Essie Davis
Encyclopedia
Essie Davis is an Australian actress. Born and raised in Hobart
, Tasmania, she is the daughter of locally famed artist George Davis.
She emerged from the Old Nick Company
at the University of Tasmania
in the late 1980s and has gone on to appear in Hollywood movies. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art
(NIDA) in Sydney. Her acting career began with the Bell Shakespeare company when, straight out of NIDA, she was cast as Juliet in the 1993 production of Romeo and Juliet
. Her film career started after her role in the all Australian movie Dad and Dave: On Our Selection
(1995), also starring other prestigious actors such as Geoffrey Rush
, Leo McKern
, and Joan Sutherland
. Her most famous movie roles are in The Matrix Reloaded
and The Matrix Revolutions
, Richard Flanagan
's 1998 Tasmanian film The Sound of One Hand Clapping
, and Girl with a Pearl Earring
.
In 2003 she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her UK performance in the Tennessee Williams
play A Streetcar Named Desire
. In 2004 she starred in a Broadway
production of Tom Stoppard
's Jumpers
, for which she earned a Tony
nomination. In 2005 she appeared as Mrs. Nellie Lovett
in the BBC
production of Sweeney Todd with Ray Winstone
. In the 2008 film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger
she plays Esther's controlling mother. Also in 2008, she appeared in the movie Australia
with Nicole Kidman
and Hugh Jackman
, directed by Baz Luhrmann
. In 2008 Davis played Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
for the Melbourne Theatre Company
.
She returned to Tasmania to launch the "The Tasmanian Theatre Company" in 2008 and help support local theatre whilst encouraging youth to continue participating in the arts.
Hobart
Hobart is the state capital and most populous city of the Australian island state of Tasmania. Founded in 1804 as a penal colony,Hobart is Australia's second oldest capital city after Sydney. In 2009, the city had a greater area population of approximately 212,019. A resident of Hobart is known as...
, Tasmania, she is the daughter of locally famed artist George Davis.
She emerged from the Old Nick Company
Old Nick Company
The Old Nick Company, established in 1948, is the main student theatre company at the University of Tasmania. It stages a popular annual revue and other smaller productions...
at the University of Tasmania
University of Tasmania
The University of Tasmania is a medium-sized public Australian university based in Tasmania, Australia. Officially founded on 1 January 1890, it was the fourth university to be established in nineteenth-century Australia...
in the late 1980s and has gone on to appear in Hollywood movies. She is a graduate of the National Institute of Dramatic Art
National Institute of Dramatic Art
The National Institute of Dramatic Art is an Australian national training institute for students of theatre, film, and television, based in the Sydney suburb of Kensington. It is supported by the federal Office for the Arts, Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. NIDA is located adjacent...
(NIDA) in Sydney. Her acting career began with the Bell Shakespeare company when, straight out of NIDA, she was cast as Juliet in the 1993 production of Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
. Her film career started after her role in the all Australian movie Dad and Dave: On Our Selection
Dad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995 film)
Dad and Dave: On Our Selection is an Australian comedy film, based on the characters and writings of author Steele Rudd. It is set in late nineteenth century colonial Queensland, but largely filmed in Braidwood, New South Wales...
(1995), also starring other prestigious actors such as Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Rush
Geoffrey Roy Rush is an Australian actor and film producer. He is one of the few people who has won the "Triple Crown of Acting": an Academy Award, a Tony Award and an Emmy Award. He has won one Academy Award for acting , three British Academy Film Awards , two Golden Globe Awards and four Screen...
, Leo McKern
Leo McKern
Reginald "Leo" McKern, AO was an Australian-born British actor who appeared in numerous British and Australian television programmes and movies, and more than 200 stage roles.-Early life:...
, and Joan Sutherland
Joan Sutherland
Dame Joan Alston Sutherland, OM, AC, DBE was an Australian dramatic coloratura soprano noted for her contribution to the renaissance of the bel canto repertoire from the late 1950s through to the 1980s....
. Her most famous movie roles are in The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
and The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions
The Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
, Richard Flanagan
Richard Flanagan
Richard Flanagan is a novelist from Tasmania, Australia.-Early life:Flanagan was born in Longford, Tasmania, in 1961, the fifth of six children. He is descended from Irish convicts transported to Van Diemen's Land in the 1840s. His father is a survivor of the Burma Death Railway. One of his three...
's 1998 Tasmanian film The Sound of One Hand Clapping
The Sound of One Hand Clapping
The Sound of One Hand Clapping is a 1997 novel by Australian author Richard Flanagan. The title is adapted from the famous Zen kōan of Hakuin Ekaku. The Sound of One Hand Clapping was Flanagan's second novel.-Plot summary:...
, and Girl with a Pearl Earring
Girl with a Pearl Earring (film)
Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 drama film directed by Peter Webber. The screenplay was adapted by screenwriter Olivia Hetreed based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Cillian Murphy. The film is named after a painting of the same...
.
In 2003 she won the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress for her UK performance in the Tennessee Williams
Tennessee Williams
Thomas Lanier "Tennessee" Williams III was an American writer who worked principally as a playwright in the American theater. He also wrote short stories, novels, poetry, essays, screenplays and a volume of memoirs...
play A Streetcar Named Desire
A Streetcar Named Desire (play)
A Streetcar Named Desire is a 1947 play written by American playwright Tennessee Williams for which he received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1948. The play opened on Broadway on December 3, 1947, and closed on December 17, 1949, in the Ethel Barrymore Theatre. The Broadway production was...
. In 2004 she starred in a Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
production of Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's Jumpers
Jumpers
Jumpers is a 1972 play by Tom Stoppard. It explores and satirises the field of academic philosophy, likening it to a less-than skilful competitive gymnastics display...
, for which she earned a Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nomination. In 2005 she appeared as Mrs. Nellie Lovett
Mrs. Lovett
Mrs. Lovett is a fictional character appearing in many adaptations of the story Sweeney Todd. She is most commonly referred to as Nellie, although Margery, Maggie, Sarah, Shirley, Wilhemina and Claudetta are other names she has been given. First appearing in the penny dreadful serial The String of...
in the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production of Sweeney Todd with Ray Winstone
Ray Winstone
Raymond Andrew "Ray" Winstone is an English film and television actor. He is mostly known for his "tough guy" roles, beginning with that of Carlin in the 1979 film Scum and as Will Scarlet in the cult television adventure series Robin of Sherwood. He has also become well known as a voice over...
. In the 2008 film Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger
Hey, Hey, It's Esther Blueburger
Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger is a 2008 Australian independent teen film written and directed by Cathy Randall. It stars Danielle Catanzariti, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Toni Collette. The film follows Jewish 13-year-old Esther , an outcast at her posh school, where she has no friends...
she plays Esther's controlling mother. Also in 2008, she appeared in the movie Australia
Australia (2008 film)
Australia is a 2008 epic historical romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood...
with Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
and Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, directed by Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
. In 2008 Davis played Maggie in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof is a play by Tennessee Williams. One of Williams's best-known works and his personal favorite, the play won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1955...
for the Melbourne Theatre Company
Melbourne Theatre Company
The Melbourne Theatre Company is a theatre company based in Melbourne. Founded in 1953, it is the oldest professional theatre company in Australia, and has its own theatre, The MTC Theatre – which houses the 500-seat Sumner Theatre and the 150-seat Lawler Studio – located in Melbourne's Arts...
.
She returned to Tasmania to launch the "The Tasmanian Theatre Company" in 2008 and help support local theatre whilst encouraging youth to continue participating in the arts.
Filmography
- The SlapThe Slap (TV series)The Slap is an Australian television drama series produced by Matchbox Pictures for ABC1, screening each Thursday night at 8:30pm in October and November 2011 - repeats air the following night each week on ABC2...
(2011, TV) as Anouk - Play SchoolPlay School (Australian TV series)Play School is an Australian educational television show for children produced by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It is the longest-running children's show in Australia, and the second longest running childrens show in the world. An estimated 80% of pre-school children under six watch the...
(2011) as herself - CloudstreetCloudstreet (TV series)Cloudstreet is an Australian television drama miniseries for the Showcase subscription television channel, which first screened from 22 May 2011, in three parts. It is an adaptation of Cloudstreet, an award-winning novel by Australian author Tim Winton...
(2010) as Dolly Pickles - AustraliaAustralia (2008 film)Australia is a 2008 epic historical romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood...
