Skip to main content
Games Radar Newsarama Total Film Edge Retro Gamer
GamesRadar+ GamesRadar+ The smarter take on movies
UK EditionUK US EditionUS CA EditionCanada AU EditionAustralia
Sign in
  • View Profile
  • Sign out
Gaming Magazines
Gaming Magazines
Why subscribe?
  • Subscribe from just £3
  • Takes you closer to the games, movies and TV you love
  • Try a single issue or save on a subscription
  • Issues delivered straight to your door or device
From$12
Subscribe now
Don't miss these
Next James Bond
Action Movies Next James Bond: The 27 actors who could replace Daniel Craig as the new 007
Furiosa from Mad Max Fury Road
Movies The 32 greatest female action movie characters of all time
Tom Holland in the Uncharted movie
Movies The 32 greatest movies for Uncharted fans to watch
Yu Shu Lien from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Movies The 32 greatest action films ever made
Best video game heroes
Games The 25 best heroes in games of all time
The Long Walk
Horror Movies The best Stephen King adaptations ranked, from Carrie to The Long Walk
The hammer scene from Oldboy
Movies The 32 greatest revenge thrillers ever made
Drama Movies The 10 best drama movies of all time, ranked
Batman
DC Movies James Gunn addresses Batman casting for The Brave and The Bold
Matthew McConaughey as Joseph "Coop" Cooper and Anne Hathaway as Dr. Amelia Brand in Interstellar.
Streaming Services The 20 best movies on Paramount Plus to watch right now
Oscar Isaac as Victor Frankenstein in Frankenstein
Movies The 25 best movies on Netflix to watch this week
The best horror comedies
Action Movies The 15 best horror comedies that will have you laughing from behind your sofa
Glen Powell in Hit Man
James Bond Movies As a new 007 movie gets closer, one actor has taken himself out of the running in the funniest way: "A Texan should not play James Bond"
Godzilla attacks a boat in Godzilla Minus One.
Action Movies The 25 best Netflix action movies to watch right now
Frodo in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Movies The 32 greatest movie trilogies of all time
Trending
  • Best Netflix Movies
  • Best movies on Disney Plus
  • Movie Release Dates
  • Best Netflix Shows
  1. Entertainment
  2. Movies

20 Movie Characters Who Deserve A Knighthood

Features
By Joshua Winning published 28 December 2010

Brilliant Brits who need a royal nod

When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission. Here’s how it works.

Sir Shaun

Sir Shaun

For Services To: Mankind. When faced with legions of gurning, shuffling zombies, Shaun doesn’t go down without a mammoth tussle, pulling his family together and fighting to survive until the bitter end. He even sticks with his mate even after he's joined the slathering ranks of the undead. Now that's loyalty.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder:
“Could’ve done some damage with that.”

Page 1 of 20
Page 1 of 20
Sir Sam Loomis

Sir Sam Loomis

For Services To: Haddonfield, and young Laurie Strode. Having taken young killer Michael Myers into Smiths Grove for psychological analysis, Loomis shows he’s also a bit of a hero when Michael escapes, tracking him back to his hometown and doing everything in his power to stop him.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder:
“Your eyes, the devil’s eyes…”

Page 2 of 20
Page 2 of 20
Sir John Hammond

Sir John Hammond

For Services To: Science, in a word. Through his pioneering work, Hammond discovers a way to resurrect extinct dinosaurs using DNA captured in amber. Or something. Even if it ended up being entirely ill-advised (the meddling of Dennis Nedry didn't help), it was the most important scientific breakthrough perhaps since the beginning of time.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “Oh, lovely. Now I can have a pop at resurrecting the Knights of the Round Table!"

Page 3 of 20
Page 3 of 20
Sir James Bond

Sir James Bond

For Services To: Queen and country. Bond has done more than his fair share of international sleuthing, bringing down some of the world’s evilest evil masterminds, even in the face of certain death. It's not just any man that could handle being electrocuted in the gonads, and still come out looking tough as nails.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “I’m shaken, and a little stirred.”

