Hugh Laurie

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In what several TV network and studio executives are calling a "British invasion," the current network pilot season is marked by one salient trend: A lot of British actors are getting hired.

"There is a tremendous number of British actors being signed," said Sharon Klein, the head of casting for the 20th Century Fox Television studio.

How big is this British wave? Big enough to fill roles in about two dozen prospective series, or about a third of all the pilots being made for the networks. Many are starring roles. One of those belongs to "Rome" co-star Kevin McKidd, who is playing the lead in the NBC pilot "Journeyman," about a time traveler.

Klein, whose studio is producing both "Journeyman" and "Babylon Fields," said it is no accident that the British stars of "Rome" have landed jobs in the United States: "I loved 'Rome.' So did a lot of people in Hollywood." They loved it enough to offer two other stars from that series, Polly Walker and Zuleikha Robinson, parts in other drama pilots, the former for CBS and the latter for Fox.

HBO announced early that "Rome" would have just two seasons, freeing its actors to look for work. Klein said McKidd, who played Lucius Vorenus in "Rome," and Ray Stevenson were much in demand. They fit a profile that has become devilishly difficult for casting directors: the male lead between 35 and 45.

As many casting directors have noted, lead male actors in that age range are often signed by the movies. Two strong British male stars were sure to be fielding many TV offers.

But they were hardly the only ones. This pilot season's list of crossover stars from Britain includes some well-known names, like Natasha Richardson, who is in an NBC comedy; Tom Conti, who stars in a Fox comedy; and Julian Sands, a supporting actor in an NBC drama.

The pilots also include some moderately well-known names, like Lena Headey of the hit film "300," who is in a Fox drama, and Damian Lewis of the HBO miniseries "Band of Brothers," who is in an NBC drama. But there are also several unknowns (like Calvin Goldspink and Ed Westwick, who are in CW dramas).

Mary Buck, who runs the casting department at the Warner Brothers TV studio, said several factors had come into play in this surge of interest in British acting talent. The biggest, she said, harking back to Klein's point, is that casting during network pilot season has become punishingly arduous.

"We have so many venues looking for actors," Buck said, noting that dozens of cable networks now program original series.

Klein said another factor is the hunger at studios and networks for fresh faces. "You never want people saying, 'OK, he was on that show before,' " she said.

Angela Bromstad, president of the NBC Universal Television studio, noted that last season many shows with identifiable stars, like "Smith" starring Ray Liotta, had failed. "The philosophy at NBC is back to creating your own stars," Bromstad said.

Even before they started poaching actors from Britain, the networks had England on their minds, thanks to the proliferation of imported British program formats, from "American Idol" and "Dancing With the Stars" to "The Office." This pilot season many more British formats are being brought to American television, including NBC comedies like "I'm With Stupid" and "The IT Crowd"; ABC's dramas "Football Wives" and "Life on Mars"; and CBS' drama "Viva Laughlin!"

Some of these shows will include British actors in their casts. But even a couple of thoroughly American characters, such as the new Bionic Woman and the Sarah Connor character from the "Terminator" movies, will be played by British actresses in pilots. Michelle Ryan, from the British series "EastEnders," will take on Lindsay Wagner's role as the bionic one on NBC, and Headey will take over from Linda Hamilton as the muscle-flexing Sarah in "The Sarah Connor Chronicles" for Fox.

Obviously, those actors will not be using British accents. That is another essential element of the British talent invasion: In almost every case, the actors will be playing Americans. That means flattening out those accents, but Klein said no one really doubted the British actors could pull it off. "They are so accomplished," she said.

That is another reason that the casting directors said they fell so hard for British actors this year: They are good at what they do.

So why are so many British actors interested in American television? Mainly, it can be traced back to the most significant factor of all: Hugh Laurie.

As the irascible doctor in the Fox hit "House," the Oxford-born Laurie has won wide acclaim, not only for his characterization, but also for his utterly convincing American accent.

Bromstad said there was some fear that Laurie would drive the British recruits away by describing how tough the schedule is for a lead actor in an American series, which typically shoots far more episodes a year than a British series.

"But Hugh has been very gracious and encouraging," Bromstad said.