Indira Varma
Encyclopedia
Indira Varma is an English actress. Her first major role was in Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....

. She has gone on to appear in the television series Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...

and Human Target.

Early life and background

Varma is the only child of an India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...

n father and a Swiss mother who was part Genoese
Genoa
Genoa |Ligurian]] Zena ; Latin and, archaically, English Genua) is a city and an important seaport in northern Italy, the capital of the Province of Genoa and of the region of Liguria....

 Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...

. Before her rise to fame, she was a member of Musical Youth Theatre Company
Musical Youth Theatre Company
Musical Youth Theatre Company was an English youth theatre company founded in 1987 in Bath, Somerset in the South West of England.Founded by Greg Vere, it existed for fifteen years until 2002 and produced a number of shows and notable members...

. She graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art is a drama school located in London, United Kingdom. It is generally regarded as one of the most renowned drama schools in the world, and is one of the oldest drama schools in the United Kingdom, having been founded in 1904.RADA is an affiliate school of the...

 (RADA) in London in 1995.

Career

Varma has had a number of television and film roles, including Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....

in 1997 and Bride and Prejudice
Bride and Prejudice
Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 romantic musical film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges is a Bollywood-style adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue. The film released in...

in 2004, and the young Roman wife Niobe
Niobe of the Voreni
Niobe, wife of Lucius Vorenus, is a fictional character in the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series Rome, played by Indira Varma.-Personality:...

 during the first season of BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

/HBO's historical drama series Rome
Rome (TV series)
Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...

. Her character appeared briefly in the second season of the award-winning series when it aired on Sunday, 14 January 2007.

In 2006, she played Suzie Costello in the first and eighth episodes, "Everything Changes
Everything Changes (Torchwood)
"Everything Changes" is the first episode of the British science fiction television programme Torchwood, which was first broadcast on 22 October 2006.-Synopsis:Police constable Gwen Cooper comes across the mysterious organisation known as Torchwood...

" and "They Keep Killing Suzie
They Keep Killing Suzie
"They Keep Killing Suzie" is an episode in the British science fiction television series Torchwood. It is the eighth episode of the first series, which was broadcast on 3 December 2006.-Synopsis:...

", of BBC Three
BBC Three
BBC Three is a television network from the BBC broadcasting via digital cable, terrestrial, IPTV and satellite platforms. The channel's target audience includes those in the 16-34 year old age group, and has the purpose of providing "innovative" content to younger audiences, focusing on new talent...

's science-fiction drama series Torchwood
Torchwood
Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...

. She appeared as Dr. Adrienne Holland in the CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 medical drama 3 lbs
3 lbs
3 lbs is a drama that aired on CBS from November 14 to 28, 2006, replacing the cancelled series Smith. The show itself was then canceled three weeks later due to poor ratings....

which premiered on 14 November 2006 and was cancelled on 30 November 2006 due to poor ratings. Varma guest starred in the fourth season premier of hit US detective drama Bones
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...

as Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard
Scotland Yard is a metonym for the headquarters of the Metropolitan Police Service of London, UK. It derives from the location of the original Metropolitan Police headquarters at 4 Whitehall Place, which had a rear entrance on a street called Great Scotland Yard. The Scotland Yard entrance became...

 Inspector Cate Pritchard.
She also played the role of Zoe Luther in the six part BBC drama Luther
Luther (TV series)
Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as the title character Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. A first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC One from 4 May to 8 June 2010. The second series of four episodes was shown on BBC One in summer 2011...

.

Varma played the role of Ilsa Pucci in the second season of the Fox television series Human Target until the show was cancelled on May 10, 2011.

Filmography

  • Clancy's Kitchen
    Clancy's Kitchen
    Clancy's Kitchen is a 1996 gay-themed film directed by Duncan Roy and starring Mark Aiken, Indira Varma and Rocky Marshall..-Plot introduction:...

    (1996) .... Kitty
  • Crucial Tales: Phoenix (1996) TV mini-series .... Manreet
  • Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
    Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love
    Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love is a 1996 American drama film directed by Mira Nair. The film takes its title from the ancient Indian text, the Kama Sutra, but this only serves as a common link between the characters....

    (1996) .... Maya
  • Sixth Happiness
    Sixth Happiness
    Sixth Happiness is a 1997 film directed by Indian director Waris Hussein. It is based on the autobiography of Firdaus Kanga entitled Trying To Grow. Kanga played himself in this film about Britain, India, race and sex....

    (1997) .... Amy
  • Jinnah
    Jinnah (film)
    - Awards :Jinnah received the Silver Remi Award at the WorldFest-Houston International Film Festival in 1999.- Reviews :* * * * * - External links :* *...

    (1998) .... Ruttie Jinnah
  • Psychos
    Psychos (TV series)
    Psychos is a six-part British television drama series focusing upon a young medical team and their patients. First broadcast on Channel 4 in 1999, it was written by David Wolstencroft and directed by John McKay and Andy Wilson. It starred Douglas Henshall as Dr...

    (1999) TV mini-series .... Dr. Martine Nichol
  • Zehn wahnsinnige Tage (2000) (TV) .... Ra
  • Other People's Children
    Other People's Children (TV series)
    Other People's Children is a four-episode 2000 British television drama, adapted by Leigh Jackson from Joanna Trollope's 1998 novel of the same name...

    (unknown episodes, 2000) .... Amy
  • Sci-Fright (unknown episodes, 2000) .... Host – Nina (2000)
  • In a Land of Plenty
    In A Land Of Plenty
    In A Land Of Plenty is a 10-episode British television drama serial produced by Sterling Pictures and Talkback for BBC Two in the United Kingdom. Adapted from a novel by Tim Pears by Kevin Hood and Neil Biswas, and first broadcast in the United Kingdom in 2001, the serial describes a sprawling...

    (unknown episodes, 2001) .... Sonali Ganatra
  • The Whistle-Blower (2001) (TV) .... Diane Crossman
  • Attachments
    Attachments (TV series)
    Attachments is a BBC TV Series that ran for two seasons from 2000 to 2002, a total of 26 episodes. It focuses on a group of young professionals in London that work for an Internet startup company called "seethru" during the dot com boom...

    (4 episodes, "User Friendly", "The Irony Act", "Gaydar" and "Eye Candy", 2000–2001) .... Sasha
  • Mad Dogs (2002) .... Narendra
  • Rockface (1 episode, "#2.5", 2003) .... Alison
  • The Canterbury Tales
    The Canterbury Tales (TV Series)
    The Canterbury Tales is a series of six single dramas that originally aired on BBC One in 2003. Each story is an adaptation of one of Geoffrey Chaucer's 14th century Canterbury Tales which are transferred to a modern, 21st century setting, but still set along the traditional Pilgrims' route to...

    (1 episode, "The Sea Captain's Tale", 2003) .... Meena
  • Reversals (2003) (TV) .... Kathy Irwin
  • Donovan
    Donovan (disambiguation)
    Donovan is a popular Scottish singer, songwriter, and guitarist.Donovan may also refer to:- Places :* Castle Donovan, a ruined castle 12 kilometers east of Bantry, County Cork, Ireland* General Donovan Department, Argentina...

    (2004) .... Cara Mathis
  • Bride and Prejudice
    Bride and Prejudice
    Bride and Prejudice is a 2004 romantic musical film directed by Gurinder Chadha. The screenplay by Chadha and Paul Mayeda Berges is a Bollywood-style adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It was filmed primarily in English, with some Hindi and Punjabi dialogue. The film released in...

    (2004) .... Kiran Balraj
  • The Quatermass Experiment
    The Quatermass Experiment (2005)
    The Quatermass Experiment was a 2005 live remake of the 1953 TV series of the same name by Nigel Kneale.-Production:The remake was commissioned as part of a "TV on Trial" season being run by BBC Four, examining past television trends and productions...

    (2005) (TV) .... Judith Carroon
  • Love Soup
    Love Soup
    Love Soup is a British television comedy-drama produced by the BBC and first screened on BBC One in the autumn of 2005. It stars Tamsin Greig as Alice Chenery and Michael Landes as Gil Raymond . The series is written by David Renwick of One Foot in the Grave fame, and was produced by Verity Lambert...

    (1 episode, "They Do Not Move", 2005) .... Suzanne Daley
  • A Waste of Shame
    A Waste of Shame
    A Waste of Shame is a 90-minute television drama on the circumstances surrounding William Shakespeare's composition of his sonnets. It takes its title from the first line of Sonnet 129...

    (2005) (TV) .... Lucie ("the Dark Lady")
  • Broken News
    Broken News
    Broken News is a comedy programme shown on BBC Two in autumn 2005 and in Australia on SBS-TV from the 17 July 2006. The show poked fun at the world of 24-hour rolling news channels. The title of the show is a play on the phrase "Breaking News". It had six thirty-minute episodes...

    (6 episodes, 2005) .... Melanie Bellamy – ESN
  • Little Britain
    Little Britain
    Little Britain is a British character-based comedy sketch show which was first broadcast on BBC radio and then turned into a television show. It was written by comic duo David Walliams and Matt Lucas...