Page 4 of 20
Page 4 of 20
Lady Victoria

Lady Victoria

For Services To: The universe. Seriously, have you seen how cool this woman looks while wielding a machine gun? The cosmos would be a sad, barren place without her. So let’s celebrate her with a nod from the Queen.

Response To Having Sword On Her Shoulder: “Call that a sword? Now THIS is a sword.”

Page 5 of 20
Page 5 of 20
Sir Severus Snape

Sir Severus Snape

For Services To: Hogwarts, and the wizard community at large. Working from the inside of Voldemort’s evil troupe, Professor Snape convinces everybody – including the Dark Lord himself – that he’s as up for pain and destruction as the next Death Eater. Then he spectacularly turns the tables.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder:
“Is that pure silver? Thought not."

Page 6 of 20
Page 6 of 20
Sir Harry Brown

Sir Harry Brown

For Services To: London council estates. Unlike most OAPs, Brown isn’t content to let the hoodies and chavs seize control of his home turf, fighting fire with fire by descending to their level and giving them a right proper spanking. We aspire to be him.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “I did it all for Leonard, bloods.”

Page 7 of 20
Page 7 of 20
Sir Hobson

Sir Hobson

For Services To: Playboy Arthur Bach. Working as Arthur’s valet, Hobson is more of a second father to the spoilt millionaire. He’s particularly worthy of the knighthood owing to his frequent and selfless attempts to make Arthur’s life better, even going so far as encouraging love of his life Linda to not give up on him.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “One is honoured and flattered. Yee-haw.”

Page 8 of 20
Page 8 of 20
Sir Jack Sparrow

Sir Jack Sparrow

For Services To: High-seas adventures. Swigging his way from one catastrophe to another, Sparrow may be the cause of many of his problems, but his heart’s normally in around the right place. He’s also saved as many lives as he’s ruined.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “Eassshy theeer love, theesh dreadsh are expenshive.”

Page 9 of 20
Page 9 of 20
Lady Rita OGrady

Lady Rita OGrady

For Services To: British women. Rita made history in 1968 when she spearheaded a strike campaign at the Dagenham Ford factory, where men were being paid far more than women. Refusing to give up, Rita was instrumental in bringing about the Equal Pay Act 1970. Hurrah!

Response To Having Sword On Her Shoulder: "I suppose a man made that..."

Page 10 of 20
Page 10 of 20
Sir Fagin

Sir Fagin

For Services To: Homeless children. Instead of letting them run ragged on the London streets, Fagin provides a home for the scruffy little nuisances, as well as a quality of life infinitely better than what they’d have without him. Sure, they pick a few pockets for him, but you gotta survive, ain’t ya?

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder:
“’Ow much you think that’d fetch?”

Page 11 of 20
Page 11 of 20
Sir T.E. Lawrence

Sir T.E. Lawrence

For Services To: Britain and Arabia. Sure, his loyalties are divided, but in that very fact Lawrence manages to raise the issue of senseless international fighting. His struggle to deal with the violent actions that he undertakes also mark him out as a thoughtful man of character and strength.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “Fight me like a man! Oh, wait…”

Page 12 of 20
Page 12 of 20
Sir Harold Abrahams

Sir Harold Abrahams

For Services To: Prejudice fighting. A Jewish athlete, Abrahams suffered anti-Semitism while studying at Cambridge, but never let it get him down. He became the first person to complete the Trinity Great Court Run, then represented Britain at the 1924 Olympics. Later, he would become the elder statesman of British athletics.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: "I've paid my Jews."

Page 13 of 20
Page 13 of 20
Lady Lara Croft

Lady Lara Croft

For Services To: No, not geeky gamers, but the world at large. Rather than squandering her riches, Lady Croft utilises them in order to take down the enemy. Anywhere she suspects injustice is being dealt, or a treasure is in need of rescuing from greedy corporate hands, Lara will be there. She’s also really smart and athletic, which makes her a decent role model and stuff.

Response To Having Sword On Her Shoulder:
"What a fine specimen. Or it would be if it wasn't a fake..."

