Emily Browning Biography

Emily Jane Browning (born 7 December 1988) is an Australian actress and singer.

Browning made her film debut in the Australian television film The Echo of Thunder, subsequently, she played recurring roles in Australian television shows Blue Heelers and Something in the Air. Her breakthrough role was in the 2002 horror film Ghost Ship, which introduced her to a wider audience. In 2005, Browning won the Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Violet Baudelaire in the film Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004).

Browning is also known for her roles in the horror film The Uninvited (2009), the action film Sucker Punch (2011), and the independent drama Sleeping Beauty (2011). She was named the Breakthrough Performer of The Year by Hamptons International Film Festival in 2011 for her role in Sleeping Beauty. Her other films include The Host (2013), Pompeii (2014) and Legend (2015).

Early life

Browning was born in Melbourne, Victoria, the daughter of Andrew and Shelley Browning. She attended Eltham High School. Browning has two younger brothers, Nicholas and Matthew.

Career

Early work

Browning's debut acting role was in the 1998 Hallmark Channel movie The Echo of Thunder. Additional roles in Australian film and television productions soon followed, including recurring roles in the television series Blue Heelers from 2000 to 2002, and Something in the Air from 2000 to 2001. In 2001, Browning appeared as the daughter of a character played by Billy Connolly in The Man Who Sued God.

She made her American film debut in 2002's Ghost Ship, and won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Young Actress, the same year. In 2003, she appeared opposite Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom in 2003's Ned Kelly, and then reunited with Connolly the following year in the film adaptation of Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, in which she played Violet Baudelaire.

In 2006, Browning appeared in the music video for Evermore's "Light Surrounding You". In the behind-the-scenes video for the clip, the band stated, "[We] suck as actors, so we decided to get Emily." She attended the L'Oreal Fashion Festival as a festival ambassador on 1 February 2007.

2008-2011

Browning played the lead role in the 2009 horror film The Uninvited, an American remake of the 2003 South Korean film A Tale of Two Sisters, co-starring alongside Elizabeth Banks and Arielle Kebbel. She then turned down a request to audition for the role of Bella Swan in Twilight, citing exhaustion, despite an endorsement from series author Stephenie Meyer. In 2009, she was cast as Babydoll in Zack Snyder's action film Sucker Punch, as a replacement for Amanda Seyfried, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts. Filming took place in Vancouver from September 2009 to January 2010, and the film was released on 25 March 2011. In an interview at Comic-Con, she confirmed that she would be singing in the film, while claiming that her audition tape brought tears to her casting agent's eyes and the song she selected ("Killing Me Softly") was one of Zack Snyder's wife Deborah's favourites, which Browning referred to as the "selling point" on her being cast in the role.

Since Sucker Punch, Browning has worked steadily in film. In February 2010 it was announced that Browning would play the lead role in the independent Australian film Sleeping Beauty, directed by Julia Leigh. She replaced friend and fellow young Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, who was committed to a film adaptation of Jane Eyre at the time. The film screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival. In a review from the festival, Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian called the film "Technically elegant with vehemence and control ... Emily Browning gives a fierce and powerful performance ... There is force and originality in Leigh's work". Fionnuala Halligan in Screen International wrote "Browning has gone the distance for her director and together, they have delivered something here that sometimes catches your breath". At the festival Browning said, "Even reading the screenplay, it made me feel uncomfortable. But that was something that attracted me to it. I would prefer to polarise an audience as opposed to making an entertaining film everybody feels ambivalent about."

2012-present

In 2012, she replaced English actress Ophelia Lovibond to play as the female lead in the film Summer in February. The film is based on the book of the same title, by Jonathan Smith. The film was filmed in Cornwall alongside Dominic Cooper and Dan Stevens. In July 2012, Browning was cast in God Help the Girl, a musical film by Belle and Sebastian front-man Stuart Murdoch. Browning played Eve, and the role required live singing. Filming on the production began on 8 July 2012 and wrapped on 12 August 2012.

Browning was then cast in Catherine Hardwicke's Plush alongside Cam Gigandet, replacing Evan Rachel Wood who was originally attached to the project due to scheduling conflicts. Browning also starred alongside Xavier Samuel whom she met on the set during filming. Magic Magic, directed by Sebastin Silva, screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Film.com designated the film as a "Top Pick".

