- Natalie Dormer
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Natalie Dormer Born 11 February 1982
Reading, Berkshire, England, UKYears active 2005 - Present Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Victoria in Casanova and as the ill-fated queen Anne Boleyn in the Showtime series The Tudors.
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Early life and current lifestyle
Dormer was born in Reading, Berkshire, and attended Chiltern Edge Secondary School, before moving to Reading Blue Coat School, an independent boys' school that admits girls in the sixth form. She grew up with her stepfather, mother, sister Samantha and brother Mark.[1] She suffered from bullying problems during her childhood,[2] and it's something that "still to this day she can't place why."[3] At school, Natalie was head-girl, a straight-A student and vice-captain of the school netball team.[4] She also got to travel the globe with her school's public speaking team.[4]
During her school years she trained in dance at the Allenova School of Dancing.[5] She describes herself as the 'academic hopeful' of the family and was offered a place to study history at Cambridge, but misread one of the questions that was in her history A-Level and thus was not able to get the A Grade she needed to attend.[4] She decided she would audition for drama schools and decided to train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.[1] She is also a member of the London Fencing Academy.[6]
A self-proclaimed poker lover, Dormer took part in the 2008 PartyPoker.com Women's World Open in London, where she came in second to Emma Kennedy in the Celebrity Heat.[7] Dormer has stated that Cate Blanchett has been an influence in her career as an actress. On the subject of supernatural beliefs, she was quoted as saying: "I've got an open mind. I say I'm an atheist but I wouldn't mind being visited by a ghost."[8]
Film, stage and television career
Six months after graduating from the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, Dormer auditioned and won the role of Victoria in Casanova with Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller. This was her film debut and it was released in 2005. The director, Lasse Hallstrom, was so impressed with Dormer's comedic timing that he had the script writer expand her part. On the strength of her audition for the role and her performance, she secured a three-film deal with Disney Touchstone which was never exercised.[1]
In 2005, Dormer also had a bit part in Distant Shores playing that of a Mobile Woman. After the filming of Casanova, Dormer was out of work for nine months and Dormer says that 'It was the best lesson I could have had in the first 12 months of my career.'[4] In 2006, Dormer guest-starred in an episode of Rebus entitled "The Falls", playing the character Phillippa Balfour.
In 2007 and 2008 she played Anne Boleyn in the first two seasons of The Tudors, for which she received positive reviews. USA Weekend wrote that Dormer's "unconventional beauty and frantic scheming made the first two seasons crackle every week", adding that the third season did not feel the same without the character of Anne,[9] and The Boston Herald agreed, noting that "Dormer’s departure from ‘The Tudors‘ leaves a void."[10] Dormer is a descendant of Jane Dormer, a lady in waiting to Mary I. Jane Dormer's memoirs contain some evidence on Boleyn's actual age, which is still a source of much academic dispute.
In 2008 she played Moira Nicholson in Miss Marple: Why Didn't They Ask Evans? and appears in a number of forthcoming films: Fence Walker, Flying Lessons and City of Life. Dormer's Marple appearance aired in the US in the summer of 2009 as part of PBS' Masterpiece Mystery anthology series.
In March 2010 she made her stage debut at the Young Vic theatre in London as Mizi in the play Sweet Nothings. In TimeOut London, Sam Marlow wrote, "[T]he performances are terrific - in particular, Natalie Dormer's loose-limbed Mizi who beneath her apparent insouciance betrays a hint of self-disgust[...]"[11] After six months of playing Mizi, Dormer went on to film some new roles, including Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon in Madonna's film W.E., Private Lorraine in Captain America: The First Avenger and Niamh Cranitch in the BBC court drama Silk, before going on to her next stage role of Pat in .45 at Hampstead Theatre in the November of 2010. West Hampstead Life, a blog that reviews cultural events in Hampstead, called her performance as Pat "compelling", saying, "[Dormer] combines strength and vulnerability perfectly."[12]
She returned to The Tudors as Anne Boleyn in a dream sequence for the fourth and final season in mid 2010. This was confirmed when the first promotional picture of the season showed Anne (along with King Henry VIII, Katherine of Aragon, Jane Seymour, Anne of Cleves, Katherine Howard and Katherine Parr) on the cover.