Page 14 of 20
Page 14 of 20
Sir Mark Darcy

Sir Mark Darcy

For Services To: The British public. How? By taking moany, moapy Bridget Jones off the singles market and ensuring that no other sod has to go on a date with her. He also deserves the knighthood for actually putting up with the neurotic fusspot - as well as those dreadful jumpers.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “I say, right, gosh, honestly, crumbs…”

Page 15 of 20
Page 15 of 20
Sir Charles Waterbury

Sir Charles Waterbury

For Services To: England. Wrongly imprisoned, accused of selling secrets to Russian spies, Waterbury works for the Foreign Office. The fact that he’s then cleared of all charges is a blessing, but he's still suffered a fair bit – a knighthood would definitely make up for that.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “I accept your apology, your Majesty.”

Page 16 of 20
Page 16 of 20
Sir Howie

Sir Howie

For Services To: Next year’s bountiful harvest? Oh, alright, he deserves it for attempting to do right, going about his business investigating a missing girl on a remote island with all the professionalism you’d expect from a man on the beat. Not his fault he never makes it out alive. Deserves the honour, though.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “That would’ve been useful when I was stuck in that wicker abomination.”

Page 17 of 20
Page 17 of 20
Sir Austin Powers

Sir Austin Powers

For Services To: Numerous women, mostly. He’s no prude when it comes to jumping in the sack, though Powers is also a brilliant international spy who deserves recognition for all the evil plots he’s taken down. Even if it is mostly by accident.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder:
“Is that a sword, baby, or are you just happy to see me?”

Page 18 of 20
Page 18 of 20
Sir Jack Carter

Sir Jack Carter

For Services To: The gangster-fearing residents of Newcastle-Upon-Tyne. In the eyes of the law, Carter might be a bit of a vengeance-seeking vigilante, but there’s no denying he did his bit to clean up the streets. We’re sure the Queen would agree.

Response To Having Sword On His Shoulder: “Makes a change from a rifle.”

Page 19 of 20
Page 19 of 20
Lady Laura Little Voice Hoff

Lady Laura Little Voice Hoff

For Services To: The arts. She may be super-shy, and exploited by manager Ray Say, but Little Voice is one talented wee bird – and boy can she sing. You name the artist, she’ll deliver a pitch perfect impersonation that crashes right up into the Gods. Édith Piaf, Shirley Bassey, Judy Garland... There ain't nothing this one can't do.

Response To Having Sword On Her Shoulder:
“Eee by gum, whorran honour.”

Page 20 of 20
Page 20 of 20
Joshua Winning
Social Links Navigation

Josh Winning has worn a lot of hats over the years. Contributing Editor at Total Film, writer for SFX, and senior film writer at the Radio Times. Josh has also penned a novel about mysteries and monsters, is the co-host of a movie podcast, and has a library of pretty phenomenal stories from visiting some of the biggest TV and film sets in the world. He would also like you to know that he "lives for cat videos..." Don't we all, Josh. Don't we all.  

Read more
Next James Bond
Next James Bond: The 27 actors who could replace Daniel Craig as the new 007
 
 
Furiosa from Mad Max Fury Road
The 32 greatest female action movie characters of all time
 
 
Tom Holland in the Uncharted movie
The 32 greatest movies for Uncharted fans to watch
 
 
Yu Shu Lien from Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
The 32 greatest action films ever made
 
 
Best video game heroes
The 25 best heroes in games of all time
 
 
The Long Walk
The best Stephen King adaptations ranked, from Carrie to The Long Walk
 
 
Latest in Movies
Megan Good, Caroline Grace Currey, and D.J. Cotrona in Shazam! Fury of the Gods
DC's Shazam star leads new horror movie about a haunted fridge
 
 
Brie Larson as Carol Danvers in The Marvels
Princess Rosalina voice actor and Nintendo mega-fan Brie Larson once threw her boyfriend out of the house over a Super Mario Galaxy argument: "He said that I was taking it too seriously"
 
 
Colman Domingo as Bobby T in The Running Man
Colman Domingo based his The Running Man character on "old school" TV hosts like Jerry Springer
 
 
 in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie trailer
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie adds more star power, including The Odyssey and Captain Marvel actors as Princess Rosalina and Bowser Jr.
 
