Emily Watson
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- Jan 14, 1967 (age 59)
- Place of birth
- Islington, London, England, UK
- Credits
- 86
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
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
2017Movie
Chief of Staff Fox
The Theory of Everything
2014Movie
Beryl Wilde
Corpse Bride
2005Movie
Victoria Everglot (voice)
Chernobyl
2019TV
Ulana Khomyuk
Everest
2015Movie
Helen Wilton
Equilibrium
2002Movie
Mary O'Brien
Filmography
Inside Look: Hamnet
2025Movie
Self (archive footage)
Hamnet
2025Movie
Mary
Steve
2025Movie
Jenny
The Legend of Ochi
2025Movie
Dasha
Dune: Prophecy
2024TV
Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen
Small Things Like These
2024Movie
Sister Mary
Midas Man
2024Movie
Queenie Epstein
Fired on Mars
2023TV
Sheila (voice)
God's Creatures
2022Movie
Aileen O'Hara
Monster Family 2
2021Movie
Emma Wishbone (voice)
Too Close
2021TV
Dr. Emma Robinson
The Third Day
2020TV
Mrs. Martin
Chernobyl
2019TV
Ulana Khomyuk
King Lear
2018Movie
Regan
The Happy Prince
2018Movie
Constance Wilde
Weinstein
2018Movie
Narrator (voice)
On Chesil Beach
2018Movie
Violet Ponting
Little Women
2017TV
Marmee March
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
2017Movie
Chief of Staff Fox
Monster Family
2017Movie
Emma Wishbone (voice)
Genius
2017TV
Elsa Einstein
Apple Tree Yard
2017TV
Yvonne Carmichael
The Dresser
2015Movie
Her Ladyship
Everest
2015Movie
Helen Wilton
A Song for Jenny
2015Movie
Julie Nicholson
The Secret Life of Marilyn Monroe
2015TV
Grace McKee
A Royal Night Out
2015Movie
Queen Elizabeth
Little Boy
2015Movie
Emma Busbee
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
2015Movie
Miss Trinklebury
Testament of Youth
2015Movie
Mrs. Brittain
The Theory of Everything
2014Movie
Beryl Wilde
The Book Thief
2013Movie
Rosa Hubermann
Some Girl(s)
2013Movie
Lindsay
Belle
2013Movie
Lady Mansfield
The Politician's Husband
2013TV
Freya Gardner
Anna Karenina
2012Movie
Countess Lydia Ivanova
War Horse
2011Movie
Rose Narracott
Meerkats 3D
2011Movie
Narrator
Appropriate Adult
2011TV
Janet Leach
Oranges and Sunshine
2010Movie
Margaret Humphreys
Cemetery Junction
2010Movie
Mrs. Kendrick
Within the Whirlwind
2009Movie
Evgenia Ginzburg
Cold Souls
2009Movie
Claire
Synecdoche, New York
2008Movie
Tammy
Fireflies in the Garden
2008Movie
Jane Lawrence
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
2008Movie
Caroline Gil
The Water Horse
2007Movie
Anne MacMorrow
Miss Potter
2006Movie
Millie Warne
Crusade in Jeans
2006Movie
Mary Vega
The Proposition
2005Movie
Martha Stanley
Separate Lies
2005Movie
Anne Manning
Corpse Bride
2005Movie
Victoria Everglot (voice)
Wah-Wah
2005Movie
Ruby Compton
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2004Movie
Anne Sellers
Working Shakespeare
2003TV
A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'
2003Movie
Self
Equilibrium
2002Movie
Mary O'Brien
Ballchewer
2002Movie
Self
Punch-Drunk Love
2002Movie
Lena Leonard
Red Dragon
2002Movie
Reba McClane
The Making of Gosford Park
2002Movie
Self
Gosford Park
2001Movie
Elsie
The Luzhin Defence
2000Movie
Natalia Katkov
Trixie
2000Movie
Trixie Zurbo
Angela's Ashes
1999Movie
Angela McCourt
Cradle Will Rock
1999Movie
Olive Stanton
The Early Show
1999TV
Self
Hilary and Jackie
1998Movie
Jackie du Pré
Metroland
1998Movie
Marion
In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema
1998Movie
Self
The Boxer
1997Movie
Maggie Hamill
Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier
1997Movie
The Mill on the Floss
1997Movie
Maggie Tulliver
Breaking the Waves
1996Movie
Bess McNeill
A Summer Day's Dream
1994Movie
Performance
1991TV
Rosalie
The Oscars
1953TV
Self
RSC Meets USA: Working Shakespeare
Movie
Self
Amri
Movie
Marie Antoinette Gottesman
Fado!
Movie
London Fog: A Ruby Gale Mystery
Movie
(The Detective)
The Clockmaker’s Secret: Lost in Spindlewood
Movie
The Keeper of the Keys
Holly Noel: The Winter Ball (Christmas 3)
Movie
( Host )
A Christmas Child
Movie
Emily Watson ( Self/Narrator )
Late in Summer
Movie
Midday Sun
Movie
Sarah