Morfydd Clark
Morfydd Clark | |
---|---|
Born | [1] | 17 March 1989
Nationality | Welsh |
Occupation | Actress |
Morfydd Clark (Welsh pronunciation: [ˈmɔrvɪð];[3] born 17 March 1989) is a Welsh actress.[4][5] She is known for her film roles as Maud in Saint Maud and Dora Spenlow in The Personal History of David Copperfield, and in television as Mina Harker in Dracula, Sister Clara in His Dark Materials, and Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Early life
Clark was born in Sweden and moved with her family to Penarth, Wales when she was two years old.[6] She described her father as a "Northern Irish Glaswegian", and her maternal side is from North Wales.[7] She is fluent in English and Welsh, having been enrolled with her sister at a Welsh-language school when she was seven.[8] After struggling with dyslexia and ADHD, she left school at 16.[9] In 2009, she was accepted to British Youth Music Theatre's production of According to Brian Haw[10] and to the National Youth Theatre of Wales, before training at the Drama Centre London.[9]
Career
Clark left Drama Centre in her final term to star in Saunders Lewis' play Blodeuwedd with Theatr Genedlaethol Cymru. She has appeared in Violence and Son at the Royal Court, as Juliet in Romeo and Juliet at the Crucible Theatre, Sheffield, and in Les Liaisons Dangereuses at the Donmar Warehouse.[11] She played Frederica Vernon in Whit Stillman's film Love & Friendship.[12]
In 2016, she appeared in the film The Call Up[13] and as Cordelia in King Lear at The Old Vic.[14] In 2017, she starred in Interlude In Prague,[15][16] and portrayed Catherine Dickens in The Man Who Invented Christmas.[17]
In 2019, she appeared in the films Crawl, The Personal History of David Copperfield, and Eternal Beauty. Also that year, Clark starred in the critically acclaimed psychological horror film Saint Maud as Maud. For her performance, she was nominated for Best Actress of the 2020 British Independent Film Awards,[18][19] and the 2021 BAFTA Rising Star Award.[20]
The Rings of Power
In December 2019, it was reported (and in early 2020, confirmed) that Clark would portray a younger version of the character Galadriel in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power on Amazon Prime.[17]
Morfydd has cited that she is “proud” that being a Welsh speaker influenced her portrayal of her bilingual character, Galadriel. The actor stated: “I feel I can be much more romantic and deep in Welsh,” she said. “So that was really useful for me because I was thinking, ‘[What’s the] language of her heart? What language does she think in?". In another interview, the actor discussed her education in Welsh, “Well, I went to a Welsh language school and everything is taught in Welsh. Welsh is phonetic, so it’s great for people with dyslexia. I started learning English in the third year." “What my Tolkien-obsessed mother was really proud of and passed on to us was that Tolkien was inspired by the Welsh. Oddly enough, his work was a badge of honor for me, because the Welsh are Welsh and obsessed with anything Welsh."[21]
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | Madame Bovary | Camille | |
The Falling | Pamela Charron | ||
2016 | Pride and Prejudice and Zombies | Georgiana Darcy | |
Love & Friendship | Frederica Vernon | ||
National Theatre Live: Les Liaisons Dangereuses | Cécile Volanges | ||
The Call Up | Shelly | ||
2017 | Interlude in Prague | Zuzanna Luptak | |
The Man Who Invented Christmas | Kate Dickens | ||
2019 | Crawl | Beth Keller | |
The Personal History of David Copperfield | Dora Spenlow | ||
Eternal Beauty | Young Jane | ||
Saint Maud | Maud |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | New Worlds | Amelia | Television miniseries |
A Poet in New York | Nancy Wickwire | Television film | |
2015 | Arthur & George | Mary | Episode: "1.1" |
2018 | The Alienist | Caroline Bell | Episode: "Silver Smile" |
The City and the City | Yolanda Stark | Episodes: "Breach," "Ordinary" | |
Patrick Melrose | Debbie Hickman | Episodes: "Bad News," "Some Hope" | |
Outsiders | Mari | Television film | |
2019 | His Dark Materials | Sister Clara | 4 episodes |
2020 | Dracula | Mina Harker | Television miniseries |
2022 | The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power | Galadriel | Main role[22] |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020 | Dublin Film Critics' Circle | Breakthrough Award | Saint Maud and The Personal History of David Copperfield | Won | [23] |
2021 | London Critics' Circle Film Awards | British/Irish Actress of the Year | Saint Maud and Eternal Beauty | Won | [24] |
British Independent Film Awards | Best Actress | Saint Maud | Nominated | [25] | |
British Academy Film Awards | Rising Star Award | Herself | Nominated | [26] |
References
- ^ "Morfydd Clark – Rotten Tomatoes". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 10 April 2022.
