornographic actress, film director, author, and sex educator. [125]
- Amber Heard (born 1986): American film and television actress. [126] [127]
- Hugh Hefner (1926–2017): American publisher and entrepreneur. [128]
- Katharine Hepburn (1907–2003): American actress. [129]
- Werner Herzog (born 1942): German film director, producer, screenwriter, actor, and opera director. [130]
- Kenny Hotz (born 1973): Canadian comedian, filmmaker, actor, producer, director and photographer. [131]
- John Humphrys (born 1943): Welsh journalist, author and radio and television presenter. Prefers the term agnostic. [132] [133]
- John Huston (1906–1987): American film director and actor. [134]
- Jamie Hyneman (born 1956): American visual effects expert. [135]
- Eric Idle (born 1943): British comedian. [136]
- Eddie Izzard (born 1962): British comedian. [137] [138]
- Clive James AO (1939–2019): Australian expatriate author, poet, critic, memoirist, travel writer, and cultural commentator. [139]
- Derek Jarman (1942–1994): English film director, stage designer, diarist, artist, gardener and author. [140]
- Penn Jillette (born 1955): American magician. [141] He has also taken the Blasphemy Challenge.
- Alejandro Jodorowsky (born 1929): Chilean-French filmmaker, playwright, actor, author, comic book writer and spiritual guru. [142]
- Billy Joel (born 1949): American singer, musician, and composer. [143]
- Dom Joly (born 1967): Award-winning British television comedian and journalist. [144]
- Sarah Kane (1971–1999): English playwright. [145]
- Skandar Keynes (born 1991): English actor. [146]
- Rajeev Khandelwal (born 1975): Indian television actor. [147]
- Margot Kidder (1948–2018): Canadian American film and television actress, well known for playing Lois Lane in Salkind's Superman film series. [148]
- Larry King (1933–2021): American radio and television host. [149]
- Michael Kinsley (born 1951): American political journalist, commentator, and television host. [150]
- Jerzy Kawalerowicz (1922–2007): Polish film director. [151]
- Keira Knightley (born 1985): English actress and model. [152]
- Jan Kott (1914–2001): Polish theatre theoretician and critic. [153]
- Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999): American film director, screenwriter, producer, cinematographer and editor whose films include 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining. [154]
- Burt Lancaster (1913–1994): American film actor. [155]
- Elsa Lanchester (1902–1986): English-born American actress. Atheism is mentioned in her autobiography. [156]
- John Landis (born 1950): American film director. [157]
- Fritz Lang (1890–1976): Austrian-American filmmaker, screenwriter, and occasional film producer and actor. [158] [159] [160]
- Charles Laughton (1899–1962): English-born American actor. Atheism is mentioned in his wife's autobiography. [156]
- Hugh Laurie OBE (born 1959): English actor, comedian and writer. [161]
- Nigella Lawson (born 1960): English journalist, food writer, broadcaster, and television presenter. [162]
- Cloris Leachman (1926–2021): American actress. [163]
- Bruce Lee (1940–1973): martial artist, actor and philosopher. John Little states that Lee was an atheist. When asked in 1972 what his religious affiliation was, Lee replied "none whatsoever." [164] [165] Also in 1972, when asked if he believed in God, he responded, "To be perfectly frank, I really do not." [165] [166]
- Robert Lees (1912–2004): Hollywood screenwriter.
