Rebecca Maria Hall is an English actress.
In 2003, Hall won the Ian Charleson Award for her debut
stageTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
performance in a production of
Mrs. Warren's ProfessionMrs Warren's Profession is a play written by George Bernard Shaw in 1893. The story centers on the relationship between Mrs Kitty Warren, a brothel owner, described by the author as "on the whole, a genial and fairly presentable old blackguard of a woman" and her daughter, Vivie...
. She has appeared in four high-profile films:
The PrestigeThe Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
,
Vicky Cristina BarcelonaVicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romance comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall...
(for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy category),
The TownThe Town is a 2010 crime film starring, co-written, and directed by Ben Affleck adapted from Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The film opened in theaters in the United States on September 17, 2010 at number one with more than $23 million and positive reviews...
and
Frost/NixonFrost/Nixon is a 2008 historical drama film based on the 2006 play by Peter Morgan which dramatizes the Frost/Nixon interviews of 1977. The film was directed by Ron Howard and produced for Universal Pictures by Howard, Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment and Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working...
.
In June 2010, Hall won the Supporting Actress
BAFTAThe British Academy Film Awards are presented in an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts . It is the British counterpart of the Oscars. As of 2008, it has taken place in the Royal Opera House, having taken over from the flagship Odeon cinema on Leicester Square...
for her portrayal of Paula Garland in the 2009
Channel 4Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
production
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974.
Early life
Hall was born in London, the daughter of English director Peter Hall and American opera singer
Maria EwingMaria Louise Ewing is an American opera singer who has sung both soprano and mezzo soprano roles. She is noted as much for her acting as her singing.-Life and career:...
. Her parents separated when she was still young, and they were formally divorced in 1990. She has a half-brother,
Edward HallEdward Hall is an English theatre director and an associate director at The National Theatre. Hall is known for directing Rose Rage, a stage adaptation of Shakespeare's three Henry VI plays. He also runs an all-male Shakespeare company, Propeller...
, who is a theatre director, and four other half-siblings, including theatre designer Lucy Hall, veteran TV drama producer
Christopher HallChristopher Hall is a British TV drama producer also known as Chris Hall.He is the son of Sir Peter Hall and Leslie Caron and was educated at Bedales School and St Catharines College, Cambridge...
, and
Jennifer Caron Hall- Early life :Hall was born in London, the daughter of English director Sir Peter Hall and French actress and dancer Leslie Caron. She has a brother, TV producer Christopher Hall, and four half-siblings, including actress Rebecca Hall and theatre director Edward Hall.Hall was educated at the Lycée...
, a writer and painter.
Hall attended
Roedean School-Roedeanians in fiction:* Lady Penelope Creighton-Ward * Dawn Drummond-Clayton * Emily James...
, where she became head girl. She studied
English LiteratureEnglish literature is the literature written in the English language, including literature composed in English by writers not necessarily from England; for example, Robert Burns was Scottish, James Joyce was Irish, Joseph Conrad was Polish, Dylan Thomas was Welsh, Edgar Allan Poe was American, J....
at Cambridge University for two years, before dropping out in 2002. During her time at Cambridge, she appeared in a number of plays and set up a theatre company. She also appeared in student stage productions alongside
Dan StevensDaniel Jonathan Stevens is a British actor.-Education:Stevens was educated at Tonbridge School, an independent school in the market town of Tonbridge in Kent, in South East England, followed by Emmanuel College, Cambridge, where he read English...
, later her
As You Like It co-star.
During 2003-2004, Hall was in a relationship with her
As You Like It co-star
Freddie StevensonFreddie Stevenson is a singer-songwriter from Edinburgh.- Early life :Stevenson is the eldest of three children born to Scottish artist and potter Charles Stevenson and children's television writer and producer Jocelyn Stevenson, co-creator of the popular programme Fraggle Rock...
.
Film and television
Hall's first role came in 1992, when she appeared as young Sophy in her father's television adaptation of
Mary WesleyMary Wesley, CBE was an English novelist. During her career, she was one of Britain's most successful novelists, selling three million copies of her books, including 10 best-sellers in the last 20 years of her life.-Background:...
's
The Camomile Lawn.
Hall's feature film debut came in 2006 as Rebecca Epstein in the film adaptation of
David Nicholls-Background:Nicholls is the middle of three siblings. He attended Barton Peveril sixth-form college at Eastleigh, Hampshire, from 1983 to 1985 , and playing a wide range of roles in college drama productions...
's
Starter for TenStarter for Ten by David Nicholls is a novel first published in 2003 about the character Brian Jackson and his first year of university , his attempts to get on the Granada Television quiz show University Challenge, and his tentative attempts at romance with Alice Harbinson, another member of the...