    (3 episodes, "#3.1", "#3.5" and "#3.6", 2005) .... ... / Babysitting Mother / Health Spa Receptionist
  • Rome
    Rome (TV series)
    Rome is a British-American–Italian historical drama television series created by Bruno Heller, John Milius and William J. MacDonald. The show's two seasons premiered in 2005 and 2007, and were later released on DVD. Rome is set in the 1st century BC, during Ancient Rome's transition from Republic...

    (15 episodes, 2005–2007) .... Niobe of the Voreni
    Niobe of the Voreni
    Niobe, wife of Lucius Vorenus, is a fictional character in the HBO/BBC/RAI original television series Rome, played by Indira Varma.-Personality:...

  • Bring Something Back: The Making of 'The Quatermass Experiment' (2005) (V
    Direct-to-video
    Direct-to-video is a term used to describe a film that has been released to the public on home video formats without being released in film theaters or broadcast on television...

    ) .... Herself
  • Pride and Prejudice Revisited (2005) (TV
    Television movie
    A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...

    ) .... Kiran Balraj archive footage (uncredited)
  • Basic Instinct 2
    Basic Instinct 2
    Basic Instinct 2, also known as Basic Instinct 2: Risk Addiction, is a 2006 German/British/American/Spanish thriller film and the sequel to 1992's Basic Instinct. The film was directed by Michael Caton-Jones and produced by Mario Kassar, Joel B. Michaels, and Andrew G. Vajna. The screenplay was by...

    (2006) .... Denise Glass
  • The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
    The Inspector Lynley Mysteries
    The Inspector Lynley Mysteries is a series of BBC television programmes about Detective Inspector Thomas "Tommy" Lynley, 8th Earl of Asherton of Scotland Yard and Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers...

    (1 episode, "In the Blink of an Eye", 2006) .... Melissa Booth
  • Torchwood
    Torchwood
    Torchwood is a British science fiction television programme created by Russell T Davies. The series is a spin-off from Davies's 2005 revival of the long-running science fiction programme Doctor Who. The show has shifted its broadcast channel each series to reflect its growing audience, moving from...

    (2 episodes, "Everything Changes" and "They Keep Killing Suzie", 2006) .... Suzie Costello
  • 3 lbs
    3 lbs
    3 lbs is a drama that aired on CBS from November 14 to 28, 2006, replacing the cancelled series Smith. The show itself was then canceled three weeks later due to poor ratings....

    (6 episodes, 2006) .... Dr. Adrianne Holland
  • Sex and Death 101
    Sex and Death 101
    Sex and Death 101 is a 2007 dark comedy science fiction film written and directed by Daniel Waters released in the United States on April 4, 2008...

    (2007) .... Devon Server (uncredited)
  • The Whistleblowers (6 episodes, 2007) .... Alisha Cole
  • Comanche Moon
    Comanche Moon (TV miniseries)
    Comanche Moon is a television miniseries that is an adaptation of the novel of the same name. It aired on CBS beginning Sunday, January 13, and continuing Tuesday, January 15, and Wednesday, January 16, 2008.-Cast:* Val Kilmer as Inish Scull...

    (2008) TV mini-series .... Therese Wanz
  • Law & Order: Criminal Intent
    Law & Order: Criminal Intent
    Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...

    (1 episode, "Assassin
    Assassin (Law & Order: Criminal Intent episode)
    "Assassin" is a seventh season episode of the television series Law & Order: Criminal Intent.-Plot summary:In this episode, Detectives Logan and Wheeler investigate a murder attempt against a woman, shortly after returning to the United States from South Asia...

    ", 2008) .... Bela Khan
  • Bones
    Bones (TV series)
    Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...

    (1 episode, "Yanks in the U.K.", 2008) .... Inspector Cate Pritchard
  • The Finest (2009) .... Detective Superintendent Madeline Jenner (pre-production)
  • Moses Jones
    Moses Jones
    Moses Jones is a three-part BBC Television drama series written by Joe Penhall, directed by Michael Offer and produced by Cameron Roach that was first broadcast on BBC Two in February 2009.-Synopsis:...

    (2009) (TV three-part series)....Dolly
  • Hustle
    Hustle (TV series)
    Hustle is a British television drama series made by Kudos Film and Television for BBC One in the United Kingdom. Created by Tony Jordan and first broadcast in 2004, the series follows a group of con artists who specialise in "long cons" – extended deceptions which require greater commitment, but...