 
Princess Peach and Mario in The Super Mario Galaxy Movie
The Super Mario Galaxy Movie isn't just adapting the Wii classic, it's also taking inspiration from Super Mario Odyssey
 
 
Kevin Hart, Dwayne Johnson, Karen Gillan, and Jack Black in Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle
Jumanji 3 has entered production, with star Dwayne Johnson confirming it will be the last film in the franchise: "What a massive, fun, heartfelt adventure"
 
 
Latest in Features
Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka in Pluribus
Pluribus is the antidote to 20 years of post-Lost mystery shows, and that's what makes it such a breath of fresh air
 
 
Tides of Annihilation key art
My most-wanted game of 2026 stars Shadowheart from Baldur's Gate 3 as a modern Arthurian knight with deadly Devil May Cry combat moves, and I swear it's going to be huge
 
 
Glen Powell and Colman Domingo in The Running Man
The Running Man Easter eggs: all the Stephen King references we spotted in the new film
 
 
The Outer Worlds 2
In a curious crossover of stuff I love, The Outer Worlds 2 improves one of Avowed's jankiest features – and the only game I can compare it to isn't even an RPG
 
 
Glen Powell as Ben Richards in The Running Man
The Running Man ending explained: All your biggest questions answered on the Stephen King adaptation
 
 
Monster trucks and jeeps parked outside a church in Mexico in Forza Horizon 5
Forza Horizon 5 is one of gaming's greatest car modding games, and I'm flying like a Bulleit in my restomod monstrosities
 
 
  1. Key art for Possessor(s) with Luca and Rehm against a demonic city - used on the PS Store
    1
    Possessor(s) review: "Smart ideas are quickly buried in this demonic Metroidvania that's far too mundane and dull in a sea of sharp competition"
  2. 2
    Lumines Arise review: "Just as effective as Tetris Effect, block matching to a beat becomes a transcendent experience"
  3. 3
    Anno 117: Pax Romana review: "Whether dealing with rivals through warfare or diplomacy, there's a great deal to like in this engrossing city builder"
  4. 4
    Arc Raiders review: "The most memorable multiplayer experiences I've had all year – this shooter is tense but wonderfully approachable"
  5. 5
    Battlefield Redsec review: "Ticks all the right boxes for a battle royale, but it's not especially unique"
  1. Glen Powell as Ben Richards in The Running Man
    1
    The Running Man review: "Some fun action and Glen Powell's star power aren't enough to energize this disappointing Stephen King adaptation"
  2. 2
    Predator: Badlands review: "Die-hard fans may be disappointed, but as a blockbuster action-adventure, Badlands kills it"
  3. 3
    Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc review "Storytelling just as compelling as the chainsaws, devils, and visually excessive fight scenes"
  4. 4
    Tron: Ares review: "Misses out by swapping the Grid for the real world"
  5. 5
    One Battle After Another review: "One of the best studio movies in years and an instant classic"
  1. Rhea Seehorn as Carol Sturka, looking scared, in Pluribus.
    1
    Pluribus season 1 review: "Easily one of the year's best dramas"
  2. 2
    The Witcher season 4 review: "The Henry Cavill-less fourth season is the best yet"
  3. 3
    IT: Welcome to Derry review: "A supremely confident step back into the history of Stephen King's cursed town and killer clown"
  4. 4
    Splinter Cell: Deathwatch review: "A pale imitation of the long-dormant stealth franchise"
  5. 5
    Marvel Zombies review: "A fun expansion of the What If episode with delightful MCU Easter eggs and truly gross R-rated kills"

GamesRadar+ is part of Future US Inc, an international media group and leading digital publisher. Visit our corporate site.

Add as a preferred source on Google
  • About Us
  • Contact Future's experts
  • Terms and conditions
  • Privacy policy
  • Cookies policy
  • Advertise with us
  • Review guidelines
  • Write for us
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Careers

© Future US, Inc. Full 7th Floor, 130 West 42nd Street, New York, NY 10036.

Please login or signup to comment

Please wait...