Known for Acting
Emily Margaret Watson (born 14 January 1967) is an English actress. She began her career on stage and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1992. In 2002, she starred in productions of Twelfth Night and Uncle Vanya at the Donmar Warehouse. She was nominated for the Olivier Award for Best Actress for the latter. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her debut film role as a newlywed in Lars von Trier's Breaking the Waves (1996) and for her portrayal of Jacqueline du Pré in Anand Tucker's Hilary and Jackie (1998). Watson's other films include The Boxer (1997), Angela's Ashes (1999), Gosford Park (2001), Punch-Drunk Love (2002), Red Dragon (2002), The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (2004), Corpse Bride (2005), Miss Potter (2006), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Oranges and Sunshine (2010), War Horse (2011), The Theory of Everything (2014), Kingsman: The Golden Circle (2017), God's Creatures (2022), and Small Things like These (2024). and A Pariare Farm Girl ( 2026). She was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award for her role in the HBO miniseries Chernobyl. She won the British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for playing Janet Leach in the 2011 ITV television biopic Appropriate Adult. She was nominated for the International Emmy Award for Best Actress for the 2017 BBC miniseries Apple Tree Yard. In 2024, she portrayed the lead role of Valya Harkonnen in the HBO science fiction series Dune: Prophecy. Watson is a supporter of the children's charity the NSPCC. In 2004, she was inducted into the society's hall of fame for spearheading the successful campaign to appoint a Children's Commissioner for England. Receiving her award in the crowded House of Commons, she spoke out against the possibility that the Children's Commissioner become a figurehead with little real power.
Born
January 14, 1967 (age 59)
Birthplace
Islington, London, England, UK
Filmography
62 films, 16 shows


Inside Look: Hamnet
2025 · 20m
country: Unknown
An exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at the making of Chloé Zhao's "Hamnet," a powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of one of Shakespeare's most timeless masterpieces.


Hamnet
2025 · 2h 5m
country: United Kingdom
The powerful story of love and loss that inspired the creation of Shakespeare's timeless masterpiece, Hamlet.


Steve
2025 · 1h 32m
country: Ireland
Over one intense day, the devoted head teacher of a last-chance reform school strives to keep his students in line while facing pressures of his own.


The Legend of Ochi
2025 · 1h 35m
country: United States
In a remote village on the island of Carpathia, a shy farm girl named Yuri is raised to fear an elusive animal species known as ochi. But when Yuri discovers a wounded baby ochi has been left behind, she escapes on a quest to bring him home.


Small Things Like These
2024 · 1h 39m
country: Belgium
In 1985, while working as a coal merchant to support his family, Bill Furlong discovers disturbing secrets kept by the local convent and uncovers truths of his own; forcing him to confront his past and the complicit silence of a small Irish town controlled by the Catholic Church.


Midas Man
2024 · 1h 52m
country: United Kingdom
When Brian Epstein set foot in the Cavern Club in November 1961 to watch The Beatles perform, he saw something no one else could – a glimmer of gold. Sharply dressed and well-spoken, Brian was hardly the most obvious radical – but being Jewish, closeted and having grown up as an outsider who had failed at pretty much everything, he was a 26-year old with something to prove and who wanted to tear up the rulebook.


God's Creatures
2022 · 1h 41m
country: Ireland
In a windswept fishing village, a mother is torn between protecting her beloved son and her own sense of right and wrong. A lie she tells for him rips apart their family and close-knit community.


Monster Family 2
2021 · 1h 43m
country: Germany
To free Baba Yaga and Renfield from the clutches of Monster Hunter Mila Starr, the Wishbone Family once more transforms into a Vampire, Frankenstein's Monster, a Mummy and a Werewolf but when aided by their three pet bats, the Monster Family zooms around the world again to save their friends, make new monstrous acquaintances.


King Lear
2018 · 1h 55m
country: United Kingdom
An aging King invites disaster, when he abdicates to his corrupt, toadying daughters, and rejects his loving and honest one.


The Happy Prince
2018 · 1h 41m
country: Italy
In 1895, Oscar Wilde (1854-1900) was the most famous writer in London, and Bosie Douglas, son of the notorious Marquess of Queensberry, was his lover. Accused and convicted of gross indecency, he was imprisoned for two years and subjected to hard labor. Once free, he abandons England to live in France, where he will spend his last years, haunted by memories of the past, poverty and immense sadness.


Weinstein
2018 · 50m
country: United Kingdom
Harvey Weinstein was once one of the most successful producers in Hollywood history, but beneath the glitz and glamour, there was a dark story of threats, bullying and allegations of sexual assault. As Hollywood prepares to celebrate the 90th Academy Awards, Panorama investigates Weinstein's spectacular fall from grace and the extraordinary efforts he made to silence his accusers. This one-hour special, co-produced with PBS Frontline, examines the complex web of lawyers, journalists and private detectives deployed to keep Weinstein's secrets hidden.


