Emily Watson: Biography

With soulful, saucer-like eyes that seem to fill the entire screen and a coy smile that hints at a carefree inner playfulness, Oscar-nominated actress Emily Watson burst onto the scene with her shattering performance in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves, a role that almost went to period-piece queen Helena Bonham Carter. Born the daughter of an architect and an English professor in Islington, London, England, in January 1967, a sheltered upbringing initially led Watson to seek studies in English Literature. After studying in Bristol for three years, Watson made her first bid for drama school only to face disheartening rejection. Undeterred, Watson was determined to make the cut, and after three years of working as a waitress and a secretary, she was eventually accepted into the London Drama Studio. It was during this phase in her early career that Watson would meet future husband Jack Waters. Subsequently launching her career upon joining the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992, it wasn't long before Watson began to set her sights on film. Fate intervened as actress Helena Bonham Carter pulled out of director Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves at the last minute due to the film's explicit sexuality, and despite her relative lack of experience, Watson landed the female lead in the film after only one brief screen test. As the spiritually driven wife of a paralyzed oil-rig worker whose sexuality becomes a religiously transcendent experience, Watson stunned audiences and received an Oscar nomination for her daring and uninhibited performance. Though the subsequent Metroland proved a fairly by-the-numbers effort comparatively, Watson's weighty presence and memorable performance stole the show and earned the film some of its best accolades. Watson's reputation continued to grow with both her intimate portrayal of international concert cellist Jacqueline Du Pre in Hilary and Jackie (1998), for which she was again Oscar-nominated, and as the love interest of an eccentric chess champion in The Luzhin Defence (2000). After joining the talented cast of Robert Altman's comedy-mystery Gosford Park, Watson would appear in two of her biggest stateside roles to date: as the love interest of a temperamental small-business owner in Paul Thomas Anderson's Punch-Drunk Love, and as the love interest of a murderous psychopath in Brett Ratner's Red Dragon (both 2002). After re-teaming with Metroland co-star Christian Bale in the little-seen sci-fi action vehicle Equilibrium, Watson began gearing up for her role opposite Geoffrey Rush in the long-awaited Peter Sellers biopic The Life and Death of Peter Sellers. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide