Emily Watson Biography

Emily Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress who gave an acclaimed debut film performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves. She has won a number of awards for acting throughout her career, which has encompassed theatre, motion picture and television; most recently a BAFTA award for her role in ITV's Appropriate Adult.

Early life

Watson was born in Islington, London, England. Her father was an architect and her mother was an English teacher at St David's Girls' School, West London. She was brought up as an Anglican. Watson describes her childhood self as a "Nice middle class English girl ... I'd love to say I was a rebellious teenager but I wasn't".

Watson was educated at St James Independent Schools, in west London, which she has described as a 'progressive' school. She attended the University of Bristol, where she obtained a B.A. (1988, English). Following university, she trained at the Drama Studio, London and later received an M.A. (2003, honorary) from Bristol University.

Theatrical career

Watson's career began on the stage. Her theatre credits include The Children's Hour (at the Royal National Theatre), Three Sisters, Much Ado about Nothing and The Lady from the Sea.

Watson has also worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in A Jovial Crew, The Taming of the Shrew, All's Well That Ends Well and The Changeling.

In 2002, she took time off from cinema to play two roles in Sam Mendes' repertory productions of Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night, first at Mendes' Donmar Warehouse in London and later at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her performance was widely acclaimed on both sides of the Atlantic and garnered her an Olivier Award nomination for Uncle Vanya.

Film career

Film debut

Watson was virtually unknown until director Lars von Trier chose her to star in his controversial Breaking the Waves (1996) after Helena Bonham Carter dropped out "at the very last minute." Watson's performance as Bess McNeill won her the Los Angeles, London and New York Critics' Circle Awards, the US National Society of Film Critics' Award for Best Actress, and ultimately an Oscar nomination.

Subsequent career

Watson came to public notice again in another controversial role, as cellist Jacqueline du Pré in Hilary and Jackie, for which she learned to play the cello in three months, and received another Oscar nomination. She also played a leading role in Cradle Will Rock, a story of a theatre show in the 1930s, directed by Tim Robbins. Though she won the title role of Frank McCourt's mother in the adaptation of his acclaimed memoir, Angela's Ashes, the film underperformed. In 2001, she appeared alongside John Turturro in The Luzhin Defence and in Robert Altman's ensemble piece Gosford Park. The following year, she starred as Reba McClane in the adaptation of Thomas Harris's The Silence of the Lambs prequel, Red Dragon, as the romantic interest of Adam Sandler in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love, and in the sci-fi action thriller Equilibrium alongside Christian Bale.

In 2004, Watson received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Peter Sellers's first wife, Anne Howe, in the HBO film The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. 2005 saw Watson starring in four films: Wah-Wah, Richard E. Grant's autobiographical directorial debut; Separate Lies, directed by Gosford Park writer Julian Fellowes; Tim Burton's animated film Corpse Bride, alongside Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter; and John Hillcoat's Australian-set "western", The Proposition. In 2006, she took a supporting role in Miss Potter, a biopic of children's author Beatrix Potter from Babe director Chris Noonan, with Ewan McGregor and Renée Zellweger, and also in an adaptation of Thea Beckman's children's novel Crusade in Jeans. In 2007, she appeared in The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, an adaptation of the Dick King-Smith children's novel about the origin of the Loch Ness Monster.

In 2008, Watson starred with Julia Roberts and Carrie-Anne Moss in Fireflies in the Garden, and in screenwriter Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. In 2009 she appeared in the film Cold Souls, from first-time director Sophie Barthes, and Within the Whirlwind, a biopic of Russian poetess and Gulag survivor Evgenia Ginzburg from The Luzhin Defence director Marleen Gorris. Watson considers Ginzburg to be her best recent role; however, the film was not picked up for distribution.

In 2010, she starred in Oranges and Sunshine, a film recounting the true story of children sent into abusive care homes in Australia, directed by Jim Loach, and also the following year (2011) in War Horse, an adaptation of Michael Morpurgo's prizewinning novel, directed by Steven Spielberg. She played Janet Leach in the ITV two-part film Appropriate Adult, about serial killer Fred West, for which she won a BAFTA.

Scriptwriting

In 2007, Mood Indigo, a script written by Watson and her husband, was optioned by Capitol Films. The film is a love story set during World War II and concerns a young woman who falls in love with a pilot.

Missed roles

Director Jean-Pierre Jeunet wrote the character Amélie for Watson to play (Amélie was originally named Emily) but she eventually turned the role down due to difficulties speaking French and a desire not to be away from home. The role went on to make an international star of Audrey Tautou. She was also the first choice to play Elizabeth I in Shekhar Kapur's film Elizabeth, the role that won Cate Blanchett an Academy Award nomination.

Although she has never appeared in a Harry Potter film, she is frequently confused with Emma Watson, the actress who plays Hermione Granger in the series. She claims not to correct anyone who makes that mistake, as she's "quite flattered that people think I'm 21."

Charity

Watson is a committed supporter of the children's charity the NSPCC. In 2004, she was inducted into the society's hall of fame for spearheading the successful campaign to appoint a Children's Commissioner for England. Receiving her award in the crowded House of Commons, she actively spoke out against the possibility that the Children's Commissioner become a figurehead with little real power.