- Tom Leykis (born 1956): American radio talk-show host. [167]
- Robert Llewellyn (born 1956): English actor, TV presenter, comedian, and writer. Also a skeptic and science enthusiast, and has expressed that his major pseudoscientific irritations are astrology and climate change denial. [168] [169]
- Rebecca Lord (born 1973): French pornographic actress. [170]
- Jane Lynch (born 1960): American actress and comedian. [171]
- Kevin Macdonald (born 1967): Scottish director. [172]
- Seth MacFarlane (born 1973): creator, animator, executive producer, actor and writer. [173]
- Bill Maher (born 1956): American comedian, author, political satirist and television host. [174] [175]
- John Malkovich (born 1953): American actor, producer, and director. [176]
- Stephen Mangan (born 1972): English actor. [177]
- Paul Mazursky (1930–2014): American director, producer, and actor. [178]
- Shirley Manson (born 1966): Scottish singer and musician. [179]
- Sylvester McCoy (born 1943): Scottish actor. [180]
- John McCririck (1940–2019): English television horse racing pundit. [181]
- Ian McDiarmid (born 1944): Scottish theatre actor and director, well known for playing Emperor Sheev Palpatine in the Star Wars franchise. [182]
- Sir Ian McKellen (born 1939): English stage and screen actor. [183]
- Pauline McLynn (born 1962):Irish character actress and author. [184]
- Butterfly McQueen (1911–1995): American actress. [185]
- Stephen Merchant (born 1974): British actor and writer. [186] [187]
- George Meyer (born 1956): American television producer and writer. [188]
- Dame Helen Mirren (born 1945): English stage, television and film actress. [189]
- Warren Mitchell (1926–2015): English actor. [190]
- Marilyn Monroe (1926–1962): American actress, model, and singer. [191]
- Julianne Moore (born 1960): American actress. [192] [193]
- Dylan Moran (born 1971): Irish comedian. [194]
- Dermot Morgan (1952–1998): Irish comedian and actor. [195] [196]
- Cillian Murphy (born 1976): Irish stage and screen actor. [197]
- Jonathan Myerson (born 1960): British television and radio dramatist. [198]
- Akkineni Nageswara Rao (1924–2014): Indian actor, producer, Padmavibhushan award recipient. [199]
- Kumail Nanjiani (born 1978): Actor, writer comedian, producer. While Nanjiani was raised Muslim, he now identifies as an atheist
- Thandiwe Newton (born 1972): English actress. [200]
- Mike Nichols (1931–2014): American television, stage and film director, writer, and producer. [201]
- Gaspar Noé (born 1963): Argentinian-born French filmmaker. [202]
- Dara Ó Briain (born 1972): Irish comedian and television presenter. [203]
- Elizabeth Olsen (born 1989): American actress. [204]
- Patton Oswalt (born 1969): American comedian and actor. [205] In his standup special No Reason To Complain, he calls himself a "stone-cold atheist."
- Yasujirō Ozu (1903–1963): Japanese film director and script writer. [206]
- Elliot Page (born 1987): Canadian actor. [207]
- Sir Michael Parkinson CBE (born 1935): English broadcaster and journalist. [208]
- Bruce Parry (born 1969): English former Royal Marines instructor. [209]
- Julia Pascal (born 1949): British Jewish playwright and theatre director. [210]
- Pier Paolo Pasolini (1922–1975): Italian film director, poet, writer and intellectual. [211]
- Simon Pegg (born 1970): English actor, comedian, writer, film producer and director. [212]
- Sam Perrin (1901–1998): American screenwriter. [213]
- Julia Phillips (1944–2002): film producer and author. [214]
- Joaquin Phoenix (born 1974): American film actor. [215]
- Michael Pitt (born 1981): American actor and musician. [216]
- Roman Polanski (born 1933): Polish director. [217]
- Sarah Polley (born 1979): Canadian actress and director. [218]
- Gail Porter (born 1971): Scottish television presenter. [219]
- Paula Poundstone (born 1959): American stand-up comedian, author, actress, interviewer, and commentator. [220]
- Terry Pratchett (1948–2015): English author.[ citation needed ]
- CM Punk (born 1978) American professional wrestler.[ citation needed ]
- Peter Purves (born 1939): English actor and television presenter. [221]
- Aron Ra (born 1962) American author, public speaker, and vlogger. [222]
- Daniel Radcliffe (born 1989): English actor, well known for playing Harry Potter in the film series of the same name. [223]
- Prakash Raj (born 1965): Indian actor, director and producer. [224]
- S. S. Rajamouli (born 1973): Indian film director, screenwriter, and stunt choreographer
- Mani Ratnam (born 1956): Indian film director, screenwriter, and producer
- Satyajit Ray (1921-1992): Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. [225]
- Carl Reiner (1922–2020): American actor, film director, producer, writer and comedian. [226]
- Rob Reiner (born 1947): American actor, film director, producer, and political activist [227]
- Alain Resnais (1922–2014): French film director and screenwriter. [228]
