Lia Williams

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Not to be confused with Leah Williamson.
Lia Williams
Born (1964-11-26) 26 November 1964 (age 59)
Birkenhead, Merseyside, formerly Cheshire, England
Occupations
  • Actress
  • director
Years active1984–present

Lia Williams (born 26 November 1964) is an English actress and director, on stage, in film and television. She has had television roles in The Crown (playing Wallis Simpson), in May 33rd (2004) for which she was nominated for a BAFTA, and in The Missing (2016), Kiri (2016), His Dark Materials (2019–2022) and The Capture (2019–2021).

On stage, she was twice nominated for

Laurence Olivier Awards in The Revengers' Comedies (1992), and Skylight
(1997).

Early life

Williams was born in Birkenhead. Her first job in 1984 was understudying in the play Daisy Pulls It Off in the West End. She then took over a main role, and was talent-spotted by Alan Ayckbourn.[1]

Theatre career

Williams's breakthrough performance came in 1991 when she appeared in The Revengers' Comedies,[1] for which she won the Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer,[2] and a nomination for Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance in 1992.[3]

In 1993, she created the role of Carol in the London production of

David Hare's Skylight,[4] (Olivier and Tony Award nominations).[5] In 2001, Williams appeared again in the West End and on Broadway, playing Ruth in Harold Pinter's The Homecoming.[4] Her long-standing collaboration with Harold Pinter included roles in The Collection, Celebration, The Room, The Lover, The Hothouse and Old Times.[4][5]

Other leading theatre performances include

Henryk Ibsen's The Lady from the Sea,[5] and Pinter's Old Times, in which she alternated the roles of Anna and Kate with Kristin Scott Thomas.[4]

As Clytemnestra in Robert Icke's Oresteia Williams was nominated for both Olivier and Evening Standard Awards. Also for Robert Icke, she alternated the roles of Elizabeth I and Mary, Queen of Scots with Juliet Stevenson in Mary Stuart.[1]

In 2019, she played the role of Hannah Jelkes in the West End theatre production of Tennessee Williams' The Night of the Iguana at the Noël Coward Theatre opposite Clive Owen.[4]

In Dublin, Williams appeared at the Gate Theatre as Alma in The Eccentricities of a Nightingale and Blanche DuBois in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire.[4] She won The Irish Times best Actress Award for both roles.[1]

Film and television

In 1993, Williams made her film debut in Michael Winner's Dirty Weekend.[6] Winner chose her after seeing her in an Alan Ayckbourn play.[2] Subsequent film appearances have included supporting roles in Firelight (1997),[6] Shot Through the Heart (1998),[6] The King Is Alive (2000),[6] Girl from Rio (2001), and The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey (2007).[6]

Leading television roles include Seaforth starring Williams and

ITV comedy drama series Doc Martin with Martin Clunes.[6]

Williams played the lead role in May 33rd for the BBC,[5] for which she won a FIPA Award for Best Actress and was nominated for a BAFTA.[1]

She played Wallis, Duchess of Windsor in the Netflix series The Crown,[6] Nadia Herz in the second series of The Missing (2016),[6] and starred in Kiri,[5] a Channel 4 series, alongside Sarah Lancashire and Steven Mackintosh.[5]

In 2022, she played Dr Cooper in

Gemma Garland in the two series of the BBC mystery thriller The Capture.[6]

Director

Williams has been directing short films since 2002, her debut being Feathers (2002), which was based on a short story by

BAFTA Film Awards.[8]

In 2009, Williams directed Dog Alone,

British Sky Broadcasting's Ten Minute Tales season. In 2016 she directed Nanabozhung, a feature-length documentary about the Batchewana First Nations, Canada.[7]

On stage, she has also directed The Matchbox,

Tricycle Theatre and Ashes to Ashes as part of the Harold Pinter Season in the West End (2019).[7] In 2021, Williams directed an acclaimed production of Doubt by John Patrick Shanley at Chichester Festival Theatre, West Sussex.[7]

Personal life

Williams lives in Portobello, London. Her son, Joshua James, is also an actor. They recently worked together in The Vortex at Chichester Festival Theatre, in which they played mother and son.