On Chesil Beach
2018 · 1h 50m
country: United Kingdom
In 1962 England, a young couple finds their idyllic romance colliding with issues of sexual freedom and societal pressure, leading to an awkward and fateful wedding night.


Kingsman: The Golden Circle
2017 · 2h 21m
country: United Kingdom
When an attack on the Kingsman headquarters takes place and a new villain rises, Eggsy and Merlin are forced to work together with the American agency known as the Statesman to save the world.


Monster Family
2017 · 1h 33m
country: United Kingdom
The Wishbone family are far from happy. In an attempt to reconnect as a family, they plan a fun night out. However, the plan backfires when they are cursed and all turned into Monsters.


The Dresser
2015 · 1h 49m
country: United Kingdom
One fateful night in a small English regional theatre during World War II a troupe of touring actors stage a production of Shakespeares King Lear. Bombs are falling, sirens are wailing, the curtain is up in an hour but the actor/manager Sir who is playing Lear is nowhere to be seen. His dresser Norman must scramble to keep the production alive but will Sir turn up in time and if he does will he be able to perform that night? The Dresser is a wickedly funny and deeply moving story of friendship and loyalty as Sir reflects on his lifelong accomplishments and seeks to reconcile his turbulent friendships with those in his employ before the final curtain.


Everest
2015 · 2h 1m
country: Iceland
Inspired by the incredible events surrounding a treacherous attempt to reach the summit of the world's highest mountain, "Everest" documents the awe-inspiring journey of two different expeditions challenged beyond their limits by one of the fiercest snowstorms ever encountered by mankind. Their mettle tested by the harshest of elements found on the planet, the climbers will face nearly impossible obstacles as a lifelong obsession becomes a breathtaking struggle for survival.


A Song for Jenny
2015 · 1h 17m
country: United Kingdom
A Song For Jenny is the true story of Julie Nicholson's response to her daughter Jenny’s murder in the July 7th bombing at Edgware Road tube station. Starring Emily Watson as Julie, A Song For Jenny details the dramatic and profound impact of violence on one woman and a family.


A Royal Night Out
2015 · 1h 37m
country: Belgium
The re-imagining of VE Day in 1945, when Princess Elizabeth and her sister, Margaret were allowed out from Buckingham Palace for the night to join in the celebrations, and encounter romance and danger.


Little Boy
2015 · 1h 46m
country: United States
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father.


Molly Moon and the Incredible Book of Hypnotism
2015 · 1h 38m
country: United Kingdom
An orphan who practices hypnosis faces off against a bank robber who wants her book on the art form.


Testament of Youth
2015 · 2h 9m
country: Denmark
Testament of Youth is a powerful story of love, war and remembrance, based on the First World War memoir by Vera Brittain, which has become the classic testimony of that war from a woman’s point of view. A searing journey from youthful hopes and dreams to the edge of despair and back again, it’s a film about young love, the futility of war and how to make sense of the darkest times.


The Theory of Everything
2014 · 2h 3m
country: United Kingdom
Once a healthy, active young man, Hawking received an earth-shattering diagnosis at 21 years of age. With Jane fighting tirelessly by his side, Stephen embarks on his most ambitious scientific work, studying the very thing he now has precious little of – time.


The Book Thief
2013 · 2h 11m
country: Germany
While subjected to the horrors of WWII Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. Under the stairs in her home, a Jewish refugee is being sheltered by her adoptive parents.


Some Girl(s)
2013 · 1h 30m
country: United States
On the eve of his wedding, a successful writer travels around the country to meet up with ex-lovers in an attempt to make amends for his wrongdoings.


Belle
2013 · 1h 45m
country: United Kingdom
Dido Elizabeth Bell, the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy admiral, plays an important role in the campaign to abolish slavery in England.


Anna Karenina
2012 · 2h 9m
country: United Kingdom
In Imperial Russia, Anna, wife of the officer Karenin, goes to Moscow to visit her brother. On the way, she meets charming cavalry officer Vronsky, to whom she's immediately attracted. But in St. Petersburg’s high society, a relationship like this could destroy a woman’s reputation.


War Horse
2011 · 2h 26m
country: United States
On the brink of the First World War, Albert's beloved horse Joey is sold to the Cavalry by his father. Against the backdrop of the Great War, Joey begins an odyssey full of danger, joy, and sorrow, and he transforms everyone he meets along the way. Meanwhile, Albert, unable to forget his equine friend, searches the battlefields of France to find Joey and bring him home.