. She got her breakthrough with the role of Sarah Borden in
Christopher NolanChristopher Jonathan James Nolan is a British-American film director, screenwriter and producer.He received serious notice after his second feature Memento , which he wrote and directed based on a story idea by his brother, Jonathan Nolan. Jonathan went to co-write later scripts with him,...
's film
The PrestigeThe Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
. She then appeared in
Stephen PoliakoffStephen Poliakoff, CBE, FRSL is an acclaimed British playwright, director and scriptwriter, widely judged amongst Britain's foremost television dramatists.-Early life and career:...
's
Joe's PalaceJoe's Palace is a BBC television drama, and written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It was first aired on BBC One on 4 November 2007...
in 2007, as well as appearing in several other TV movies including
Wide Sargasso SeaWide Sargasso Sea is a British television adaptation of Jean Rhys's 1966 novel of the same name.Produced by Kudos Film & Television for BBC Wales, the one-off 90-minute drama was first broadcast on digital television channel BBC Four on October 9, 2006...
and
Rubberheart.
Her Hollywood fame grew when she starred in the
Woody AllenWoody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
film
Vicky Cristina BarcelonaVicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romance comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall...
, playing one of the title characters, Vicky. Critics praised her performance. Hall was nominated for a Golden Globe for
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or ComedyThe Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
.
She also appeared in
Frost/NixonFrost/Nixon is a 2008 historical drama film based on the 2006 play by Peter Morgan which dramatizes the Frost/Nixon interviews of 1977. The film was directed by Ron Howard and produced for Universal Pictures by Howard, Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment and Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working...
in 2008 as the girlfriend of
Michael SheenMichael Christopher Sheen, OBE , is a Welsh stage and screen actor. He trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England and made his professional debut opposite Vanessa Redgrave in When She Danced at the Globe Theatre in 1991...
's
David FrostSir David Frost is a British broadcaster.David Frost may also refer to:*David Frost , South African golfer*David Frost , classical record producer*David Frost *Dave Frost, baseball pitcher...
. She has said, "I was really excited when I found out I had the opportunity to work with [Sheen] ... He did a production of
Amadeus with my dad when I was younger. I remember seeing him then when I was 16 and having quite an adolescent crush on him."
Hall was cast with
Ben BarnesBenjamin Thomas "Ben" Barnes is an English actor, best known for his portrayal of Caspian X in The Chronicles of Narnia films Prince Caspian and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader.-Early life and education:...
in the film
Dorian Gray.
Hall appeared in
Please GivePlease Give is a 2010 dark comedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and starring Catherine Keener. It is the fourth film Keener and Holofcener have made together...
with
Catherine KeenerCatherine Ann Keener is an American actress. She has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Being John Malkovich and Capote...
and
Amanda PeetAmanda Peet is an American actress, who has appeared on film, stage, and television. After studying with Uta Hagen at Columbia University, Peet began her career in television commercials, and progressed to small roles on television, before making her film debut in 1995...
, and
The TownThe Town is a 2010 crime film starring, co-written, and directed by Ben Affleck adapted from Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The film opened in theaters in the United States on September 17, 2010 at number one with more than $23 million and positive reviews...
with
Ben AffleckBenjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
and
Blake LivelyBlake Christina Lively is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl...
. She is the female lead role in the British ghost film
The Awakening, released in September 2011.
Hall is among the actresses being considered for the role of
FantineFantine is a character in Victor Hugo's 1862 novel Les Misérables.- Backstory :"Fantine was one of those beings which are brought forth from the heart of the people... She was called Fantine because she had never been known by any other name...""All four were ravishingly beautiful. As to Fantine,...
in
Tom HooperTom Hooper is a Canadian songwriter and musician.He was a founding member of the Kelowna punk band Gentlemen of Horror, and also of The Grapes of Wrath, one of the most popular Canadian rock bands of the late 1980s and early 1990s. When singer/guitarist Kevin Kane was ejected from The Grapes of...
's upcoming film adaptation of
Les MisérablesLes Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
.
Stage
Hall's professional stage debut came in 2002 when she starred as Vivie in her father's production of
Mrs Warren's Profession at the
Strand TheatreThe Novello Theatre is a West End theatre on Aldwych, in the City of Westminster.-History:The theatre was built as one of a pair with the Aldwych Theatre on either side of the Waldorf Hotel, both being designed by W. G. R. Sprague. The theatre opened as the Waldorf Theatre on 22 May 1905, and was...
in London. Her performance, described as "admirable" and "accomplished", earned her the Ian Charleson Award in 2003.