- ^ "Morfydd Clark British Youth Music Theatre". British Youth Music Theatre. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ "Morfydd Clark on Anya". Sherman Theatre. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
- ^ Snow, Georgia (19 September 2015). "Morfydd Clark: 'Don't get too anxious about your work'". The Stage. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Hewis, Ben (12 January 2016). "Rising Star: Morfydd Clark". WhatsOnStage.com. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ "Morfydd Clark interview: Her sexual awakening performances have critics in raptures". The Independent. November 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2020.
- ^ Marsh, Carl (9 October 2020). "Morfydd Clark Interview". Buzz. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Armistead, Claire (20 September 2020). "Morfydd Clark: 'In the acting world, my ADHD tendencies are seen as charming'". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ a b Williams, Holly (1 January 2017). "Rising stars of 2017: actor Morfydd Clark". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 November 2017.
- ^ "According to Brian Haw (2009) | British Youth Music Theatre".
- ^ Khan, Jessica (2 September 2015). "Morfydd Clark Joins LES LIAISONS DANGEREUSES at Donmar This Winter". Broadway World. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Robey, Tim (26 May 2016). "Love & Friendship shows just how funny Jane Austen can be - review". The Telegraph. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ McNamara, Fred. "The Call Up". Starburst. Retrieved 23 September 2016.
- ^ BWW news desk (26 May 2016). "Jane Horrocks, Celia Imrie & Morfydd Clark to Join Glenda Jackson in The Old Vic's KING LEAR". Broadway World. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Khan, Jessica (24 March 2016). "Stage Stars Samantha Barks and Morfydd Clark Join INTERLUDE IN PRAGUE Film". Broadway World. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ Grater, Tom (4 April 2016). "'Interlude In Prague' starts shoot, adds cast". Screen Daily. Retrieved 5 June 2016.
- ^ a b "' Lord of the Rings' Series Taps Morfydd Clark as Young Galadriel (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. 18 December 2019. Retrieved 10 March 2020.
- ^ Wade, Joseph (18 February 2021). "2020 British Independent Film Awards – Winners List". Retrieved 23 February 2021.
- ^ "Saint Maud: Will Gompertz reviews Rose Glass's debut film ★★★★☆". BBC News. 9 October 2020. Retrieved 15 October 2020.
- ^ "Kingsley Ben-Adir among Bafta Rising Star nominees". BBC News. 4 March 2021. Retrieved 5 March 2021.
- ^ "Lord of the Rings star Morfydd Clark 'proud' Welsh influenced her portrayal of bilingual Galadriel". Nation.Cymru. 3 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
- ^ Kroll, Justin (17 December 2019). "'Lord of the Rings Series Taps Morfydd Clark as Young Galadriel". Variety. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ Clarke, Donald (18 December 2020). "Dublin film critics reveal their best film of 2020". The Irish Times. Retrieved 15 March 2021.
- ^ Cline, Rich (7 February 2021). "London Critics name Nomadland their best film of 2020". Critics' Circle. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ "Winners & Nominations". BIFA. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
- ^ Pewsey, Guy (3 March 2021). "Bukky Bakray And Morfydd Clark Among Nominees For BAFTA's EE Rising Star Award". Grazia. Retrieved 13 March 2021.