(2008) as Catherine Carney Fletcher - Hey, Hey, It's Esther BlueburgerHey, Hey, It's Esther BlueburgerHey Hey It's Esther Blueburger is a 2008 Australian independent teen film written and directed by Cathy Randall. It stars Danielle Catanzariti, Keisha Castle-Hughes and Toni Collette. The film follows Jewish 13-year-old Esther , an outcast at her posh school, where she has no friends...
(2008) as Grace Blueburger - Charlotte's WebCharlotte's Web (2006 film)Charlotte's Web is a 2006 American live-action/computer-animated feature film, based on the popular book of the same name by E. B. White. It is directed by Gary Winick and produced by Paramount Pictures, Walden Media, The K Entertainment Company, and Nickelodeon Movies...
(2006) as Mrs. Arable - Sweeney Todd (2006, TV) as Mrs. Nellie Lovett
- The Silence (2005) as Juliet Moore
- Isolation (2005) as Orla
- The Matrix RevolutionsThe Matrix RevolutionsThe Matrix Revolutions is a 2003 American science fiction film and the third installment of The Matrix trilogy. The film was released six months following The Matrix Reloaded. The film was written and directed by the Wachowski brothers and released simultaneously in sixty countries on November 5,...
(2003) as Maggie - Code 46 (2003) as Doctor
- Girl with a Pearl EarringGirl with a Pearl Earring (film)Girl with a Pearl Earring is a 2003 drama film directed by Peter Webber. The screenplay was adapted by screenwriter Olivia Hetreed based on the novel by Tracy Chevalier. The film stars Scarlett Johansson, Colin Firth, Tom Wilkinson, and Cillian Murphy. The film is named after a painting of the same...
(2003) as Catharina Vermeer - Temptation (2003, TV) as Julie
- After the Deluge (2003, TV miniseries) as Beth
- The Matrix ReloadedThe Matrix ReloadedThe Matrix Reloaded is a 2003 American science fiction film and the second installment in The Matrix trilogy, written and directed by the Wachowskis. It premiered on May 7, 2003, in Westwood, Los Angeles, California, and went on general release by Warner Bros. in North American theaters on May 15,...
(2003) as Maggie - Enter the MatrixEnter the MatrixEnter the Matrix is the first video game based on The Matrix series of films. It was developed by Shiny Entertainment and published by Atari and WB Interactive for the PlayStation 2, Xbox and Nintendo GameCube game systems, and for the PC. It was published in Japan by Bandai...
(2003) (video game) as Maggie - Young Lions
- "Mardi Gras" (2002) as Julie Morgan
- Episode #1.2 (2002) as Julie Morgan
- The Pact (2002) as Helene Davis
- Corridors of Power
- Episode #1.4 (2001) as Sophie
- Halifax f.p: The Spider and the Fly (2000, TV) as Alison Blount
- Murder CallMurder CallMurder Call was an Australian television series, created by Hal McElroy for the Southern Star Entertainment and seen on the Nine Network between 1997 and 2000. The idea to the series was born by the books of Tessa Vance by Jennifer Rowe: Suspect/Deadline and Something Wicked...
- "Deadfall" (1998) as Judy St. John
- Kings in Grass Castles (1998, TV miniseries) as Mary Costello
- The Sound of One Hand Clapping (1998) as Jean
- The Ripper (1997, TV) as Evelyn Bookman
- The Two-Wheeled Time Machine (1997) as Young Alice
- Water RatsWater Rats (TV series)Water Rats is an Australian TV police procedural broadcast on the Nine Network from 1996 to 2001. The series was based around the men and women of the Sydney Water Police who fight crime across Sydney Harbour and surrounding locales. The show was set on and around Goat Island in Sydney...
- "Dead or Alive" (1997) as Senior Detective Nicola Bourke
- "Blood Trail" (1997) as Senior Detective Nicola Bourke
- Blackrock (1997) as Det.Gilhooley
- River Street (1996) as Wendy
- Dad and Dave: On Our SelectionDad and Dave: On Our Selection (1995 film)Dad and Dave: On Our Selection is an Australian comedy film, based on the characters and writings of author Steele Rudd. It is set in late nineteenth century colonial Queensland, but largely filmed in Braidwood, New South Wales...
(1995) as Kate - Lilian's Story (1995) as Zara
- The Custodian (1993) as Jilly