Naomie Harris

Naomie Harris

Naomie Harris at the Toronto Film Festival, September 2010
Born Naomie Melanie Harris
6 September 1976 (1976-09-06) (age 35)
London, England, UK
Occupation Actress
Years active 1987–present

Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is a screen actress. She is best known for her starring role as Selena in 28 Days Later, as well as her supporting turn as Tia Dalma/Calypso in the second and third Pirates of the Caribbean films. In November 2011, it was announced that she would appear in the next James Bond movie, Skyfall.

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Personal life

Harris was born and raised in London, England, the daughter of sitcom writer Lisselle Kayla, a single mother who had emigrated to England from Jamaica as a child.[1] After graduating in 1998 from Pembroke College, Cambridge with a degree in Social and Political Sciences, Harris trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.

She had a very difficult time as a student at Cambridge. "When I went to Cambridge University, Mum said I wouldn't fit in and she was right," she explains. "I hated it. The people there were so different to me. They talked about Eton and skiing and here I was, this black girl from Finsbury Park. I just felt so lonely. There was only one other black person in my year; I was very unhappy and cried every day."

Harris is a Buddhist.[2]

Career

Harris has appeared in television and film since she was nine, including a stint on the remake of the science fiction series The Tomorrow People. She became internationally well known in 2002 with her lead performance in Danny Boyle's post-apocalyptic film 28 Days Later, opposite Cillian Murphy. In the same year, she starred in the television adaptation of Zadie Smith's White Teeth.

Since then, Harris has been cast in supporting roles in big budget films, such as Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, and Michael Mann's Miami Vice. She also did a comic turn in Michael Winterbottom's well-regarded indie ensemble piece, A Cock and Bull Story, and appeared with Josh Hartnett in the 2008 release of August. She starred in Channel 4's adaptation of the novel Poppy Shakespeare which was first shown on 31 March 2008. She also appeared in BBC's historical drama Small Island in December 2009.

She is currently playing Elizabeth Lavenza in Danny Boyle's production of Nick Dear's adaptation of Frankenstein for the National Theatre.

She plays the lead role in The First Grader, directed by Justin Chadwick, and premiered on May 18, 2011 in the Seattle International Film Festival. Shadow & Act has revealed that an item first dropped in the Brit tabloid rag News Of The World may actually have some substance behind it. The paper reported that Harris "will be Daniel Craig's sexy sidekick in the soon-to-be filmed new 007 movie" but the actress herself is playing the cards a bit more close to the chest. In UK interviews for The First Grader, she has confirmed she has been talking with producers for the next James Bond film, Skyfall.

During UK publicity interviews for her critically acclaimed movie The First Grader, Harris confirmed that she has been talking with James Bond producers about a part but wouldn't reveal for which role or whether she has accepted or not. A spokesperson for EON Productions confirmed that Harris has indeed met with the filmmakers, although no deals have yet been struck.[3]

Awards

Filmography

Films

Television

Video games

Theatre

References

External links

Preceded by
Olga Kurylenko
Bond girl
2012
Succeeded by
Incumbent