Meerkats 3D
2011 · 45m
country: Unknown
Narrated by Oscar-nominated actress Emily Watson, MEERKATS 3D takes audiences on a journey with a family of meerkats as they cope with the twists and turns of life in the Kalahari Desert. The film begins as matriarch Klinky’s most recent litter emerges from the burrow for the first time. Klinky and her family, including elder children and regular babysitters Ms. Bean and Harry, must endure turf wars from rival families, attacks from vicious predators big and small and internal family turmoil. The survival of this clan hinges on the meerkat golden rule: Stick together, and keep calling.


Oranges and Sunshine
2010 · 1h 44m
country: Australia
The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Almost singlehandedly, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.


Cemetery Junction
2010 · 1h 34m
country: United Kingdom
In 1970s England, three blue-collar friends spend their days joking, drinking, fighting and chasing girls. Freddie wants to leave their working-class world but cool, charismatic Bruce and lovable loser Snork are happy with life the way it is. When Freddie gets a new job as a door-to-door salesman and bumps into his old school sweetheart Julie, the gang are forced to make choices that will change their lives for ever.


Within the Whirlwind
2009 · 1h 50m
country: Germany
During Stalin's reign of terror, Evgenia Ginzburg, a literature professor, was sent to 10 years hard labor in a gulag in Siberia. Having lost everything, and no longer wishing to live, she meets the camp doctor and begins to come back to life.


Cold Souls
2009 · 1h 41m
country: United States
Paul is agonising over his interpretation of 'Uncle Vanya' and, paralysed by anxiety, stumbles upon a solution via a New Yorker article about a high-tech company promising to alleviate suffering by extracting souls. He enlists their services—only to discover that his soul is the shape and size of a chickpea.


Synecdoche, New York
2008 · 2h 4m
country: United States
A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.


Fireflies in the Garden
2008 · 1h 39m
country: United States
The semi-autobiographical story centers on the complexities of love and commitment in a family torn apart when faced with an unexpected tragedy.


The Memory Keeper's Daughter
2008 · 1h 30m
country: United States
During a blizzard in 1964, Dr. David Henry delivers his son Paul with the help of nurse Caroline. But when Henry realizes his wife is also carrying a girl with Down syndrome, he hands the second child over to Caroline without his wife's knowledge. Henry's fateful decision yields grave consequences for his family over the next 20 years.


The Water Horse
2007 · 1h 52m
country: United States
A lonely boy discovers a mysterious egg that hatches a sea creature of Scottish legend.


Miss Potter
2006 · 1h 32m
country: United Kingdom
Beatrix Potter, the author of the beloved children's book "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", struggles for love, happiness and success.
Crusade in Jeans
2006 · 2h 5m
country: Netherlands
Dolf a 15 year old boy is sent back in time by a timemachine. Accidentally he is sent back to the Middle Ages. He is rescued by children who are part of a childrens' crusade, on their way to rescue Jeruzalem. During the trip Dolf finds out the danger is not coming from outside the crusade, but from within.


The Proposition
2005 · 1h 44m
country: Australia
In 1880s Australia, a lawman offers renegade Charlie Burns a difficult choice. In order to save his younger brother from the gallows, Charlie must hunt down and kill his older brother, who is wanted for rape and murder. Venturing into one of the Outback's most inhospitable regions, Charlie faces a terrible moral dilemma that can end only in violence.


Separate Lies
2005 · 1h 25m
country: United Kingdom
Following a traffic accident, things take a turn when the victim's identity is revealed.


Corpse Bride
2005 · 1h 17m
country: United Kingdom
In a 19th-century European village, a young man about to be married is whisked away to the underworld and wed to a mysterious corpse bride, while his real bride waits bereft in the land of the living.


Wah-Wah
2005 · 2h
country: Swaziland
Set at the end of the 1960s, as Swaziland is about to receive independence from United Kingdom, the film follows the young Ralph Compton, at 12, through his parents' traumatic separation, till he's 14.


The Life and Death of Peter Sellers
2004 · 2h 2m
country: United Kingdom
The turbulent personal and professional life of actor Peter Sellers (1925-1980), from his beginnings as a comic performer on BBC Radio to his huge success as one of the greatest film comedians of all time; an obsessive artist so dedicated to his work that neglected his loved ones and sacrificed part of his own personality to convincingly create that of his many memorable characters.


A Director's Journey: The Making of 'Red Dragon'
2003 · 40m
country: Unknown
This documentary follows director Brett Ratner through nearly every stage of production for the film Red Dragon (2002).


Equilibrium
2002 · 1h 47m
country: United States
In a dystopian future, a totalitarian regime maintains peace by subduing the populace with a drug, and displays of emotion are punishable by death. A man in charge of enforcing the law rises to overthrow the system.


