Emily Watson

Known for ActingBorn 1967-01-14 (age 59)Islington, London, England, UK

Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse. She was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress for the latter. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut film role as a newlywed in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) and for her portrayal of Jacqueline du Pré in Anand Tucker's Hilary and Jackie (1998). Watson's other films include The Boxer (1997), Angela's Ashes (1999), Gosford Park (2001), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Red Dragon (2002), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Corpse Bride (2005), Miss Potter (2006), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), War Horse (2011), The Theory of Everything (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), God's Creatures (2022), and Small Things like These (2024). and A Pariare Farm Girl ( 2026). She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl. She won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for playing Janet Leach in the 2011 ITV television biopic Appropriate Adult. She was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress for the 2017 BBC miniseries Apple Tree Yard. In 2024, she portrayed the lead role of Valya Harkonnen in the HBO science fiction series Dune: Prophecy. Watson is a 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 spoke out against the possibility that the Children's Commissioner become a figurehead with little real power.Read more

Movies & web series

Chernobyl

The Theory of Everything

Hamnet

A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'

Corpse Bride

The Book Thief

Synecdoche, New York

Genius

Dune: Prophecy

Breaking the Waves

War Horse

Testament of Youth

Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier

Little Boy

Angela's Ashes

Fired on Mars

Little Women

Belle

Punch-Drunk Love

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

Equilibrium

Red Dragon

Oranges and Sunshine

The Proposition

In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema

Everest

Small Things Like These

The Politician's Husband

The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe

Anna Karenina

Gosford Park

Appropriate Adult

Monster Family 2

The Third Day

The Boxer

Weinstein

Miss Potter

Steve

A Song for Jenny

Midas Man

The Life and Death of Peter Sellers

A Royal Night Out

Cemetery Junction

The Memory Keeper's Daughter

The Water Horse

Apple Tree Yard

Hilary and Jackie

The Oscars