Essie Davis
Born: 1970-01-19 in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
Known For: Acting
Biography
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 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.
Filmography
2025
- Alien: Earth as Dame Sylvia
- Apple Cider Vinegar as Natalie Dal-Bello
2024
- One Day as Alison
2023
- Faraway Downs as Cath Carney
- Fungi: The Web of Life as Narrator (voice)
2022
- Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities as Nancy Bradley
2021
- Nitram as Helen
- The Justice of Bunny King as Bunny King
2020
- Babyteeth as Anna
- Miss Fisher and the Crypt of Tears as Phryne Fisher
2019
- Lambs of God as Sister Iphigenia
- True History of the Kelly Gang as Ellen Kelly
- Emu Runner ... (Thanks)
2017
- Philip K. Dick's Electric Dreams as Vera Herrick
- The White Princess as Elizabeth Woodville
- The Last Post as Martha Franklin
2016
- Assassin's Creed as Mary Lynch
- Mindhorn as Patricia Deville
2014
- The Babadook as Amelia Vanek
- A Poet in New York as Caitlin Thomas
2012
- Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries as Phryne Fisher
2011
- Game of Thrones as Lady Crane
- The Slap as Anouk
- Cloudstreet as Dolly Pickles
- Burning Man as Karen
2010
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole as Marella (voice)
- South Solitary as Alma Stanley
- The Wedding Party as Jane
2008
- Australia as Katherine
- Hey Hey It's Esther Blueburger as Grace Blueburger
2006
- Charlotte's Web as Mrs. Arable
- Sweeney Todd as Mrs Lovett
- The Silence as Juliet Moore
2005
- Isolation as Orla
2003
- The Matrix Reloaded as Maggie
- The Matrix Revolutions as Maggie
- Girl with a Pearl Earring as Catharina Bolnes Vermeer
- Code 46 as Doctor
- After the Deluge as Beth
- After the Deluge as Beth
- The Pact as Helene Davis
2002
- Young Lions as Julie Morgan
1998
- Kings in Grass Castles as Mary Costello
- The Sound of One Hand Clapping as Jean
1997
- Blackrock as Det. Gilhooley
- The Ripper as Evelyn Bookman
- River Street as Wendy Davis
- The Two-Wheeled Time Machine as Young alice
1996
- Lilian's Story as Zara
1994
- Halifax f.p. as Alison Blount
- The Custodian as Jilly
1966
- Play School as Self