| Ruth Wilson | |
|---|---|
| Born | Ruth Wilson January 13, 1982 Ashford, Surrey, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2005-present |
Ruth Wilson (born 13 January 1982) is an English actress, perhaps best known for her performance in the title role of Jane Eyre and the character of Alice Morgan in the psychological crime drama Luther (TV series).
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Wilson was born in Ashford, Surrey and raised with three older brothers in Shepperton, Surrey.[1] She attended Notre Dame School and sixth form at Esher College.[2] As a teenager, Wilson worked as a model, and went on to study history at the University of Nottingham, graduating in 2003. She graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in July 2005. Afterwards, she co-founded Hush Productions. While at Nottingham she was also involved in student drama at New Theatre (Nottingham) which later won an award for 'Outstanding Contribution to Student Theatre' at the National Student Drama Festival 2008. She currently lives in London.[3]
She is a grand-daughter of the novelist and MI5 officer Alexander Wilson.[4]
Prior to her role in Jane Eyre, Wilson had only one professional screen credit, in Suburban Shootout, a situation comedy. Since then, Wilson has stated she is "going to better auditions. People are starting to see me, when they wouldn't have done, before—suddenly you have done a big show, and have got a bit more standing."[5]
In 2006–7 she filmed the second series of Suburban Shootout, a new Marple mystery for ITV, and Stephen Poliakoff's BBC television drama Capturing Mary as the young Mary.
In 2007 she appeared in Gorky's Philistines, playing Tanya, at the National from May until August 2007—and learned to play the piano for the role.[6] She also narrated the audio book of Lauren St John's novel "The White Giraffe". In June 2007, Wilson presented the 2007 Lilian Baylis Awards.[7] In November 2007, she gave a radio interview on BBC Radio 4 Woman's Hour[8]
Other projects in 2007 included the narration of an audio book of the children's novel Dolphin Song by Lauren St John; a guest appearance in the sitcom Freezing as Alison Fennel (transmitted on BBC2, 21 February 2008); narration of the documentary The Polish Ambulance Murders (transmitted on BBC4, 5 February 2008); and the portrayal of a mentally ill doctor in the dramatised documentary The Doctor Who Hears Voices[9] (transmitted on UK Channel 4, 21 April 2008), a story which follows controversial psychologist Dr Rufus May as he treats a junior doctor diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
During the winter of 2007 Wilson took six months off. She said: "I simply want to take a break and catch my breath. But I also think that, sometimes, the bravest thing you can do is to deliberately keep some time free and see what the world throws at you."[10]
From 23 July to 3 October 2009 she appeared as Stella in the Donmar revival of A Streetcar Named Desire.[11] On November 15, 2009 AMC Television and ITV premiered the 2009 TV miniseries remake of The Prisoner, in which Wilson played the Village doctor, "Number 313."[12] Starting on BBC1 on 6 December 2009, she played "Queenie" in an adaptation of Andrea Levy's Small Island,[13] which also aired in the United States on PBS in 2010.
In 2010 she appeared in the UK psychological police drama Luther as Alice Morgan, starring with Idris Elba.
From 10 June to 31 July 2010 Wilson starred as Karin in the Almeida Theatre production of Through a Glass Darkly, an adaptation for the stage of Ingmar Bergman's Oscar-winning 1961 film.
From 4 August to 8 October 2011, alongside Jude Law, Wilson is starring in the title role of Eugene O'Neill's Anna Christie at the Donmar Warehouse, a performance which prompted The Guardian to devote an editorial to Wilson's "courageous, edgy and compelling talent".[14]
Wilson's performance in Jane Eyre earned her four nominations for Best Actress awards in 2007, from the Broadcasting Press Guild, BAFTA television awards[15][16] Satellite Awards and the 2008 Golden Globes. She also came second in a BBC viewers' poll for Best Actress of 2006. She won the 2010 Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Stella in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Donmar Warehouse.
| Year | Format | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Television series | Suburban Shootout | Jewel Diamond | |
| 2006 | Television miniseries | Jane Eyre | Jane Eyre | Nominated for a BAFTA and a Golden Globe, Best Actress in a Series, Mini Series or TV Movie |
| 2007 | Stage | Philistines | Tanya | Lyttelton Theatre, RNT[17] |
| 2007 | Television film | Marple: Nemesis | Georgina Barrow | |
| 2007 | Television film | Capturing Mary | Young Mary | |
| 2007 | Television film | A Real Summer | Mary/Geraldine[18] | |
| 2008 | Television film | The Doctor Who Hears Voices | Ruth | |
| 2008 | Television series | Freezing | Alison Fennel | |
| 2008 | Radio drama | The Mayor of Casterbridge | Elizabeth-Janes | |
| 2009 | Radio drama | The Promise[19] | BBC Radio 3 | |
| 2009 | Stage | A Streetcar Named Desire | Stella | Donmar Warehouse, London[20] |
| 2009 | Television series | Small Island | Queenie | Autumn 2009[21] |
| 2009 | Television series | The Prisoner | 313/Sara | November 2009[22] |
| 2010 - | Television series | Luther | Alice Morgan | |
| 2010 | Stage | Through a Glass Darkly | Karin | Almeida Theatre adaptation of the Ingmar Bergman film[23] |
| 2011 | Stage | Anna Christie | Anna Christie | Donmar Warehouse, London |
| 2011 | Film | Anna Karenina | Princess Betsy | Dir: Joe Wright |
| 2012 | Film | The Lone Ranger | Rebecca Reid | Dir: Gore Verbinski |
While at LAMDA she appeared in a student production of C.P. Taylor's Good, which transferred to the Sound Theatre for a short run in 2005.
Wilson has also appeared in the short films In The Dark and The Rounds,[24] as characters unknown.
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