Join us for a 90-minute Career Retrospective with actor Emily Watson 

EMILY WATSON is one of the industry’s most acclaimed talents with a diverse career spanning television, film and theatre. This was highlighted in 2015 when she was appointed an OBE honour for her Services to Drama. 

In 2025, Emily will star opposite Jessie Buckley, Paul Mescal and Joe Alwyn in HAMNET, Chloé Zhao’s highly anticipated adaptation of Maggie O’Farrell’s award-winning historical novel. The film is a fictionalised account of William Shakespeare's son, Hamnet, who died at the age of 11 from the bubonic plague. The story explores the profound grief experienced by his parents, and the impact of this loss on their family and on Shakespeare's later writing of Hamlet. HAMNET is produced by both Steven Spielberg and Sam Mendes. The film will premiere at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival, followed by a limited US theatrical release on 26th November and expands on 5th December.

Emily will also appear alongside Cillian Murphy in the upcoming Netflix drama Steve, directed by Tim Mielants. Set in the mid-’90s, Steve is a reimagining of Max Porter's Sunday Times bestseller Shy. The film follows a pivotal day in the life of head teacher Steve (Murphy) and his students at a last-chance reform school amid a world that has forsaken them. The film will also premiere in the Platform Prize section at the 2025 Toronto International Film Festival and will release globally on Netflix on 3rd October. 

Most recently, Emily starred as the lead, opposite Olivia Williams and Mark Strong, in the HBO/Max series Dune: Prophecy. 

Last year, saw Emily star in the film adaptation of Small Things Like These alongside Cillian Murphy, for which she was awarded the prestigious Silver Bear for ‘Best Supporting Actress’ at the Berlinale. She also appeared in the A24 fantasy epic, The Legend of Ochi, opposite Willem Dafoe, Finn Wolfhard and Helena Zengel. 

Her notable film credits include Lars von Trier’s Breaking the Waves, A24’s God’s Creatures opposite Paul Mescal, Richard Eyre’s BBC production of King Lear, On Chesil Beach, Hilary and Jackie, Gosford Park, Punch-Drunk Love, Red Dragon, War Horse, The Book Thief, Testament of Youth, Everest, multiple award-winning The Theory of Everything, Molly Moon Anna Karenina, Bella, Some Girls, Cemetery Junction, Miss Potter, The Waterhorse, The Corpse Bride, Angela’s Ashes, The Boxer, Midas Man and Metroland. Emily’s television credits include Chernobyl alongside Jared Harris and Stellan Skarsgård, The Dresser, Apple Tree Yard, ITV mini-series Too Close, HBO’s interactive drama The Third Day opposite Jude Law and Naomi Harris, the BBC/PBS adaptation of Little Women and the Emmy nominated drama series Genius. 

Emily’s theatre credits are extensive, including many productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company. In 2002, she received critical acclaim for her starring roles in Uncle Vanya and Twelfth Night at the Donmar Warehouse. The shows ran concurrently and were both directed by Sam Mendes. Accolades include the Joseph Plateau Honorary Award at Ghent Film Festival (2024), the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award’ at the San Sebastian International Film Festival (2015) and the ‘Best Actress’ BAFTA award (2011) for her role in Appropriate Adult. Emily’s breakout role in Lars Von Teir’s Breaking the Waves earned her the European Film Award for ‘Actress of the Year’, the Evening Standard British Film Award for ‘Most Promising Newcomer’, the London Film Critics' Award for ‘Best British Newcomer of the Year’, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association's ‘New Generation Award’ and the New York Film Critics Circle Award for ‘Best Actress’. She also received ‘Best Actress’ award nominations for the Academy Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTA Film awards for this role. Additionally, 

Emily received both Emmy and Golden Globe nominations and universal critical acclaim for her work in the HBO/Sky mini-series Chernobyl in 2019.

Run time: 90 minutes