She is also one of the patrons of the London children's charity Scene & Heard.

Family

Watson married Jack Waters, whom she had met at the Royal Shakespeare Company, in 1995. Their daughter, Juliet, was born in autumn 2005, and her son Dylan in 2009. Watson's mother fell ill with encephalitis shortly before filming commenced on Oranges and Sunshine. Watson returned home to England to attend to her, but she died five minutes before she arrived in London.

Credits

Film and television

Film

Title	Year	Role	Notes
A Summer Day's Dream	1994	Rosalie	TV
Breaking the Waves	1996	Bess McNeill	Bodil Award for Best Actress European Film Award for Best Actress Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival President Award for Best Actress London Film Critics' Award for Best British Newcomer of the Year Los Angeles Film Critics Association's New Generation Award National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Robert Award for Best Actress Nominated"Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated"BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated"Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated"Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress Nominated"Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress Nominated"Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated"London Film Critics' Award for Best British Actress of the Year Nominated"Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
Metroland	1997	Marion
'	1997	Maggie Tulliver	TV
'	1997	Maggie
Hilary and Jackie	1998	Jackie	British Independent Film Award for Best Actress London Film Critics' Award for Best British Actress of the Year (also for Angela's Ashes) Nominated"Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated"BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated"Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated"Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress Nominated"Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated"Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated"Satellite Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama Nominated"Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
Cradle Will Rock	1999	Olive Stanton	Nominated"London Film Critics' Award for Best British Supporting Actress of the Year
Angela's Ashes	1999	Angela McCourt	London Film Critics' Award for Best British Actress of the Year (also for Hilary and Jackie) Nominated"BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated"IFTA Award for Best Actress
Trixie	2000	Trixie Zurbo
'	2000	Natalia Katkov	Nominated"British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Nominated"London Film Critics' Award for Best British Actress of the Year
Gosford Park	2001	Elsie	Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Cast Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Satellite Award for Best Cast " Motion Picture Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated"European Film Awards Audience Award for Best Actress Nominated"Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast Nominated"Satellite Award for Best Actress " Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
Punch-Drunk Love	2002	Lena Leonard	Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Adam Sandler) Nominated"Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Red Dragon	2002	Reba McClane	Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress (2nd place) London Film Critics' Award for Best British Supporting Actress of the Year Nominated"Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"Empire Award for Best Actress
Equilibrium	2002	Mary O'Brien
Boo, Zino and the Snurks	2004	Alanta	Voice Only
'	2004	Anne Sellers	Nominated"Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Separate Lies	2005	Anne Manning	Nominated"London Film Critics' Award for Best British Actress of the Year
Wah-Wah	2005	Ruby Compton	Nominated"British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
Corpse Bride	2005	Victoria Everglot	Voice Only
'	2005	Martha Stanley	Nominated"IF Award for Best Actress Nominated"London Film Critics' Award for Best British Supporting Actress of the Year
Miss Potter	2006	Millie Warne
Crusade in Jeans	2006	Mary Vega
'	2007	Anne MacMorrow
Fireflies in the Garden	2008	Jane Lawrence
'	2008	Caroline Gil	TV
Synecdoche, New York	2008	Tammy	Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast Independent Spirit Award's Robert Altman Award
Cold Souls	2009	Claire	Nominated"Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Within the Whirlwind	2009	Evgenia Ginzburg
Cemetery Junction	2010	Mrs. Kendrick
Oranges and Sunshine	2010	Margaret Humphreys	Satellite Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated-AACTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role
War Horse	2011	Rose Narracott
Appropriate Adult	2011	Janet Leach	BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress Golden Nymph for Outstanding Actress in a Miniseries RTS Television Award for Best Actor (Female) Nominated"Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Movie/Miniseries Actress Nominated"Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film Nominated"Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie
Anna Karenina	2012	Countess Lydia
The Politician's Husband	2013	Freya
The Book Thief	2013	Rosa Hubermann

Theatre

• School for Mothers and The Mistake (double-bill of one-act plays), White Bear Theatre, London, 1991
• All's Well That Ends Well (Royal Shakespeare Company, Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon 1992, later Pit Theatre, London, 1993) as Marianna
• The Taming of the Shrew (Royal Shakespeare Company, Barbican Theatre, London, 1993) as Mrs. Ruth Banks-Ellis
• The Changeling (Royal Shakespeare Company, Pit Theatre, 1993)
• A Jovial Crew (Royal Shakespeare Company, Pit Theatre, 1993) as Amie
• The Lady from the Sea (Lyric Hammersmith Theatre, London, 1994) as Hilde Wangel
• The Children's Hour (Lyttelton Theatre, London, 1994) as Mary Tilford
• Three Sisters (Out of Joint, 1995)
• Othello (1996, theatre)
• Twelfth Night / Uncle Vanya (Donmar Warehouse, 2002 / BAM, 2003)

Radio

• The Wolves of Willoughby Chase (1994, radio)
• Wuthering Heights (1995, radio series)