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Romola Garai Profile |
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Birth Date: August 6, 1982
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Birth Place: Southwark, London, England, UK
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Birth Name: Romola Sadie Garai
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Height: 5'9"
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Biography |
Romola Garai is an award-winning
English actress.
Garai was born in Hong Kong and relocated to Singapore at
five before her family returned to Wiltshire in the United
Kingdom when she was eight. Her father is a high-ranked bank
manager of Jewish-Hungarian descent; her great-grandfather
is Bert Garai, the founder of the Keystone Press.
She attended an independent boarding school, at Stonar and
later moved at sixteen to London to attend the City of
London School for Girls where she ended up finishing off her
A-levels. She was fond of drama and appeared in school
plays, and also with the National Youth Theatre up until the
age of 18, where she was spotted by an agent who whisked her
away to play the younger version of Judi Dench's character
in a television production called The Last of the Blonde
Bombshells.
After A-levels, she studied English Literature at Queen
Mary, University of London; she originally intended to only
study but decided to do acting on the side during the summer
holidays.
It was during her first break from University that Garai
landed a part in a BBC-produced television series called
Attachments. It was this production that prompted her to
make the decision to stop her education and concentrate
solely on her acting career.
Garai's first major film role was in 2002's Nicholas
Nickleby. She played Kate Nickleby, a supporting role, in
the well-reviewed film. The entire cast was widely
recognized for their work and were awarded Best Ensemble by
the National Board of Review. In 2003's I Capture the
Castle, she played 17-year-old Cassandra Mortmain. She
received glowing praise for her work and the film scored 80%
at Rotten Tomatoes. Her performance earned her a nomination
for a Most Promising Newcomer award from the British
Independent Film Awards.
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) was Garai's biggest
critical flop to date, scoring only 23% at Rotten Tomatoes
(though it went on to make $27 million worldwide). Her
performance received mixed reviews – many critics felt let
down after her previous impressive turns. Later that same
year Vanity Fair was released. Critics were split evenly,
attacking the film for misjudging its characters but
praising the work of the film's actors- including Garai, one
of the few to keep her head above the film's melodrama.
In 2005, Garai received another BIFA nomination, this time
for their Best Supporting Actress award, for her performance
as Siobhan in the independent film Inside I'm Dancing. This
also split the critics evenly – it was described as
featuring too much melodrama but very good performances. Her
layered portrayal of the charismatic, beautiful and
conflicted caretaker[citation needed] earned her the British
Supporting Actress of the Year award from the London Film
Critics Circle.
Also in 2005 Garai starred in a lavish Australian miniseries
called The Incredible Journey of Mary Bryant. At $15 million
it was the most expensive miniseries ever shot in Australia.
While critics hailed it as "pleasingly old-fashioned
adventure", it was her performance that won the most
admiration and earn her two nominations: Best Lead Actress
in Television from the Australian Film Institute and Most
Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series from the Logie Awards.
As The Observer noted: "As for the tireless Garai, she once
again demonstrated an instinctive understanding of the vital
difference between overperforming and overacting. Garai was
last seen on television in the BBC's Andrew Davies
adaptation of Daniel Deronda, which was screened
simultaneously with Davies's ITV adaptation of Dr. Zhivago,
featuring Keira Knightley. Garai's Gwendolen was so superior
to Knightley's Lara that it may have been the first time an
actor was blown off not just the screen but a whole
different channel."
There has been much comparison and competition between Garai
and Knightley. When casting for Dr. Zhivago, Davies
originally had Garai in mind for the role of Lara, but when
Knightley auditioned, he decided that she was the better
actress for the role. A similar thing happened with Joe
Wright's adaption of Pride & Prejudice; Wright had Garai in
mind as Elizabeth Bennet, until he met Knightley for the
role. Wright had initially thought that Knightley was too
beautiful for the role, but her tomboy nature eventually won
him over. Conversely, when casting his latest film,
Atonement, in which both actresses appear, Wright ended up
casting Garai in a role he had originally imagined Knightley
would take.
She can be seen in Kenneth Branagh's new film adaptation of
Shakespeare's As You Like It, as Celia. The film, which was
released in theatres in Europe in 2006, has gone directly to
HBO cable television in the U.S. She is currently appearing
in two Royal Shakespeare Company productions: as Cordelia in
King Lear and as Nina in The Seagull, starring alongside Ian
McKellen, Frances Barber, Sylvester McCoy and William Gaunt.
The run, currently in the New London Theatre will end there
mid-January 2008. |
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Other
Information |
She is currently at university reading English. She used to
sing in a jazz band. A casting agent scouting at her school
for young girls, chose her for her first acting role in The
Last of the Blonde Bombshells (2000) (TV). [2000]
Can play the violin.
Was brought up in Hong Kong and Singapore until she was 10.
She has three siblings: one brother named Ralph and two
sisters named Rosie and Roxy.
She is of Hungarian descent and her great grandfather is
Bert Garai, founder of Keystone Press Agency in London in
1924.
Her two oldest siblings Ralph and Rosie were adopted as
babies before she and her sister were born.
She had no professional dancing experience before arriving
on the set of Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004).
Born on the same day as Adrianne Curry.
Director François Ozon affectionately calls Romola "his
muse".
Enjoys cooking and traveling in her spare time.
Has visited Hong Kong, Singapore, Malta, Venice, Australia,
Italy, Belgium and Indonesia.
Frequently appears dancing in scenes from her films,
including Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), I Capture the
Castle (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Vanity Fair
(2004).
Real hair color is blonde but she occasionally dyes it in
real life and for movie roles.
Is a huge fan of The Simpsons, in fact her favorite TV
character of all time is Lisa Simpson.
Was François Ozon's first and only choice for the role of
Angel Deverell in The Real Life of Angel Deverell.
While filming Dirty Dancing two : Havana Nights became good
friends with Diego Luna. They remain close and have a very
strong bond.
Favorite movies are The Wizard of Oz, Fargo and Orlando.
Was Joe Wright's first choice for the role of Elizabeth
Bennett in Pride and Prejudice before Keira Knightley
auditioned. But Joe being a huge admirer of Romola's talent
then offered her the role of Briony in Atonement as he
really wanted to work with her.
Her proudest work as an actress is Angel.
Cites Mike Leigh, Michael Winterbottom, Ken Loach, The Coen
brothers, David Lynch, Todd Haynes as her favorite directors
and would love to work with them in the future.
Very good friends with Jamie Bell and Charlie Hunnam whom
she met while filming Nicholas Nickelby.
Lives in London.
Her last name, "Garai", is Hungarian and is pronounced like
"Garry".
Romola has said her ideal role would be to play the
eighteenth century feminist Mary Wollstonecraft (1759-1797).
Frequently appears dancing in scenes from her films,
including Angel (2007/I), Daniel Deronda (2002) (TV),
(TV)Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004), I Capture the
Castle (2003), Inside I'm Dancing (2004) and Vanity Fair
(2004).
Favorite horror movie is The Blair Witch Project.
Loves watching documentaries, her favorites include Bowling
for Columbine, Road to Guantanamo Bay and Iraq in Fragments.
Plans and hopes to write screenplays and direct movies
someday.
Favorite actresses are Samantha Morton and Emily Watson. |
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since January 2, 2008