Natalie Press
| Natalie Press | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Natalie Press (2014) | |
| Born |
15 August 1980 London, England |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001 – present |
Natalie Press (born 15 August 1980) is an English actress nominated for a Best Actress BAFTA for her role in the 2010 ensemble three-hour BBC piece Five Daughters, directed by Phillipa Lowthorpe. She is known for her award-winning performance in the 2004 film My Summer of Love and a number of short and feature length independent films, including Wasp, which won the 2005 Academy Award for Live Action Short Film.
Personal life
Press is from North London. She was brought up in the Jewish religion (her father was born Jewish and her mother converted to Judaism from Catholicism).[1][2] After studying Fine Art at university, she worked as an office temp and as a video store clerk on Fulham Road until the success of My Summer of Love.
Career
Press' first credited screen role was in a 2001 episode of the BBC television series Holby City. Her film debut and first lead role was in the short film Wasp (2003), which went on to win the Academy Award for best short film in 2005. She was recognised by the London Film Critics Circle and the Evening Standard British Film Awards for her work in My Summer of Love (2004) and nominated for a European Film Award in the category of Best European actress the same year. She made her professional stage debut in The Weather, a new play Clare Pollard, performed as part of the Royal Court Theatre's 2004 Young Playwrights Season. In 2005, Press appeared as Caddy Turveydrop (née Jellyby) in the acclaimed BBC serialisation of Dickens' Bleak House. Also in 2005 she appeared in the BBC television drama Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle.
In 2006, Press starred in Josh Appignanesi's feature film Song of Songs, which won a commendation in the Michael Powell Award for best British film 2005 at the Edinburgh festival. Later that year she also starred in the same director's short film Ex Memoria - produced by Oscar-winning producer Mia Bays - a film about a woman with Alzheimer's disease. Press starred as the young version of the character Eva. The short was nominated in the category of Best UK short at the British Independent Film Awards.
In 2006 Press appeared in Red Road (also by the director of Wasp) (the first film in the proposed Advance Party trilogy) which won the Jury Prize at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival and in the two-part drama series Damage which was broadcast on Irish television. In the same year she won the Glamour magazine award for best newcomer in association with Nokia.
Press appeared in the short film Son (2008) by BAFTA winner Daniel Mulloy, which went on to win a slew of international awards including Best British Short Film at the Edinburgh International Film Festival in the UK. She also starred in Inseparable opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, and in In Transit, a World War II drama set in Russia which also features John Malkovich. Forthcoming films include Knife Edge and The Sea Change.
On 8 March 2007, Press performed in an Art Plus drama fundraising event at the Whitechapel Art Gallery opposite Rhys Ifans, Martine McCutcheon and Samantha Morton. In 2007 she was, alongside Cecilia Dean and Helena Christensen, one of the new faces of the Japanese clothing label Uniqlo and featured in the music video for Turin Brakes' single "Stalker". She made her radio debut in October 2007 in the BBC Radio play Wes Bell by Matthew Broughton.
In 2010 she was nominated for Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female for her movie Fifty Dead Men Walking.
Press worked on period love story Where I Belong (2012) in the leading role of Rosemarie, starring opposite Johannes Krisch.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Gathering, TheThe Gathering | Female Van Pusher | |
| 2003 | Spiritual Rampage | Short film | |
| 2003 | Wasp | Zoë | Short film Stockholm Film Festival: Honorable Mention |
| 2004 | Mercy | Alison | Short film |
| 2004 | My Summer of Love | Mona | Evening Standard British Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer (shared with Emily Blunt) London Film Critics Circle Award for British Newcomer of the Year Motovun Film Festival: Special Mention (shared with Emily Blunt) Nominated — British Independent Film Award for Best Actress Nominated — European Film Award for Best Actress Nominated — London Film Critics Circle Award for British Actress of the Year |
| 2005 | Chromophobia | Fiona | |
| 2005 | Animal | Pregnant Woman | |
| 2005 | Song of Songs | Ruth Cohen | |
| 2005 | Undertaker, TheThe Undertaker | Young Woman | Short film |
| 2006 | Ex Memoria | Young Eva Lipschitz | Short film |
| 2006 | Red Road | April | |
| 2007 | Inseparable | Jean | Short film |
| 2007 | Nightwatching | Marieke | |
| 2007 | Son | Mother | Short film |
| 2008 | In Transit | Zina | |
| 2008 | Cass | Elaine | |
| 2008 | End, TheThe End | Sarah | Short film |
| 2008 | Fifty Dead Men Walking | Lara | Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female |
| 2009 | Knife Edge | Emma | |
| 2010 | Pit, TheThe Pit | Rosie | Short film |
| 2010 | Just Before Dawn | Chloe | Short film |
| 2010 | Donkeys | April Hayley | |
| 2011 | Island | Nikki Black | |
| 2012 | Ill Manors | Katya | |
| 2012 | Where I Belong | Rosemarie | Post-production |
| 2015 | Suffragette | Emily Davison |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Holby City | Claire Bradley | Episode: "Mother Knows Best" |
| 2002 | Is Harry on the Boat? | Piggy | Episode: "1.2" |
| 2003 | Peter in Paradise | Maria | TV movie |
| 2004 | Silent Witness | Nicola Butler | Episode: "Death by Water: Part 1" Episode: "Death by Water: Part 2" |
| 2004 | Outlaws | Laura | Episode: "Sins of the Father" |
| 2004 | Lie with Me | Sheena Cast | TV movie |
| 2005 | Mr. Harvey Lights a Candle | Helen Taylor | TV movie |
| 2005 | Bleak House | Caddy Turveydrop | TV miniseries |
| 2007 | Damage | Emma Cahill | TV movie Nominated — Monte-Carlo Television Festival: Television Films - Best Performance by an Actress |
| 2010 | Five Daughters | Paula Clennell | TV miniseries Nominated — BAFTA TV Award for Best Actress Nominated — Royal Television Society Award for Best Actor (Female) |
| 2011 | Jury II, TheThe Jury II | Lucy Cartwright | 5 episodes |