Emily Watson

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

Chernobyl

The Oscars

Corpse Bride

Genius

Hamnet

Dune: Prophecy

Performance

Kingsman: The Golden Circle

All Movies (72)

• Inside Look: Hamnet2025 · as Self (archive footage)
• Hamnet2025 · as Mary
• Steve2025 · as Jenny
• The Legend of Ochi2025 · as Dasha
• Small Things Like These2024 · as Sister Mary
• Midas Man2024 · as Queenie Epstein
• God's Creatures2022 · as Aileen O'Hara
• Monster Family 22021 · as Emma Wishbone (voice)
• King Lear2018 · as Regan
• The Happy Prince2018 · as Constance Wilde
• Weinstein2018 · as Narrator (voice)
• On Chesil Beach2018 · as Violet Ponting
• Kingsman: The Golden Circle2017 · as Chief of Staff Fox
• Monster Family2017 · as Emma Wishbone (voice)
• The Dresser2015 · as Her Ladyship
• Everest2015 · as Helen Wilton
• A Song for Jenny2015 · as Julie Nicholson
• A Royal Night Out2015 · as Queen Elizabeth
• Little Boy2015 · as Emma Busbee
• Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism2015 · as Miss Trinklebury
• Testament of Youth2015 · as Mrs. Brittain
• The Theory of Everything2014 · as Beryl Wilde
• The Book Thief2013 · as Rosa Hubermann
• Some Girl(s)2013 · as Lindsay
• Belle2013 · as Lady Mansfield
• Anna Karenina2012 · as Countess Lydia Ivanova
• War Horse2011 · as Rose Narracott
• Meerkats 3D2011 · as Narrator
• Oranges and Sunshine2010 · as Margaret Humphreys
• Cemetery Junction2010 · as Mrs. Kendrick
• Within the Whirlwind2009 · as Evgenia Ginzburg
• Cold Souls2009 · as Claire
• Synecdoche, New York2008 · as Tammy
• Fireflies in the Garden2008 · as Jane Lawrence
• The Memory Keeper's Daughter2008 · as Caroline Gil
• The Water Horse2007 · as Anne MacMorrow
• Miss Potter2006 · as Millie Warne
• Crusade in Jeans2006 · as Mary Vega
• The Proposition2005 · as Martha Stanley
• Separate Lies2005 · as Anne Manning
• Corpse Bride2005 · as Victoria Everglot (voice)
• Wah-Wah2005 · as Ruby Compton
• The Life and Death of Peter Sellers2004 · as Anne Sellers
• A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'2003 · as Self
• Equilibrium2002 · as Mary O'Brien
• Ballchewer2002 · as Self
• Punch-Drunk Love2002 · as Lena Leonard
• Red Dragon2002 · as Reba McClane
• The Making of Gosford Park2002 · as Self
• Gosford Park2001 · as Elsie
• The Luzhin Defence2000 · as Natalia Katkov
• Trixie2000 · as Trixie Zurbo
• Angela's Ashes1999 · as Angela McCourt
• Cradle Will Rock1999 · as Olive Stanton
• Hilary and Jackie1998 · as Jackie du Pré
• In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema1998 · as Self
• The Boxer1997 · as Maggie Hamill
• Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier1997
• The Mill on the Floss1997 · as Maggie Tulliver
• Metroland1997 · as Marion
• Breaking the Waves1996 · as Bess McNeill
• A Summer Day's Dream1994
• Midday Sun— · as Sarah
• Late in Summer—
• Fado!—
• A Prairie Farm Girl— · as Marie Calamange
• A Christmas Child— · as Emily Watson ( Self/Narrator )
• The Clockmaker’s Secret: Lost in Spindlewood— · as The Keeper of the Keys
• London Fog: A Ruby Gale Mystery— · as (The Detective)
• Holly Noel: The Winter Ball (Christmas 3)— · as ( Host )
• Amri— · as Marie Antoinette Gottesman
• RSC Meets USA: Working Shakespeare— · as Self

All TV Shows (15)

• Dune: Prophecy2024 · as Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen
• Fired on Mars2023 · as Sheila (voice)
• Too Close2021 · as Dr. Emma Robinson
• The Third Day2020 · as Mrs. Martin
• Chernobyl2019 · as Ulana Khomyuk
• Little Women2017 · as Marmee March
• Genius2017 · as Elsa Einstein
• Apple Tree Yard2017 · as Yvonne Carmichael
• The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe2015 · as Grace McKee
• The Politician's Husband2013 · as Freya Gardner
• Appropriate Adult2011 · as Janet Leach
• Working Shakespeare2003
• The Early Show1999 · as Self
• Performance1991 · as Rosalie
• The Oscars1953 · as Self