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Olivia Williams

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Olivia Williams
Olivia Williams at the 60th Berlin International Film Festival 2010
Born
Olivia Haigh Williams

(1968-07-26) 26 July 1968 (age 56)
Camden Town, London, England
OccupationActress
Years active1992–present
SpouseRhashan Stone (2003–present)

Olivia Haigh Williams (born 26 July 1968) is an English film, stage and television actress who has appeared in British and American films and television series.

Early life

Williams was born in Camden Town, London, England. Both of her parents are barristers.

Education

Williams was educated at South Hampstead High School, an independent school for girls in Hampstead in North London, followed by Newnham College at the University of Cambridge, from which she graduated with a degree in English literature. She then studied drama at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School for two years and spent three years at the Royal Shakespeare Company.[1]

Career

After graduation, Williams worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in both Stratford-upon-Avon and London. In 1995, she toured the United States in a production of Shakespeare's Richard III starring Ian McKellen. Her first significant appearance before the cameras was as Jane Fairfax in the British TV film Emma (1996), based on Jane Austen's 1816 novel.[1]

Williams made her film debut in 1997's The Postman, after doing a screen test for Kevin Costner.[1] She later won the lead role of Rosemary Cross in Wes Anderson's Rushmore (1998).[2] She then starred as Bruce Willis' wife in the blockbuster The Sixth Sense (1999), a film she would later parody during her brief appearance in British sit-com Spaced. Since then, Williams has appeared in several British films, including Lucky Break (2001), The Heart of Me (2002), for which she won the British Independent Film Award for Best Actress,[3] and An Education (2009). She played Mrs. Darling in the 2003 film adaptation of Peter Pan. Williams was uncredited for her role as Dr. Moira MacTaggert in the 2006 film X-Men: The Last Stand.

On TV, Williams portrayed British author Jane Austen in Miss Austen Regrets (2008) and was cast as Adelle DeWitt in Joss Whedon's Dollhouse, which ran on Fox from 2009 to 2010.[4]

In 2010, she won acclaim for her performance as Ruth Lang in Roman Polanski's The Ghost Writer, winning the National Society of Film Critics Award, London Critics Circle Film Award for best supporting actress and was runner-up for best supporting actress at the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards.[citation needed]

In Hanna (2011), she played Rachel, a bohemian mother traveling across North Africa and Europe, who comes into contact with the titular teen assassin, who is on the run. The film starred Saoirse Ronan, Eric Bana and Cate Blanchett, and was a critical and sleeper hit.

In 2000, Williams wrote the short story The Significance Of Hair for BBC Radio, and read it on the air.[5]

Selected works

Film

Williams at the Berlin Film Festival 2010
Year Film Role Notes
1997 Beck Karen Quinn
Gaston's War Nicky
The Postman Abby
1998 Rushmore Rosemary Cross
1999 The Sixth Sense Anna Crowe
2000 Four Dogs Playing Poker Audrey
Born Romantic Eleanor
Dead Babies aka Mood Swingers Diana
2001 The Body Sharon Golban
Lucky Break Annabel Sweep/Lady Hamilton in show Best Actress, Empire Awards (2002) (nominated)
The Man from Elysian Fields Andrea
2002 The Heart of Me Madeleine Best Actress, British Independent Film Awards (2003)
Below Claire
2003 To Kill a King Lady Anne Fairfax
Peter Pan Mrs. Darling
2005 Valiant Victoria voice
Tara Road Ria
Mockingbird Mother
2006 X-Men: The Last Stand Moira MacTaggert Uncredited
2008 Flashbacks of a Fool Grace Scott
Broken Lines Zoe
2009 An Education Miss Stubbs Nominated - London Film Critics Circle Award for British Supporting Actress of the Year
2010 The Ghost Writer Ruth Lang London Film Critics Circle Award for British Supporting Actress of the Year
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll Betty Dury
2011 Collaborator Emma Stiles
Hanna Rachel

