Emily Watson
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- January 14, 1967 (age 59)
- Birthplace
- Islington, London, England, UK
Biography
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.
Known For
Photos
Filmography
Midday Sun
Movie · as Sarah
Late in Summer
Movie
Fado!
Movie
A Christmas Child
Movie · as Emily Watson ( Self/Narrator )
The Clockmaker’s Secret: Lost in Spindlewood
Movie · as The Keeper of the Keys
London Fog: A Ruby Gale Mystery
Movie · as (The Detective)
Holly Noel: The Winter Ball (Christmas 3)
Movie · as ( Host )
Amri
Movie · as Marie Antoinette Gottesman
RSC Meets USA: Working Shakespeare
Movie · as Self
Mars Express
Movie · as Judith Pillinger
John Daniel
Movie · as Alyce Cunningham
The Legend of Ochi
Movie · as Dasha
Hamnet
Movie · as Mary
Steve
Movie · as Jenny
Inside Look: Hamnet
Movie · as Self (archive footage)
Small Things Like These
Movie · as Sister Mary
Midas Man (La historia de Brian Epstein)
Movie · as Queenie Epstein
Dune: Prophecy
TV · as Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen · 14 eps
Fired on Mars
TV · as Sheila (voice) · 2 eps
God's Creatures
Movie · as Aileen O'Hara
Monster Family 2
Movie · as Emma Wishbone (voice)
Too Close
TV · as Dr. Emma Robinson · 3 eps
The Third Day
TV · as Mrs. Martin · 6 eps
Chernobyl
TV · as Ulana Khomyuk · 5 eps
On Chesil Beach
Movie · as Violet Ponting
The Happy Prince
Movie · as Constance Wilde
King Lear
Movie · as Regan
Weinstein
Movie · as Narrator (voice)
Monster Family
Movie · as Emma Wishbone (voice)
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Movie · as Chief of Staff Fox
Apple Tree Yard
TV · as Yvonne Carmichael · 4 eps
Genius
TV · as Elsa Einstein · 10 eps
Little Women
TV · as Marmee March · 3 eps
Little Boy
Movie · as Emma Busbee
Testament of Youth
Movie · as Mrs. Brittain
A Royal Night Out
Movie · as Queen Elizabeth
Everest
Movie · as Helen Wilton
A Song for Jenny
Movie · as Julie Nicholson
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
Movie · as Miss Trinklebury
The Dresser
Movie · as Her Ladyship
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
TV · as Grace McKee · 2 eps
The Theory of Everything
Movie · as Beryl Wilde
Belle
Movie · as Lady Mansfield
The Book Thief
Movie · as Rosa Hubermann
Some Girl(s)
Movie · as Lindsay
The Politician's Husband
TV · as Freya Gardner · 3 eps
Anna Karenina
Movie · as Countess Lydia Ivanova
Meerkats 3D
Movie · as Narrator
War Horse
Movie · as Rose Narracott
Appropriate Adult
TV · as Janet Leach · 2 eps
Cemetery Junction
Movie · as Mrs. Kendrick
Oranges and Sunshine
Movie · as Margaret Humphreys
Cold Souls
Movie · as Claire
Within the Whirlwind
Movie · as Evgenia Ginzburg
Synecdoche, New York
Movie · as Tammy
Fireflies in the Garden
Movie · as Jane Lawrence
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Movie · as Caroline Gil
The Water Horse
Movie · as Anne MacMorrow
Crusade in Jeans
Movie · as Mary Vega
Miss Potter
Movie · as Millie Warne
Corpse Bride
Movie · as Victoria Everglot (voice)
Wah-Wah
Movie · as Ruby Compton
Separate Lies
Movie · as Anne Manning
The Proposition
Movie · as Martha Stanley
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Movie · as Anne Sellers
A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'
Movie · as Self
Working Shakespeare
TV · 5 eps
Equilibrium
Movie · as Mary O'Brien
Punch-Drunk Love
Movie · as Lena Leonard
Red Dragon
Movie · as Reba McClane
Ballchewer
Movie · as Self
The Making of Gosford Park
Movie · as Self
Gosford Park
Movie · as Elsie
Trixie
Movie · as Trixie Zurbo
The Luzhin Defence
Movie · as Natalia Katkov
Angela's Ashes
Movie · as Angela McCourt
Cradle Will Rock
Movie · as Olive Stanton
The Early Show
TV · as Self · 1 ep
Metroland
Movie · as Marion
Hilary and Jackie
Movie · as Jackie du Pré
In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema
Movie · as Self
The Boxer
Movie · as Maggie Hamill
Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier
Movie
The Mill on the Floss
Movie · as Maggie Tulliver
Breaking the Waves
Movie · as Bess McNeill
A Summer Day's Dream
Movie
Performance
TV · as Rosalie · 1 ep
The Oscars
TV · as Self · 2 eps