Natalie Dormer – MovieActors.com

About Natalie Dormer (1982 – ____)

Natalie Dormer was born in Reading, Berkshire. She is of part Norwegian ancestry and is half Welsh.

Dormer attended Chiltern Edge Secondary School before moving to Reading Blue Coat School, historically an independent boys' school that admits girls in the sixth form. She grew up with her stepfather (a builder), mother, sister Samantha, and brother Mark. She has said that she was the victim of bullying while at school, but "still to this day can't place why". At school, Dormer was head girl, a first class student, vice-captain of the school netball team, and travelled the world with her school's public speaking team.

During her school years, Dormer trained in dance at the Allenova School of Dancing. She describes herself as the "academic hopeful" of the family and was provisionally offered a place to study history at Cambridge; but, in her A-level History exam, she did not achieve the A grade she needed to attend. Dormer decided she would audition for drama schools and decided to train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Six months after graduating from Webber Douglas, Dormer won the role of Victoria in Casanova. This was her film debut and it was released in 2005. In 2005, Dormer had a small part in Distant Shores. After the filming of Casanova, Dormer was out of work for ten months. She was attached to an independent film which kept being delayed because of financial problems. Taken off the audition circuit, she waitressed and worked in data entry to support herself. She has said that her being out of work for so long "was the best lesson I could have had in the first 12 months of my career".

In 2007 and 2008, Dormer played Anne Boleyn in the first two seasons of The Tudors, for which she received highly positive reviews. Robert Abele of LA Weekly wrote: "Natalie Dormer presents a painterly exquisiteness and complexity in her portrayal of Anne Boleyn... her enigmatic, time-halting loveliness is a boon for The Tudors, and damn near worth losing your head over." After her character's death at the end of the second season, The Boston Herald noted: "Dormer gave Anne Boleyn life, making her not just a beautiful schemer but a rebellious, defiantly independent tragic hero in the tradition of Rebel Without a Cause and Cool Hand Luke... her departure from The Tudors leaves a tremendous void."

In 2008, Dormer played Moira Nicholson in Agatha Christie's Marple: "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" and appeared in a number of films such as Fence Walker and City of Life. Dormer's Marple appearance aired in the US in the summer of 2009 as part of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery anthology series. Also in that year, she appeared in Incendiary, but her scenes were cut from the final film. In March 2010, she made her stage debut at the Young Vic theatre in London as Mizi in the play Sweet Nothings. In The Observer, theatre critic Susannah Clapp praised the performances of the cast and wrote: "Natalie Dormer is lissome as a dirty, delightful gadabout, pushing aside an entire chess game in order to put down her hat."

After six months of playing Mizi, Dormer went on to film some new roles, including the Duchess of York in Madonna's film W.E., Pvt. Lorraine in Captain America: The First Avenger, and Niamh Cranitch in the BBC court drama Silk. She returned to The Tudors as Anne Boleyn in a dream sequence for the fourth and final season in mid-2010. From 2012 until 2016 Dormer played Margaery Tyrell in the HBO fantasy TV series Game of Thrones.

In March 2012, she returned to the Young Vic to play the title role in After Miss Julie by Patrick Marber. Her performance received critical acclaim, with reviews describing her as "little short of sensational", "outstanding", and "the perfect Miss Julie". In March 2013, she played the Lady Door in the radio play of Neverwhere, based on the novel by Neil Gaiman. Later that year, she appeared in the car racing drama Rush and the thriller The Counselor. She also appeared in A Long Way From Home. In 2013, Dormer played Irene Adler in the final three episodes of the first season of the CBS series Elementary; she reprised the role in the second season. Dormer played Cressida in the films The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and Part 2.

In September 2014, Dormer was cast in the action thriller Patient Zero, alongside Matt Smith and Game of Thrones co-star John Bradley-West. The film was directed by Oscar-Winning filmmaker Stefan Ruzowitzky and based on a script by Mike Le. It is set to be released in 2017. Dormer starred in the Lava Bear Films/David S. Goyer-produced horror film The Forest, directed by Jason Zada in his feature film debut.

The following year Dormer starred as 18th century noblewoman Lady Worsley in a BBC drama called The Scandalous Lady W, based on the book Lady Worsley's Whim by the historian Hallie Rubenhold. Dormer is set to star in In Darkness, a revenge thriller.

Since 2011, Dormer has been engaged to Anthony Byrne, who she met in Dublin while filming The Tudors.

Despite rumors that Dormer is related to historical lady-in-waiting Jane Dormer, who served Queen Mary I, they have no familial connection. On this subject, Dormer stated, "There was a woman, called Jane Dormer, in the Royal Court who happened to have the same family name as me, but I think that's as far as it goes."

Natalie Dormer's movie credits include...

Natalie Dormer's television credits include...

Memorable Quotes by Natalie Dormer

“ I'm interested in playing women who feel real, who are fighting for something or desire something or are scared, as all real women are – or let’s not make it a gender thing, as all human beings are. ”

“ I know people think that acting is not quite the occupation of grown-ups, but it is actually the ultimate learning process: You get a multitude of experiences, all for the price of one life. ”

“ I'm a Volver type of girl, 21 Grams (2003), films like that. On the edge and really risky. ”

“ Well during the first season, Alfie [Allen], Richard [Madden], and several of the men got naked — although not all the way. I suppose it's just the rules of broadcast television, isn't it? I think Thrones has been better than your average show with the equality, but they could definitely ramp it up! Absolutely. ”

“ I love those women that I play that have sexual power. But I'm trying to step away from it for me, and my artistic growth. It's more about who I am. I'm not that woman. ”

“ I'm a bit of a wimp to be honest, when it comes to horror movies. When I was a girl and someone would bring the latest slasher film to a sleepover, I was the one hiding in my sleeping bag. I'm not into violence for gratuities sake - pornographic violence. It has to inform the story. ”

Things You May Not Know About Natalie Dormer

On the basis of her performance in Casanova, Natalie won a 3 picture deal with Disney/Touchstone.

Her role in Casanova was originally written to be much smaller. But Natalie so impressed Director Lasse Hallström, he expanded her part, and also injected more humor into the role once he realized how well Natalie handled comedy.

She has played the mothers of both of England's "Queen Elizabeths". She portrayed "Anne Boleyn" in Showtime's series, The Tudors, opposite Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and was later cast as the "Queen Mother" by Madonna in her film, W.E., which was based on the romance between Duke of Windsor and his twice-divorced American mistress/wife, Duchess of Windsor.

She participated in the 2014 London Marathon

Her name originates from the Late Latin name Natalia. It is derived from the Latin phrases natale domini, "birth of Lord", or dies natalis, "Birthday".