In June 2010, Dormer was cast in the lead role for the movie adaption of the Peter Straub novel Shadowland.[13] In June 2011, she joined the cast of the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones, as the noblewoman Margaery Tyrell.[14]
Filmography
Year Film Role Notes 2005 Distant Shores Mobile Woman TV series (1 episode: "Episode #1.1") Casanova Victoria 2006 Rebus Philippa Balfour TV series (1 episode: "The Falls") 2007 Flawless Cassie The Tudors Anne Boleyn TV series (21 episodes: 2007-2010)
Nominated — Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role 2008
Nominated — Gemini Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Continuing Leading Dramatic Role 20092009 Masterwork Mo Murphy TV movie Marple: Why Didn't They Ask Evans? Moira Nicholson TV movie City of Life Olga 2011 Fencewalker post-production Silk Niamh Cranitch TV series (6 episodes) - a second series has been commissioned W.E Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon completed Captain America: The First Avenger Private Lorraine The Fades Sarah Etches Poe Celeste Chevalier pre-production 2012 Game of Thrones Margaery Tyrell TV series, Season 2[14] References
- ^ a b c Paton, Maureen. Boho Boleyn girl: Actress Natalie Dormer's dramatic entrance, Daily Mail, November 7, 2008. Accessed October 9, 2010.
- ^ Bamigboye, Baz (2006-02-10). "Casanova girl won me over". London: Daily Mail. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/debate/columnists/article-376798/Casanova-girl-won-over.html. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ "The magnificent seven". London: Telegraph. 2007-02-09. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/fashion/stellamagazine/3358993/The-magnificent-seven.html. Retrieved 2009-04-04.
- ^ a b c d . http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifestyle/article-23896950-drama-queen-natalie-dormer.do.
- ^ {{cite web|url=http://allenova.co.uk/index.php?page=successes%7Ctitle=Past Pupils|publisher=Allenova School of Dance|accessdate=2009-04-04} and spent two years with Starmaker Theatre Company, both performing in a number of shows and being choreographer for a Starmaker review.}
- ^ Natalie Dormer - TV.com
- ^ Veteran Homam wins Women’s World Open II - Matchroom Sport
- ^ http://thetudorsnews.wordpress.com/2007/12/17/tudors-beauty-nude-scenes-were-harrowing/
- ^ Administrator, N/A. "Alas, 'The Tudors' returns Sunday without its best schemer". USA Weekend. http://whosnews.usaweekend.com/2009/04/alas-the-tudors-returns-sunday-without-its-best-schemer/. Retrieved April 3rd, 2009.
- ^ Perigard, Mark. "'Tudors' rules: Showtimes on a roll with killer season finale". Boston Herald. http://news.bostonherald.com/entertainment/television/reviews/view/2008_05_29_%E2%80%98Tudors__rules:_Showtime_on_a_roll_with_killer_season_finale/srvc=home&position=recent. Retrieved May 29, 2008.
- ^ Marlow, Sam. "Sweet Nothings". TimeOut London. http://www.timeout.com/london/theatre/event/166251/sweet-nothings. Retrieved March 15, 2010.
- ^ "Review: .45 at Hampstead Theatre". Blogger. http://www.westhampsteadlife.com/2010/11/review-45-at-hampstead-theatre.html. Retrieved November 10th, 2010.
- ^ Bill Nighy and Natalie Dormer Set to Star in Peter Straub's Shadowland 3D
- ^ a b Hibberd, James (23 June 2011). "'Tudors' star joins 'Game of Thrones' cast". EW.com. http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/06/23/game-of-thrones-casting/. Retrieved 23 June 2011.
Further reading
- Armstrong, S (2007-09-30). "She won’t lose her head". TV & Radio (London: The Sunday Times). http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/tv_and_radio/article2499952.ece. Retrieved 2007-10-03.
External links
- Natalie Dormer at the Internet Movie Database
- Natalie Dormer Today's Girl - Maxim.com
- Dormer interviewed in Sunday Times Culture magazine, Sept 2007
- Boho Boleyn girl: Actress Natalie Dormer interviewed for Daily Mail, 1 November 2008.
- Tudors Wiki: Natalie Dormer
- LIFE: Photo Gallery Natalie Dormer (about 200 pics)
Categories:- 1982 births
- 21st-century actors
- Alumni of the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art
- English atheists
- English television actors
- Living people
- People educated at Reading Blue Coat School
- People from Reading, Berkshire
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