    (2010) Episode 1 & 6 – "Can't Catch Us Yet' ..... DCI Lucy Britford
  • Luther
    Luther (TV series)
    Luther is a British psychological crime drama television series starring Idris Elba as the title character Detective Chief Inspector John Luther. A first series of six episodes was broadcast on BBC One from 4 May to 8 June 2010. The second series of four episodes was shown on BBC One in summer 2011...

    (2010) .... Zoe Luther
  • Human Target (2010–2011) .... Ilsa Pucci

Theatre

In 1997 Varma played Bianca in Shakespeare's
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...

 Othello
Othello
The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in approximately 1603, and based on the Italian short story "Un Capitano Moro" by Cinthio, a disciple of Boccaccio, first published in 1565...

at the National Theatre
Royal National Theatre
The Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...

 (NT), London. In 2000 to 2001, she appeared in Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...

 and Di Trevis
Di Trevis
Diane Trevis is an English theatre director. She was born in Birmingham and educated at Sussex University. After eight years as an actress, she began directing in 1981....

's NT stage adaptation of Pinter's The Proust Screenplay, Remembrance of Things Past
Remembrance of Things Past (play)
Remembrance of Things Past is the 2000 collaborative stage adaptation by Harold Pinter and director Di Trevis of Harold Pinter's as-yet unproduced The Proust Screenplay , a screen adaptation of À la recherche du temps perdu, the seven-volume novel by Marcel Proust.In November 2000, the play...

, based on À la recherche du temps perdu
In Search of Lost Time
In Search of Lost Time or Remembrance of Things Past is a novel in seven volumes by Marcel Proust. His most prominent work, it is popularly known for its considerable length and the notion of involuntary memory, the most famous example being the "episode of the madeleine." The novel is widely...

, by Marcel Proust
Marcel Proust
Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust was a French novelist, critic, and essayist best known for his monumental À la recherche du temps perdu...

. In the summer of 2001, she played Gila in One for the Road, by Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter
Harold Pinter, CH, CBE was a Nobel Prize–winning English playwright and screenwriter. One of the most influential modern British dramatists, his writing career spanned more than 50 years. His best-known plays include The Birthday Party , The Homecoming , and Betrayal , each of which he adapted to...

, at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood of New York City's Upper West Side. Reynold Levy has been its president since 2002.-History and facilities:...

 in New York City, a production that had originated in at the Gate Theatre
Gate Theatre
The Gate Theatre, in Dublin, was founded in 1928 by Hilton Edwards and Micheál Mac Liammóir, initially using the Abbey Theatre's Peacock studio theatre space to stage important works by European and American dramatists...

, Dublin, and also had been performed in London, prior to moving to New York for the Lincoln Center Festival's Harold Pinter Festival.

In 2002 she played Sasha Lebedieff in Ivanov by Anton Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...

 at the National Theatre, London and Bunty Mainwaring in The Vortex by Noel Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...

 at the Donmar Theatre
Donmar Warehouse
Donmar Warehouse is a small not-for-profit theatre in the Covent Garden area of London, with a capacity of 251.-About:Under the artistic leadership of Michael Grandage, the theatre has presented some of London’s most memorable award-winning theatrical experiences, as well as garnered critical...

, London.
In 2004 she played Sabina in The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth
The Skin of Our Teeth is a play by Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. It opened on October 15, 1942 at the Shubert Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, before moving to the Plymouth Theatre on Broadway on November 18, 1942...

by Thornton Wilder
Thornton Wilder
Thornton Niven Wilder was an American playwright and novelist. He received three Pulitzer Prizes, one for his novel The Bridge of San Luis Rey and two for his plays Our Town and The Skin of Our Teeth, and a National Book Award for his novel The Eighth Day.-Early years:Wilder was born in Madison,...

 at the Young Vic Theatre Theatre, London. In 2008 she played Nadia Baliye in The Vertical Hour
The Vertical Hour
The Vertical Hour is a play by David Hare. The play addresses the relationship of characters with opposing views on the 2003 invasion of Iraq, and also explores psychological tension between public lives and private lives. The play received its world premiere at the Music Box Theater on Broadway,...

by David Hare
David Hare (dramatist)
Sir David Hare is an English playwright and theatre and film director.-Early life:Hare was born in St Leonards-on-Sea, Hastings, East Sussex, the son of Agnes and Clifford Hare, a sailor. He was educated at Lancing, an independent school in West Sussex, and at Jesus College, Cambridge...

 at the Royal Court Theatre
Royal Court Theatre
The Royal Court Theatre is a non-commercial theatre on Sloane Square, in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is noted for its contributions to modern theatre...

 London. In 2009 she played Olivia in Shakespeare's Twelfth Night with Donmar West End at Wyndham's Theatre, London.

External links

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