Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982) is a British actress. Her accolades include winning an Empire Award, and receiving nominations for a Critics' Choice Award, two Gemini Awards, and two Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Born in Reading, Berkshire, Dormer had her breakthrough playing the role of Anne Boleyn on the Showtime series The Tudors (2007–10), which earned her widespread acclaim. She made her stage debut in Sweet Nothings (2010) and portrayed the Duchess of York in Madonna's film W.E. (2011) and Private Lorraine in Captain America: The First Avenger (2011). Her performance in After Miss Julie (2012) at the Young Vic was praised.
Dormer earned international attention and acclaim for playing Margaery Tyrell on the HBO series Game of Thrones (2012–2016) and Cressida in the last two parts of The Hunger Games franchise (2014–2015), which rank as her highest-grossing films. She has also portrayed Irene Adler/Moriarty on the CBS series Elementary (2013–15) and Sara Price/Jess Price in The Forest (2016), and voiced Onica in the series The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019).
Early life
Dormer was born in Reading, Berkshire, on 11 February 1982, the daughter of Gary Dormer and Claire Richards, and the sister of Mark and Samantha. Her heritage is Norwegian, Welsh and Irish. She attended Chiltern Edge Secondary School before going to Reading Blue Coat School for sixth form. She says she was bullied at school, but "still, to this day, can't place why".
While at school, Dormer trained in dance at the Allenova School of Dancing. She says she was the "academic hopeful" of the family and was provisionally offered a place to study history at the University of Cambridge, but on her A-level history examination, she did not achieve the A grade she needed, having misread a question. Dormer chose to audition for drama schools and trained at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Career
2005–2011: Early work and breakthrough
Six months after graduating from Webber Douglas, Dormer won the role of Victoria in Casanova. Her film debut, it was released in 2005. The director, Lasse Hallström, was so impressed with Dormer's comedic timing, he had the scriptwriter expand her part. In 2005, Dormer had a small part in Distant Shores. After the filming of Casanova, Dormer was out of work for 10 months, which she ascribes to "bad representation". She was attached to an independent film, although financing caused delays. Removed from the audition circuit, Dormer worked as a waitress and in data entry. She says her out-of-work phase "was the best lesson".
In 2007 and 2008, Dormer played Anne Boleyn in the first two seasons of The Tudors, for which she received highly positive reviews. Robert Abele of LA Weekly wrote: "Natalie Dormer presents a painterly exquisiteness and complexity in her portrayal of Anne Boleyn... her enigmatic, time-halting loveliness is a boon for The Tudors, and damn near worth losing your head over". After her character's death at the end of the second season, The Boston Herald noted: "Dormer gave Anne Boleyn life, making her not just a beautiful schemer, but a rebellious, defiantly independent tragic hero in the tradition of Rebel Without a Cause and Cool Hand Luke... her departure from The Tudors leaves a tremendous void."
In 2008, Dormer played Moira Nicholson in Agatha Christie's Marple: "Why Didn't They Ask Evans?" and appeared in the film City of Life. Dormer's Marple appearance aired in the US in the summer of 2009 as part of the PBS Masterpiece Mystery anthology series. Also in that year, she appeared in Incendiary, but her scenes were cut from the final film. Following Marple, Dormer went on to film some new roles, including the Duchess of York in Madonna's film W.E., Pvt. Lorraine in Captain America: The First Avenger, and Niamh Cranitch in the BBC court drama Silk. She returned to The Tudors as Anne Boleyn in a dream sequence for the fourth and final season in mid-2010.
In March 2010, Dormer debuted at the Young Vic theatre in London as Mizi in the play Sweet Nothings. In The Observer, theatre critic Susannah Clapp praised the performances of the cast and wrote: "Natalie Dormer is lissome as a dirty, delightful gadabout, pushing aside an entire chess game to put down her hat". She received a commendation for her performance at the Ian Charleson Awards 2010. Her next stage role was Pat in .45 at Hampstead Theatre in November 2010.