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Emily Watson

Emily Watson

45 movies on Netflix

Biography

Emily Watson is an English actress who trained at Drama Studio London and first worked on stage. Born in London in 1967, she joined the Royal Shakespeare Company early in her career and appeared in productions such as The Taming of the Shrew and The Changeling. Lars von Trier cast her as Bess McNeill in Breaking the Waves (1996), a role that brought critics' awards in Los Angeles, London and New York and nominations for the Academy Award, BAFTA and Golden Globe. She received another Oscar nomination for playing cellist Jacqueline du Pré in Hilary and Jackie (1998), and went on to appear in Angela's Ashes, Punch-Drunk Love, Red Dragon, Corpse Bride, Miss Potter, War Horse, The Theory of Everything and Kingsman: The Golden Circle. On television she won a BAFTA for Appropriate Adult and earned Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for Chernobyl.

59years old

Turns 60 on January 14in 93 days

  • Born Islington
  • Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
  • Emily Margaret Watson (birth name)

Movie Career

Films
45
Career span
29 years1996 to 2025

Genres

First and latest

Photos

  • Emily Watson, photo 1 of 3
  • Emily Watson, photo 2 of 3
  • Emily Watson, photo 3 of 3

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Did you know?!

  1. A role that slipped away

    Jean-Pierre Jeunet wrote the title character of Amélie for Watson, even naming her Emily, but Watson turned the part down because she struggled with French and did not want to be away from home.

  2. A role that slipped away

    For Shekhar Kapur's film Elizabeth, Watson was the first pick to play Elizabeth I, the role that earned Cate Blanchett an Academy Award nomination.

  3. Getting ready for a role

    Watson played the cellist Jacqueline du Pré in Hilary and Jackie. She learned the cello in three months for the part and got another Oscar nomination.

Emily Watson movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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  1. Equilibrium2002 Action, Drama, Sci-Fias Mary O'Brien

    IMDb rating 7.3365K votes

  2. The Theory of Everything2014 Biography, Drama, Romanceas Beryl Wilde

    IMDb rating 7.7511K votes

  3. Corpse Bride2005as Victoria Everglotvoice

    IMDb rating 7.4332K votes

  4. Punch-Drunk Love2002as Lena Leonard

    IMDb rating 7.3200K votes

  5. Red Dragon2002as Reba McClane

    IMDb rating 7.2314K votes

  6. The Book Thief2013as Rosa Hubermann

    IMDb rating 7.5148K votes

  7. War Horse2011as Rose Narracott

    IMDb rating 7.2175K votes

  8. Breaking the Waves1996as Bess McNeill

    IMDb rating 7.877K votes

Most often with

Holger Tappe directed three of these films, Tim Mielants two and Richard Eyre two. Two actors appear in four of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Tom Wilkinson, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with Tom WilkinsonCelia Imrie, 4 films togetherSee the 4 films with Celia ImrieAnthony Hopkins, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Anthony HopkinsPhilip Seymour Hoffman, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Philip Seymour HoffmanMiranda Richardson, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Miranda RichardsonRupert Everett, 3 films togetherSee the 3 films with Rupert EverettHolger TappeDirector, 3 filmsSee the 3 films by Holger TappeTim MielantsDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Tim MielantsRichard EyreDirector, 2 filmsSee the 2 films by Richard Eyre

Films together

Box office

What Emily Watson's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$1.6 billion

31 of the 45 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 45 films: 31 worldwide figure; 5 us gross only; 3 never in cinemas; 1 streaming, short cinema run; 5 figure not found.

  • 31Worldwide figure
  • 5US gross only
  • 3Never in cinemas
  • 1Streaming, short cinema run
  • 5Figure not found

Top grosser

Kingsman: The Golden Circle2017as Chief of Staff Fox$411 million

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 85% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    Kingsman: The Golden Circle2017as Chief of Staff Fox
    $411M26.3% of the total
  2. 2
    Red Dragon2002as Reba McClane
    $209M13.4% of the total
  3. 3
    War Horse2011as Rose Narracott
    $178M11.4% of the total
  4. 4
    The Theory of Everything2014as Beryl Wilde
    $124M7.9% of the total
  5. 5
    Corpse Bride2005as Victoria Everglot (voice)
    $118M7.6% of the total
  6. 6
    Hamnet2025as Mary
    $108M6.9% of the total
  7. 7
    The Water Horse2007as Anne MacMorrow
    $104M6.7% of the total
  8. 8
    The Book Thief2013as Rosa Hubermann
    $77M4.9% of the total
Miss Potter (2006), $35.1 millionMonster Family (2017), $29.2 millionPunch-Drunk Love (2002), $24.7 millionBreaking the Waves (1996), $23.0 millionThe Boxer (1997), $16.5 millionBelle (2013), $16.5 millionAngela's Ashes (1999), $13.0 millionSmall Things Like These (2024), $12.5 millionMonster Family 2 (2021), $6.7 millionFireflies in the Garden (2008), $6.7 millionLittle Boy (2015), $6.5 millionEquilibrium (2002), $5.4 millionA Royal Night Out (2015), $5.1 millionThe Proposition (2005), $5.0 millionOranges and Sunshine (2010), $5.0 millionThe Legend of Ochi (2025), $4.9 million

$235 millionfrom the other 23 films with a worldwide figure, 15% of the total

Awards

Six awards and honors from 1996 to 2024, two of them major.

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Emily Watson's awards and nominations, grouped by award
YearAwardFilmResult
BAFTA
2011Best ActressAppropriate AdultWon
Berlin Film Festival
2024Silver Bear for Best Supporting PerformanceSmall Things Like TheseWon
Other honors
2015Donostia AwardWon
1997Bodil Award for Best Actress in a Leading RoleBreaking the WavesWon
1996European Film Award for Best ActressBreaking the WavesWon
Officer of the Order of the British EmpireWon

Online

Official profiles and reference pages.

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