Browning starred in the 2014 film Pompeii, opposite Kit Harington, best known for Game of Thrones. The project was filmed in Toronto and the actual city of Pompeii itself. Browning took a break from filming on Pompeii, and returned home to Australia to film a music video directed by Guy Franklin for the song "No Matter What You Say" by San Francisco-based band Imperial Teen. The video follows Browning as the lead character, conducting a 'live art-piece'.

In 2014, Browning filmed Shangri La Suite directed by Eddie O'Keefe. The story follows two young lovers who break out of a mental hospital in 1974 and set out on a road trip to Los Angeles to fulfill the boy's lifelong dream of killing his idol Elvis Presley, who appears as a supporting character. Luke Grimes and Avan Jogia co-star. The same year, she appeared in Years & Years's Take Shelter music video.

In 2015, Browning starred in the biopic crime thriller movie Legend, alongside Tom Hardy who portrayed twin brothers Reggie and Ronnie Kray. She portrayed Frances Shea, the first wife of Reggie Kray.

Browning was cast in American Gods as Laura Moon. Neil Gaiman, author of the novel said, "I've been fascinated by Emily Browning since A Series of Unfortunate Events. She has a challenge ahead of her: Laura is a tricky character, and the Laura on the screen is even trickier and more dangerous than the one on the page. She's going to have a wonderful time bringing Laura to life".

Personal life

Browning took a break from acting in order to complete her education at Eltham High School, where she concluded her Victorian Certificate of Education exams in November 2006. She is currently studying at The University of Queensland.

Filmography

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1998	'	Opal Ritchie	TV movie
1999	High Flyers	Phoebe Mason	13 episodes
2000	Thunderstone	Clio	13 episodes
2001	Blonde	Fleece	Movie
2000-02	Blue Heelers	Hayley Fulton	9 episodes
2000-01	Something in the Air	Alicia	5 episodes
2001	Halifax f.p: Playing God	Kristy O'Connor	Episode: "Playing God"
2003	After the Deluge	Maddy	Movie
2005	Stranded	Penny	Movie
2016	American Gods	Laura Moon

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2001	'	Rebecca Myers
2002	Ghost Ship	Katie Harwood
2003	Ned Kelly	Grace Kelly
2003	Darkness Falls	Young Caitlin Greene
2004	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	Violet Baudelaire
2009	'	Anna Ivers
2009	Talk.Distance.Listen	Natalie	Short film
2011	Sucker Punch	Babydoll
2011	Sleeping Beauty	Lucy
2012	Mr. Beautiful	Olivia White	Short film
2013	The Host	Pet / Wanderer "Wanda"
2013	Summer in February	Florence Carter-Wood
2013	Magic Magic	Sarah
2013	Plush	Hayley
2014	God Help the Girl	Eve
2014	Pompeii	Cassia
2015	Shangri La Suite	Karen
2015	Legend	Frances Shea

Video Games

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2004	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events	Violet Baudelaire

Discography

Year	Title	Album
2011	"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)"	Sucker Punch
	"Where Is My Mind?"
	"Asleep"
2013	"Introdubtion"	Plush
	"Close Enough to Kill"
	"Half of Me"
	"The Look in Your Eye" (Jack Version)
	"Half of Me" (Enzo Remix)
2014	"Act of the Apostle"	God Help the Girl
	"Pretty When the Wind Blows"
	"God Help the Girl"
	"The Psychiatrist Is In"
	"If You Could Speak"
	"Perfection as a Hipster"
	"Come Monday Night"
	"I'm Not Rich"
	"I'll Have to Dance with Cassie"
	"Musician, Please Take Heed"
	"Down and Dusky Blonde"

Awards and nominations

List of awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Work	Result
2002	Australian Film Institute	Young Actor's Award	Halifax f.p.
2005		International Award for Best Actress	Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
	BFCA Awards	Best Young Actress
	Young Artist Awards	Best Performance in a Feature Film, Leading Young Actress
2011	Hamptons International Film Festival	Breakthrough Performer	Sleeping Beauty

See also

• Cinema of Australia