T
The Legend of Ochi
as Dasha
2025
E
Emily Watson
Also known as Emily Anita Watson, Emily Margaret 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.
Personal details
Full filmography
2025
H
Hamnet
as Mary
2025
S
Steve
as Jenny
2025
I
Inside Look: Hamnet
as Self (archive footage)
2025
2024
S
Small Things Like These
London premiereas Sister Mary
2024
M
Midas Man
as Queenie Epstein
2024
2022
G
God's Creatures
as Aileen O'Hara
2022
2021
M
Monster Family 2
as Emma Wishbone (voice)
2021
2018
O
On Chesil Beach
as Violet Ponting
2018
T
The Happy Prince
as Constance Wilde
2018
K
King Lear
as Regan
2018
W
Weinstein
as Narrator (voice)
2018
2017
M
Monster Family
as Emma Wishbone (voice)
2017
K
Kingsman: The Golden Circle
as Chief of Staff Fox
2017
2015
L
Little Boy
as Emma Busbee
2015
T
Testament of Youth
as Mrs. Brittain
2015
A
A Royal Night Out
as Queen Elizabeth
2015
E
Everest
as Helen Wilton
2015
A
A Song for Jenny
as Julie Nicholson
2015
M
Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
as Miss Trinklebury
2015
T
The Dresser
as Her Ladyship
2015
2014
T
The Theory of Everything
as Beryl Wilde
2014
2013
B
Belle
as Lady Mansfield
2013
T
The Book Thief
as Rosa Hubermann
2013
S
Some Girl(s)
as Lindsay
2013
2012
A
Anna Karenina
as Countess Lydia Ivanova
2012
2011
M
Meerkats 3D
as Narrator
2011
W
War Horse
as Rose Narracott
2011
2010
C
Cemetery Junction
as Mrs. Kendrick
2010
O
Oranges and Sunshine
as Margaret Humphreys
2010
2009
C
Cold Souls
as Claire
2009
W
Within the Whirlwind
as Evgenia Ginzburg
2009
2008
S
Synecdoche, New York
as Tammy
2008
F
Fireflies in the Garden
as Jane Lawrence
2008
T
The Memory Keeper's Daughter
as Caroline Gil
2008
2007
T
The Water Horse
as Anne MacMorrow
2007
2006
C
Crusade in Jeans
as Mary Vega
2006
M
Miss Potter
as Millie Warne
2006
2005
C
Corpse Bride
as Victoria Everglot (voice)
2005
W
Wah-Wah
as Ruby Compton
2005
S
Separate Lies
as Anne Manning
2005
T
The Proposition
as Martha Stanley
2005
2004
T
The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
as Anne Sellers
2004
2003
A
A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'
as Self
2003
2002
E
Equilibrium
as Mary O'Brien
2002
P
Punch-Drunk Love
as Lena Leonard
2002
R
Red Dragon
as Reba McClane
2002
B
Ballchewer
as Self
2002
T
The Making of Gosford Park
as Self
2002
2001
G
Gosford Park
as Elsie
2001
2000
T
Trixie
as Trixie Zurbo
2000
T
The Luzhin Defence
as Natalia Katkov
2000
1999
A
Angela's Ashes
as Angela McCourt
1999
C
Cradle Will Rock
as Olive Stanton
1999
1998
M
Metroland
as Marion
1998
H
Hilary and Jackie
as Jackie du Pré
1998
I
In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema
as Self
1998
1997
T
The Boxer
as Maggie Hamill
1997
T
Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier
1997
T
The Mill on the Floss
as Maggie Tulliver
1997