In 2003, Hall's father celebrated fifty years as a theatre director by staging a season of five plays at the
Theatre Royal, BathThe Theatre Royal in Bath, England, is over 200 years old. It is one of the more important theatres in the United Kingdom outside London, with capacity for an audience of around 900....
. Hall starred in two of these plays; she appeared as Rosalind in her father's production of
As You Like ItAs You Like It is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 or early 1600 and first published in the folio of 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has been suggested as a possibility...
, which gained her a second Charleson nomination and starred in the title role of
Thea SharrockThea Sharrock is an award-winning English theatre director. In 2001, when at age 24 she became artistic director of London's Southwark Playhouse, she was the youngest artistic director in British theatre....
's revival of
D. H. LawrenceDavid Herbert Richards Lawrence was an English novelist, poet, playwright, essayist, literary critic and painter who published as D. H. Lawrence. His collected works represent an extended reflection upon the dehumanising effects of modernity and industrialisation...
's
The Fight For Barbara.
In 2004, Hall appeared in three plays for the Peter Hall Company at the Theatre Royal, two of which her father directed, namely
Man and SupermanMan and Superman is a four-act drama, written by George Bernard Shaw in 1903. The series was written in response to calls for Shaw to write a play based on the Don Juan theme. Man and Superman opened at The Royal Court Theatre in London on 23 May 1905, but with the omission of the 3rd Act...
in which she played Ann, and
Galileo's DaughterGalileo's Daughter is a book by Dava Sobel. It is based on the surviving letters of Galileo Galilei's daughter, the nun Suor Maria Celeste and explores the relationship between Galileo and his daughter.- Historical background :...
in which she played Sister Maria Celeste. The third,
MolièreJean-Baptiste Poquelin, known by his stage name Molière, was a French playwright and actor who is considered to be one of the greatest masters of comedy in Western literature...
's
Don JuanDom Juan or The Feast with the Statue is a French play by Molière, based on the legend of Don Juan. Molière's characters Dom Juan and Sganarelle are the French counterparts to the Spanish Don Juan and Catalinón, characters who would later become familiar to opera goers as Don Giovanni and Leporello...
, in which she played the part of Elvira, was directed by Sharrock.
In 2005, Hall reprised the role of Rosalind in a touring production of
As You Like It, again under the direction of her father. This tour took in the following venues: The Rose Theatre in
Kingston upon ThamesKingston upon Thames is the principal settlement of the Royal Borough of Kingston upon Thames in southwest London. It was the ancient market town where Saxon kings were crowned and is now a suburb situated south west of Charing Cross. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the...
; The Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York; The Curran Theatre at San Francisco; The Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles and venues in
New Haven, ConnecticutNew Haven is the second-largest city in Connecticut and the sixth-largest in New England. According to the 2010 Census, New Haven's population increased by 5.0% between 2000 and 2010, a rate higher than that of the State of Connecticut, and higher than that of the state's five largest cities, and...
,
Columbus, OhioColumbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, and the historic Wilbur Theater in
BostonBoston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
.
In 2008-9, she appeared in
Sam MendesSamuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes, CBE is an English stage and film director. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning work on his debut film American Beauty and his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret , Oliver! , Company and Gypsy . He's currently working on the 23rd James Bond...
's first installment of the Bridge Project, as Hermione in
The Winter's TaleThe Winter's Tale is a play by William Shakespeare, originally published in the First Folio of 1623. Although it was grouped among the comedies, some modern editors have relabelled the play as one of Shakespeare's late romances. Some critics, among them W. W...
and Varya in
The Cherry OrchardThe Cherry Orchard is Russian playwright Anton Chekhov's last play. It premiered at the Moscow Art Theatre 17 January 1904 in a production directed by Constantin Stanislavski. Chekhov intended this play as a comedy and it does contain some elements of farce; however, Stanislavski insisted on...
, which gave performances with the same cast in Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, the UK and the US. In 2010–11, she played Viola in a production of
Twelfth Night at London's
National TheatreThe Royal National Theatre in London is one of the United Kingdom's two most prominent publicly funded theatre companies, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company...
, which her father directed.
Personal life
In November 2011, it was confirmed that Hall has been in a relationship with director
Sam MendesSamuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes, CBE is an English stage and film director. He is best known for his Academy Award-winning work on his debut film American Beauty and his dark re-inventions of the stage musicals Cabaret , Oliver! , Company and Gypsy . He's currently working on the 23rd James Bond...
"for some time".
