Rank these three British actors

Fiennes
Law
Firth

Damn, not A Single Man stans for Firth. 

I agree with the majority here.

Fiennes
Law
Firth

Don’t really disagree and sadly Firth is the only one with an Oscar.

Fiennes
Firth
Law

but seriously, where the hell has Law been. I feel like apart from maaaaaybe the Young Pope/New Pope on the small screen, he hasn't done anything relevant since Cold Mountain. It's insane to me that he didn't levy his two Oscar nods into more prestige-y projects in the 2000s and basically dropped off the map until recently. Has any other career of a high-caliber A-list British actor been such a missed opportunity?

I'll say this for Firth, he isn't the most versatile but he's goddamn reliable. He was great in 1984's underseen Another Country, and had a lot of success in the 90s and early 2000s in rom-coms like Bridget Jones and in costume dramas and romance. I remember him being all the rage back in the day, and for good reason. His Mr. Darcy will never be eclipsed. And all that before snagging two Oscar nods (both for perfs that were better than either of Law's nominated perfs). He hasn't been on the map lately but overall has enjoyed much more success, longevity and popularity than Law (who may in fact be a better actor but with his mostly awful slate that's yet to be determined). I can understand being soft on Firth, but preferring Law over Firth I cannot fathom. Law, who had a brief moment in the late 90s and early 2000s that virtually ended with Cold Mountain. Someone explain it to me. 

Agree with everyone that Fiennes is clearly the standout here. The most consistent, the most reliable, and the highest highs, and he's still going pretty strong. He's undeniable.

I'll give it a go

Law is just an extremely reliable character actor, and always has been. Even in fluff like Captain Marvel. Yes, he's never reached the heights expected or predicted from him as a leading man in films, but that's not usual for a lot of British actors. A lot of his early work is great and very rangy (from Wilde to Gattaca to The Talented Mr Ripley to AI to Road To Perdition). I actually think his work in Cold Mountain is actually pretty overrated, and could have been done by several actors. He's been more fun to watch in movies people tend to dismiss like the Guy Ritchie/Robert Downey jr Sherlock Holmes films as Watson. A lot of his films (especially leading vehicles) since the mid 2000's haven't really caught on, but he's always pretty solid. And while some don't pay it as much attention, like Fiennes, Law is a far more accomplished stage actor than Firth, scoring 3 Laurence Olivier nominations and 2 Tony nominations over his career, including a Tony nod for Hamlet in 2010. Yes, his film career might have failed to live up to expectations, but he's one of the more accomplished British stage actors of his generation, and that counts for something. To be honest, it counts for a lot. People tend to forget what a great stage career Law had, and still has. To me Law is basically Terrence Stamp (had some memorable moments as a film actor, but much more was expected from him, like Law) with a far superior stage career. There are much worse things for an actor to be than that.

Firth clearly does not have the range of Law or Fiennes (Firth tends to stick very closely to stiff, upper lipped posh Brits. which the other two can do just as easily, and much more besides), achieved very little of note in theatre and arguably for most the majority of his film career, he was percieved as kinda of a charming lightweight coasting off his appeal to women (the whole Mr Darcy, Bridget Jones thing. And I know some rate his Darcy performance, but playing a stiff upper lipped posh Englishman is not a challenge for Firth. It was more great casting than anything). He was sort of a budget Hugh Grant. Yes, in the last decade he's evolved into a more respected serious film actor with A Single Man and The King's Speech and his recent film career has been better than Law's, but in overall career terms (stage and screen) and actual range and acting craft, I think the argument for Law over Firth is quite compelling and easy to make.

Oh honey... my financial advisor tells me it's not worth getting into bed for... but if I had to (for like World Peace or something) it would probably be in that order...

$45m - Jude
$30m - Ralph
$25m - Colin

well, I sure did ask for it 

Firth doesn't have the range of projects of these other two but he excels within his Discount Hugh Grant boundaries (a discount Hugh Grant is still hella charming) and his Oscar-nominated turns are better than both of Law's and he always stands out to me even in those lower-effort roles like Bridget Jones whereas Law disappears into the scenery in Road to Perdition, Closer, Anna Karenina, and even Hugo. Giving a second glance at Law's filmography I do see more high-profile projects than I realized he had been in, which itself is hugely telling.

As for Firth, his turn in King's Speech particularly doesn't get the credit it deserves because anything marred with Tom Hooper's fingerprints is easy to mock in hindsight, but George VI was an incredibly challenging role that required both extreme technical precision and emotional vulnerability and unlike anything else he had done (and far more ambitious than anything Law has done). It was a dream role trapped in a mediocre film, and so was A Single Man for that matter. If it was just those two performances stacked up against the entirety of Law's cinematic career (it's true I'm not aware of his stage work), I'd go with Firth every day.

I just still want to see more from Law. I feel like there's still untapped potential there.

Law
Firth
Fiennes (overrated actor)