Ballchewer
2002 · 1m
country: United States
Part of Adam Sandler’s informal “Meatball Series,” Ballchewer (2002) was shot during the making of Punch-Drunk Love. The short shows Luis Guzmán playing chess with Sandler’s pit bull, Meatball, while Emily Watson brings them beers.


Punch-Drunk Love
2002 · 1h 36m
country: United States
A socially awkward and volatile small business owner meets the love of his life after being threatened by a gang of scammers.


Red Dragon
2002 · 2h 4m
country: Germany
Former FBI Agent Will Graham, who was once almost killed by the savage Hannibal 'The Cannibal' Lecter, now has no choice but to face him again, as it seems Lecter is the only one who can help Graham track down a new serial killer.


The Making of Gosford Park
2002 · 20m
country: United States
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of Robert Altman's 2001 film 'Gosford Park'. Cast and crew relate some of their experiences with making the film.


Gosford Park
2001 · 2h 17m
country: Italy
In 1930s England, a group of pretentious rich and famous gather together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.


The Luzhin Defence
2000 · 1h 49m
country: France
Based upon the novel by Vladimir Nabokov, a chess grandmaster travels to Italy in the 1920s to play in a tournament and falls in love.


Trixie
2000 · 1h 56m
country: United States
Passed over at work and numbed after she witnesses a colleague's murder, security guard Trixie Zurbo takes a relatively easy job at a lakefront casino, working undercover keeping an eye out for pickpockets. Trixie meets an assortment of colorful regulars: Kirk Stans, the casino's lounge act who drinks too much and is a dead-on mimic; Ruby Pearli , a glamorous, young and knowledgeable barfly; and Dex Lang, a raffish ladies' man who pays attention to Trixie in a way that's hard for her to ignore.


Angela's Ashes
1999 · 2h 25m
country: Ireland
An Irish Catholic family returns to 1930s Limerick after a child's death in America. The unemployed I.R.A. veteran father struggles with poverty, prejudice, and alcoholism as the family endures harsh slum conditions.


Cradle Will Rock
1999 · 2h 12m
country: United States
A true story of politics and art in the 1930s USA, centered around a leftist musical drama and attempts to stop its production.


Hilary and Jackie
1998 · 2h 1m
country: United Kingdom
The tragic story of world-renowned cellist Jacqueline du Pré, as told from the point of view of her sister, flautist Hilary du Pré-Finzi.


Metroland
1998 · 1h 45m
country: France
In late-1970s suburban London, Chris and Marion have settled into a comfortable yet all-too-predictable middle-class existence. Chris receives an unexpected visit from his free-spirited friend Toni, a reunion that reminds him of a more carefree time in 1960s Paris. Now, with lingering doubts about his marriage bubbling up, Chris must make the choice between revisiting his youthful abandon with Toni or facing the here and now with Marion.
In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema
In Doctor von Trier's Laboratory: Back to the Magic of Cinema
1998 · 1h 5m
country: Germany
German/French TV documentary portraying Danish film director Lars von Trier.


The Boxer
1997 · 1h 54m
country: Ireland
Nineteen-year-old Danny Flynn is imprisoned for his involvement with the I.R.A. in Belfast. He leaves behind his family and his sixteen-year-old girlfriend, Maggie Hamill. Fourteen years later, Danny is released from prison and returns to his old working class neighborhood to resume his life as a boxer.


Tranceformer: A Portrait of Lars von Trier
1997 · 54m
country: Sweden
A portrait of Denmark's most acclaimed and controversial director, Lars von Trier. A meeting with von Trier on a private level as well as with his film universe. Filmmaker Stig Björkman follow von Trier during a period of more than two years, meet him at work, at home and at leisure. Written by Fredrik Klasson


The Mill on the Floss
1997 · 1h 56m
country: United Kingdom
Lawyer Wakem takes the mill on the river Floss away from Edward Tulliver (whose ancestors have owned it for 300 years) and becomes the worst enemy of Tulliver's family. When Edward's daughter, Maggie, grows up, she falls in love with Wakem's son Philip. However, her brother Tom (true to the memory of their father) forbids her to meet him again. When she visits her cousin Lucy Deane, Lucy's fiance, Stephen Guest, falls in love with Maggie at first sight, further complicating matters.


Breaking the Waves
1996 · 2h 39m
country: Denmark
In a small, conservative Scottish village, an oilman is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more, when he urges her to have sex with another.
A Summer Day's Dream
A Summer Day's Dream
1994 · 1h 45m
country: Unknown
Adaptation of the play by J B Priestley. After a nuclear war, the nations have combined to set up a World Government. An old man who lives quietly in the country finds his peace threatened by a visit from three World Government figures.