Filmography
| Film |
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 2006 |
Starter for 10 |
Rebecca Epstein |
|
The PrestigeThe Prestige is a 2006 mystery thriller film written, directed and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, with a screenplay adapted from Christopher Priest's 1995 novel of the same name. The story follows Robert Angier and Alfred Borden, rival stage magicians in London at the end of the 19th century...
|
Sarah Borden |
|
| 2008 |
Vicky Cristina BarcelonaVicky Cristina Barcelona is a 2008 romance comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen, and starring Javier Bardem, Penélope Cruz, Scarlett Johansson and Rebecca Hall...
|
Vicky |
Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy was first awarded by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association as a separate category in 1950...
|
| Frost/Nixon Frost/Nixon is a 2008 historical drama film based on the 2006 play by Peter Morgan which dramatizes the Frost/Nixon interviews of 1977. The film was directed by Ron Howard and produced for Universal Pictures by Howard, Brian Grazer of Imagine Entertainment and Tim Bevan and Eric Fellner of Working...
|
Caroline Cushing |
|
| 2009 |
Dorian Gray |
Emily Wotton |
|
| 2010 |
Please Give Please Give is a 2010 dark comedy film written and directed by Nicole Holofcener and starring Catherine Keener. It is the fourth film Keener and Holofcener have made together...
|
Rebecca |
|
| The Town The Town is a 2010 crime film starring, co-written, and directed by Ben Affleck adapted from Chuck Hogan's novel Prince of Thieves. The film opened in theaters in the United States on September 17, 2010 at number one with more than $23 million and positive reviews...
|
Claire Keesey |
|
| A Bag of Hammers |
Mel |
|
| 2011 |
Everything Must Go Everything Must Go is a 2011 American comedy-drama film directed by Dan Rush and starring Will Ferrell. The film was based on Raymond Carver's short story Why Don't You Dance? and was released in theaters on May 13, 2011.-Plot:...
|
Samantha |
|
| The Awakening The Awakening is an upcoming 2011 British horror thriller film directed by Nick Murphy, starring Rebecca Hall, Dominic West, and Imelda Staunton.-Plot:1921 England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I...
|
Florence Cathcart |
|
| 2013 |
Lay the Favorite Lay the Favorite is an upcoming crime-comedy film. Based on Beth Raymer's memoir of the same title, the film follows a young, free-spirited woman as she journeys through the legal and illegal world of sports gambling.-Cast:...
|
Beth Raymer |
filming |
| Television/TV Movies |
| Year |
Film |
Role |
Notes |
| 1992 |
The Camomile Lawn The Camomile Lawn is a novel by Mary Wesley about the lives of Richard and Helena Cuthbertson and their five nieces and nephews; Calypso, Walter, Polly, Oliver and Sophy. The title refers to a fragrant camomile lawn stretching down to the Cornish cliffs in the garden of the main characters' aunt's...
|
Young Sophie |
|
| 1993 |
The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends is an animated television series based on the works of Beatrix Potter, featuring Peter Rabbit and other anthropomorphic animal characters created by Potter. It was originally shown in the UK on BBC between 1992 and 1995 and subsequently broadcast in the USA on...
|
Lucie |
|
| Don't Leave Me This Way "Don't Leave Me This Way" is an R&B/soul/disco song written by Kenneth Gamble, Leon Huff, and Cary Gilbert. First charting as a hit for Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, an act on Gamble & Huff's Philadelphia International label in 1975, "Don't Leave Me This Way" was later a hit single for both...
|
Lizzie Neil |
|
| 2006 |
Wide Sargasso SeaWide Sargasso Sea is a 1966 postcolonial parallel novel by Dominica-born author Jean Rhys. Since her previous work, Good Morning, Midnight, was published in 1939, Rhys had lived in obscurity. Wide Sargasso Sea put Rhys into the limelight once more, and became her most successful novel.The novel...
|
Antoinette Cosway |
|
| 2007 |
Rubberheart |
Maggie |
|
| Joe's Palace Joe's Palace is a BBC television drama, and written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff. It was first aired on BBC One on 4 November 2007...
|
Tina |
|
| 2008 |
Einstein and Eddington Einstein and Eddington is a British single drama produced by Company Pictures and the BBC, in association with HBO. It featured David Tennant as British scientist Sir Arthur Stanley Eddington, and Andy Serkis as Albert Einstein...
|
Winifred Eddington |
|
| Official Selection |
Emily Dickinson |
short film |
| 2009 |
Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974 |
Paula Garland |
|
| 2012 |
Parade's End Parade's End is a forthcoming HBO/BBC Two television miniseries, expected for release in 2012. It is an adaptation of the tetralogy of novels of the same name by Ford Madox Ford. Its five episodes will be directed by Susanna White and written by Tom Stoppard...
|
Sylvia Tietjens |
|
External links