- Griff Rhys Jones (born 1953): Welsh comedian, writer, actor, and television presenter. [229] [230]
- Anna Richardson (born 1971): English presenter, television producer, writer, and journalist. [231]
- Fyfe Robertson (1902–1987): Scottish television journalist. [232]
- Gene Roddenberry (1921–1991): American screenwriter and producer, well known as the creator of the Star Trek franchise. [233]
- Richard Rodgers (1902–1979): American composer. [234]
- Seth Rollins (born 1986): American professional wrestler and actor. [235] [236]
- Ray Romano (born 1957): American actor, writer and stand-up comedian. [237]
- Pascual Romero (born 1980): American musician and television producer. [238]
- Linda Ronstadt (born 1946): American singer. [239]
- Andy Rooney (1918–2011): Humorist, American radio and television writer. [240]
- Roberto Rossellini (1906–1977): Italian film director and screenwriter. [241]
- Douglas Rushkoff (born 1961): American media theorist, writer, columnist, lecturer, graphic novelist, documentarian, and outspoken critic of religion. [242]
- Dan Savage (born 1964): American author, columnist, and podcaster. [243]
- Alan Scarfe (1937-2024): Canadian actor, director and novelist. [244]
- George C. Scott (1927–1999): American stage and film actor, director, and producer. [245]
- Andy Serkis (born 1964): English actor and director. [246] [247]
- Elyse Sewell (born 1982): American fashion model. [248]
- Vijay Sethupathi (born 1978): Indian actor and producer. [249]
- Léa Seydoux (born 1985): French actress. [250]
- Don Siegel (1912–1991): American film director and producer. [251]
- Sarah Silverman (born 1970): American comedian, writer and actress. [252]
- Marc Sinden (born 1954): English Theatre producer and actor. [253]
- Tarsem Singh (born 1961): Indian-American director. [254]
- Ian Smith (born 1938): Australian soap opera character actor and television scriptwriter. [255]
- Matt Smith (born 1982): English actor. [256]
- Dan Snow (born 1978): English television presenter and historian. [257]
- Stellan Skarsgård (born 1951): Swedish actor. [258]
- Steven Soderbergh (born 1963): American filmmaker, director. [259]
- Todd Solondz (born 1959): American screenwriter and independent film director. [260]
- Britney Spears (born 1981): American singer, songwriter, and dancer. [261]
- Doug Stanhope (born 1967); American comedian. [262]
- David Starkey CBE (born 1945): English historian, television and radio presenter. [263]
- Juliet Stevenson (born 1956): English actress. [264]
- Patrick Stewart (born 1940): English Actor of stage, film and television. [265]
- Matt Stone (born 1971), co-creator of South Park . [266] [267]
- J. Michael Straczynski (born 1954): American writer and producer. [268]
- Sir Alan Sugar (born 1947): English entrepreneur, businessman, and television personality. [269]
- Julia Sweeney (born 1959): American actress, comedian, and author. [270]
- Quentin Tarantino (born 1963): American film director, screenwriter, producer, and actor. [271]
- Béla Tarr (born 1955): Hungarian filmmaker and screenwriter. [272]
- Paul Taylor (1930–2018): American choreographer. [273]
- Teller (born 1948): American magician. [274]
- Louis Theroux (born 1970): English documentary filmmaker and broadcaster who is noted for various documentary series. [275]
- Emma Thompson (born 1959): English actress, comedian, and screenwriter. [276]
- François Truffaut (1932–1984): French filmmaker and film critic. [277] [278]
- Wendy Turner Webster (born 1967): English TV presenter and animal rights campaigner. [279]
- Tom Tykwer (born 1965): German film director. [280]
- Brian Tyler (born 1978): American film composer [281]
- Kenneth Tynan (1927–1980): British theatre critic and writer. [282]
- Ram Gopal Varma (born 1962): Indian film director, writer, and film producer. [283]
- Wynford Vaughan-Thomas CBE (1908–1987): Welsh newspaper journalist and radio and television broadcaster. [284]
- Paul Verhoeven (born 1938): Dutch film director, screenwriter, and film producer. [285]
- Paolo Villaggio (1932–2017): Italian actor, writer, director, and comedian. [286]
- Sarah Vowell (born 1969): American author, broadcaster, and voice actor. [287]
- Joss Whedon (born 1964): American screenwriter and director. [288]
- Lalla Ward (born 1951): English actress and illustrator.[ citation needed ]
- Orson Welles (1915–1985): American actor, director, writer, and producer. [289]
- Wil Wheaton (born 1972): American actor, blogger, and writer [290]
- Peter White (born 1947): English broadcast journalist and DJ. [291]
- Alissa White-Gluz (born 1985): Canadian Singer and songwriter. [292]
- Robyn Williams (born 1944): Australian science journalist and broadcaster. [293]
- Ted Willis (1914–1992): British television dramatist, also politically active in support of the Labour Party. [294]
- Terry Wogan KBE DL (1938–2016): Irish radio and television broadcaster. [295]