Work

Selected stage credits

Year Play Role Awards and Nominations
1991 The Revengers' Comedies Karen Critics' Circle Theatre Award for Most Promising Newcomer,[2]

Nominated - Laurence Olivier Award for Best Comedy Performance[3]

1993 Oleanna Carol
1996 Skylight[9] Kyra Hollis
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play
Nominated – Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress
Nominated – Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play[5]
2001 The Homecoming Ruth [5]
2005 As You Like It Rosalind [5]
2007 Absurd Person Singular Eva
2008 The Lady from the Sea Ellida Wangel [5]
2009 God of Carnage Véronique
2010 Earthquakes in London Sarah
2013 Old Times Kate/Anna
2014
The Father
 		Anne
2015 Oresteia[5] Clytemnestra Nominated - Laurence Olivier Award for Best Actress

Nominated - Evening Standard Award for Best Actress

2016 Mary Stuart
Queen Elizabeth I / Mary, Queen of Scots
2018 The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie Jean Brodie
2019 The Night of the Iguana Hannah Jelkes
2022 John Gabriel Borkman Ella Rentheim

Selected television credits

Year Title Role Awards and Nominations
1984 Annika Karen
1992 Nightingales Mary
1993 Mr Wroe's Virgins Joanna
1994 Seaforth Paula Longman
1997 The Uninvited Melissa Gates
2001 The Russian Bride Natasha Cherniavskaya Festival International de Programmes Audiovisuels Award for Best Actress
2003 Sparkling Cyanide Ruth Lessing
2004 May 33rd Ella Wilson Nominated –
British Academy Television Award for Best Actress
Nominated – Royal Television Society Award for Best Actress
2005
A Touch Of Frost
 		Sylvia Ford
2006 Marple: By the Pricking of My Thumbs Nellie Bligh
2009 Doc Martin Edith Montgomery Series Regular, Season 4
2012 Secret State Laura Duchenne
2013 Lewis Emma Barnes Guest Star, 2 episodes
2015 Midsomer Murders Maggie Markham Guest Star, 1 episode
2016–2017, 2022 The Crown Wallis, Duchess of Windsor Main role (
Season 5
)
2016 The Missing Nadia Herz
2019–present The Capture DSU Gemma Garland
2019; 2022 His Dark Materials Dr Cooper
2020 Riviera Dr Emilie Mathieu Season 3, 2 episodes
2021 Death in Paradise Grace Verdinikov Guest Star, 2 episodes
2022 The Lazarus Project Ambassador Belov 2 Episodes
2024 Mr Bates vs The Post Office Paula Vennells
TBA The Day of the Jackal Isabel Kirby Upcoming miniseries

Selected filmography

Year Title Role
1993 Dirty Weekend Bella
1996 Different for Girls Defence Solicitor
1997 The Fifth Province Diana de Brie
Firelight Constance
1998 Shot Through the Heart Maida
2000
The King is Alive
 		Amanda
2001
Chica de Rio
 		Cathy
2007 Blanche-Neige, la suite Sleeping Beauty
The Christmas Miracle of Jonathan Toomey Joan Tyler
2017 The Foreigner Katherine Davies
2021 Benediction Edith Sitwell
2022 Living Mrs. Smith
2024 Scoop Fran Unsworth

References

  1. ^ a b c d e Lawrence, Ben (17 January 2018). "Lia Williams interview: 'Elizabeth I was just like Lady Gaga'". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on 15 May 2023.
  2. ^
    ISBN 1861058403
    .
  3. ^ a b "Olivier Awards 1992". westendtheatre.com. 1992.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g "Lia Williams - Past productions". theatricalia.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l "Lia Williams". westendtheatre.com. 22 August 2022.
  6. ^ a b c d e f g h i j "Lia Williams Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  7. ^ a b c d e f "Lia Williams Director". independenttalent.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Lia Williams' Tender Prison Drama 'Samovar' Poetically Imagines the Defiant Survival of Raoul Wallenberg". directorsnotes.com. Retrieved 22 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Skylight". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved 7 August 2011.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lia_Williams&oldid=1217670516"