Emily Watson
Acting
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.
TV Shows(15)
Dune: Prophecy
Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen
2024
Fired on Mars
Sheila (voice)
2023
Too Close
Dr. Emma Robinson
2021
The Third Day
Mrs. Martin
2020
Chernobyl
Ulana Khomyuk
2019
Little Women
Marmee March
2017
Genius
Elsa Einstein
2017
Apple Tree Yard
Yvonne Carmichael
2017
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
Grace McKee
2015
The Politician's Husband
Freya Gardner
2013
Appropriate Adult
Janet Leach
2011
Working Shakespeare
2003
The Early Show
Self
1999
Performance
Rosalie
1991
The Oscars
Self
1953
Movies(68)
Hamnet
Mary
2025
Steve
Jenny
2025
The Legend of Ochi
Dasha
2025
Small Things Like These
Sister Mary
2024
Midas Man
Queenie Epstein
2024
God's Creatures
Aileen O'Hara
2022
Monster Family 2
Emma Wishbone (voice)
2021
King Lear
Regan
2018
The Happy Prince
Constance Wilde
2018
Weinstein
Narrator (voice)
2018
On Chesil Beach
Violet Ponting
2018
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
Chief of Staff Fox
2017
Monster Family
Emma Wishbone (voice)
2017
The Dresser
Her Ladyship
2015
Everest
Helen Wilton
2015
A Song for Jenny
Julie Nicholson
2015
A Royal Night Out
Queen Elizabeth
2015
Little Boy
Emma Busbee
2015
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
Miss Trinklebury
2015
Testament of Youth
Mrs. Brittain
2015
The Theory of Everything
Beryl Wilde
2014
The Book Thief
Rosa Hubermann
2013
Some Girl(s)
Lindsay
2013
Belle
Lady Mansfield
2013
Anna Karenina
Countess Lydia Ivanova
2012
War Horse
Rose Narracott
2011
Meerkats 3D
Narrator
2011
Oranges and Sunshine
Margaret Humphreys
2010
Cemetery Junction
Mrs. Kendrick
2010
Within the Whirlwind
Evgenia Ginzburg
2009
Cold Souls
Claire
2009
Synecdoche, New York
Tammy
2008
Fireflies in the Garden
Jane Lawrence
2008
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
Caroline Gil
2008
The Water Horse
Anne MacMorrow
2007
Miss Potter
Millie Warne
2006
Crusade in Jeans
Mary Vega
2006
The Proposition
Martha Stanley
2005
Separate Lies
Anne Manning
2005
Corpse Bride
Victoria Everglot (voice)
2005
Wah-Wah
Ruby Compton
2005
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
Anne Sellers
2004
A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'
Self
2003
Equilibrium
Mary O'Brien
2002
Ballchewer
Self
2002
Punch-Drunk Love
Lena Leonard
2002
Red Dragon
Reba McClane
2002
The Making of Gosford Park
Self
2002
Gosford Park
Elsie
2001
The Luzhin Defence
Natalia Katkov
2000
Trixie
Trixie Zurbo
2000
Angela's Ashes
Angela McCourt
1999
Cradle Will Rock
Olive Stanton
1999
Hilary and Jackie
Jackie du Pré
1998
In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema
Self
1998
The Boxer
Maggie Hamill
1997
Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier
1997
The Mill on the Floss
Maggie Tulliver
1997
Metroland
Marion
1997
Breaking the Waves
Bess McNeill
1996
A Summer Day's Dream
1994
Midday Sun
Sarah
Late in Summer
Fado!
A Prairie Farm Girl
Marie Calamange
The Christmas Child
Emily Watson ( Self/Narrator )
The Clockmaker’s Secret: Lost in Spindlewood
The Keeper of the Keys
London Fog: A Ruby Gale Mystery
(The Detective)