Television

Year(s)
of appearance 		Film or series Role Awards and nominations
1992
(1 episode) 		Van der Valk (1972–1973, 1977, 1991–1992)
"Still Waters" 		Irene Kortman
1992
(1 episode) 		The Ruth Rendell Mysteries (1987–2000)
"The Speaker of Mandarin" 		Jennifer Norris
1998
(2 episodes) 		Friends (1994–2004)
"The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 1" and "The One with Ross's Wedding: Part 2" 		Felicity - one of the bridesmaids
2000 Jason and the Argonauts Hera
2001
(1 episode) 		Spaced (1999, 2001)
"Help" 		Knocked-down Cyclist
2004 Agatha Christie – A Life in Pictures Agatha Christie
2006 Krakatoa – The Last Days Johanna Beijerinck
2007 Damage Michelle Cahill
2008 Miss Austen Regrets Jane Austen
2009–2010 Dollhouse Adelle DeWitt
2010 Terriers Miriam Foster
2011 Case Sensitive DS Charlie Zailer

Theatre

Year(s)
of appearance 		Production Role Awards and nominations
1995 Richard III (c. 1591)
by William Shakespeare
2003 Love's Labour's Lost (c. 1595–1596)[6]
by William Shakespeare

Olivier Theatre, Royal National Theatre, London

The Princess
2003 The Hotel in Amsterdam (first performed 1968)[7]
by John Osborne

Donmar Warehouse, London

Annie
2006 The Changeling (1653)[8]
by Thomas Middleton and William Rowley

Cheek by Jowl production at the Barbican Centre, London

Beatrice-Joanna
2011 In a Forest, Dark and Deep[9]
by Neil LaBute

Vaudeville Theatre, London

Betty

Personal life

On 2 November 2003, Williams married American stage actor and playwright Rhashan Stone.[citation needed] The couple have two children, Esmé Ruby (born 6 April 2004) and Roxana May (born 7 April 2007).[citation needed] Many years ago she was in a 3-year-long relationship with Radosław Sikorski, the current Polish Minister of Foreign Affairs.[10]

After filming The Postman, she spent time in Bolivia studying spectacled bears in the rainforest.[11][12] Since 2006, she has written occasional travel reports for the "Independent Traveller" section of the British newspaper The Independent on Sunday.[citation needed]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c Gilbert, Gerard (15 November 2009). "Olivia Williams: 'I just do what I'm told'". The Independent. Retrieved 15 November 2009.
  2. ^ Hodgkinson, Will (20 January 2001). "Dead good : Returning from Hollywood to star in British movies would be a step back for most, but Sixth Sense star Olivia Williams was tempted by sex, drugs and cruelty". The Guardian. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ British Independent Film Awards - 2003 Winners
  4. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (3 April 2008). "Olivia Williams cast in 'Dollhouse'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 10 May 2008. Retrieved 16 May 2008.
  5. ^ Opening Lines
  6. ^ Bassett, Kate (2 March 2003). "Love's Labour's Lost, NT Olivier, London; Honour, NT Cottesloe, London; The Green Man, Bush, London; Accidental Death of an Anarchist, Donmar Warehouse, London : Parting is such sugary sorrow". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Bassett, Kate (21 September 2003). "The Hotel in Amsterdam, Donmar Warehouse, London; A Woman of No Importance, Haymarket Theatre Royal, London; The Recruiting Officer, Garrick, Lichfield : Charming, funny... and totally vile". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Taylor, Paul (22 September 2003). "The Hotel In Amsterdam, Donmar Warehouse, London : Lounging around can be highly entertaining". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  8. ^ Williams, Olivia (4 May 2006). "Diary of a nervous star : Olivia Williams, star of 'The Sixth Sense', is appearing on stage in 'The Changeling'. In her tour diary, she says it's scarier than Hollywood". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Coveney, Michael (17 May 2006). "The Changeling, Barbican, London". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help) Bassett, Kate (21 May 2006). "The Changeling, Barbican, London : Lost in the labyrinth". The Independent. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Paddock, Terri (22 November 2010). "Matthew Fox Gets Lost in LaBute Forest". whatsonstage.com.
  10. ^ ""Autor Widmo": czy Radosław Sikorski pójdzie dziś do kina?". Onet.pl. 19 February 2010. Retrieved 19 February 2010.
  11. ^ Hoggard, Liz (13 April 2003). "How we met? Olivia Williams & Susanna Paisley". The Independent on Sunday (republished on LookSmart). {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  12. ^ Ojumu, Akin (4 July 1999). "Everyone's talking about... Olivia Williams". The Observer. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

Further reading

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