Tuppence Middleton
Tuppence Middleton | |
|---|---|
 Tuppence Middleton interviewed by Sidewalks Entertainment in 2015. | |
| Born | 21 February 1987 |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Known for | Tormented, Sense8 |
Tuppence Middleton (born 21 February 1987) is an English actress. She was nominated for the London Evening Standard Film Awards 2010 for Most Promising Newcomer.
She has appeared in feature films such as Tormented (2009), Chatroom (2010), Cleanskin (2012), Trance (2013), The Lady Vanishes (2013), The Imitation Game (2014) and Jupiter Ascending (2015), as well as in television series such as Bones (2008), New Tricks (2010), Friday Night Dinner (2011), Sinbad (2012), Spies of Warsaw (2013), Black Mirror (2013), Sense8 (2015).
She starred in two British period dramas screened around the same time, Dickensian (2015–16), playing Miss Havisham, and War & Peace (2016), in which she played Russian princess and villain Hélène Kuragina.
Early life
Tuppence Middleton was born on 21 February 1987 in Bristol, England, to Nigel and Tina Middleton.[1] She was named "Tuppence" after the childhood nickname her grandmother gave to her mother.[2] She was raised in Clevedon, Somerset,[3] with younger brother Josh and older sister Angel.[1]
From an early age Tuppence was involved in school plays in Clevedon, including Guys and Dolls, in which she played the lead role.[1] She attended the performing arts school Stagecoach in Portishead, Bristol. She appeared in local drama productions, including a pantomime at Clevedon's Princes Hall with her sister.[1]
Tuppence attended Bristol Grammar School. She subsequently studied acting at the Arts Educational School in Chiswick, London, earning an honours degree in acting.[1]
Career
Middleton gained a following for her appearance in the 2009 British horror/comedy Tormented.[4] Her character, head girl Justine Fielding, dates one of the most popular boys in school, only to find that he and his friends were responsible for a classmate's death. She has also appeared in adverts for the chewing gum Extra and Sky TV.
In 2010 she was nominated for the London Evening Standard Film Awards 2010 for Most Promising Newcomer and she starred in Samuel Abrahams's BAFTA-nominated short film "Connect".[5] In 2011, she played the character Tanya Greene in the British sitcom Friday Night Dinner,[6] and Sarah in Sirens. In 2012 she appeared in Cleanskin, a terrorist thriller.[7] In March 2013 she made her professional theatre debut in The Living Room.[8] She also played a minor role in the Danny Boyle film Trance. In 2015, she starred in the Netflix Original Series Sense8 as Riley Blue.
She starred in the 2016 BBC drama War & Peace, playing Russian aristocrat Princess Hélène Kuragin.[9]
The series received critical acclaim and featured fellow young actress Lily James also known for her period dramas. The Daily Express said: "Rising star Tuppence Middleton takes on the role of the delightfully evil Helene Kuragina, who is one half of the incestuous duo. Audiences witnessed her brother getting a little too intimate with his sibling in the first episode before she turned her attentions to Pierre and dug her claws into him. She is a vile character who will use and abuse Pierre without giving him a second thought, to stop the beautiful Helena (Lily James) Pierre real love marrying him."[citation needed]
Andrew Davies, who adapted War and Peace, described Middleton's Hélène as "the naughtiest woman on TV at the moment".[10]
Personal life
She has in interviews described herself as shy. "I liked to be in my own company, so when I came home from school, I'd just go up to my room and hang out by myself. I wouldn't really have friends over or go to see friends much. I was very, very shy in public and school, and quite loud and brash at home. As I got older, I auditioned for drama school and shocked myself by getting in."[11] She has also said she has been asked if she is related to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge: "Since Kate Middleton came around, some people think I'm related to her, but unfortunately, there's no connection."[12]
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Dance Lessons | Alice | Short film |
| 2009 | Tormented | Justine Fielding | |
| 2010 | Skeletons | Rebecca[13] | |
| 2010 | Chatroom | Candy | |
| 2010 | In the Meadow | Grace | Short film |
| 2010 | Ever Here I Be | Valerie | Short film |
| 2010 | First Light | Grace | TV film |
| 2010 | Connect | Woman | Short film |
| 2011 | Subculture | Lily | Short film |
| 2012 | Cleanskin | Kate | |
| 2013 | The Lady Vanishes | Iris Carr | TV film |
| 2013 | Trance | Young Woman in Red Car | |
| 2013 | Trap for Cinderella | Micky | |
| 2013 | The Love Punch | Sophie | |
| 2013 | A Long Way Down | Kathy | |
| 2014 | The Imitation Game | Helen | |
| 2015 | Jupiter Ascending | Kalique Abrasax | |
| 2015 | Spooks: The Greater Good | June Keaton |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Bones | Vera Waterhouse | Episode: "Yanks in the U.K. (Part 1)" Episode: "Yanks in the U.K. (Part 2)" |
| 2010 | New Tricks | Melanie Higgs | Episode: "Fashion Victim" |
| 2011 | Friday Night Dinner | Tanya Green | Episode: "The Date" Episode: "The Dress" |
| 2011 | Sirens | Sarah Fraisor | Episode: "Up, Horny, Down" Episode: "I.C.E." |
| 2012 | Sinbad | Tiger | Recurring character |
| 2013 | Lewis | Vicki Walmsley | Episode: "Down Among the Fearful – Part 1" Episode: "Down Among the Fearful – Part 2" |
| 2013 | Spies of Warsaw | Gabrielle | TV miniseries |
| 2013 | Black Mirror | Jem | Episode: "White Bear" |
| 2015–present | Sense8 | Riley Blue | A main character, Netflix series |
| 2015 | Dickensian | Amelia Havisham | |
| 2016 | War & Peace | Helene Kuragina |
References
- ^ a b c d e Pickstock, Heather (15 March 2013). "Bristol actress Tuppence Middleton stars in Hitchcock TV thriller ..." Bristol Post. Retrieved 31 March 2014.
- ^ Williams, Andrew (9 January 2013). "Tuppence Middleton: I'm not stuck in a period piece ghetto". Metro. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ Woodhall, Victoria (26 January 2013). "One to watch: Tuppence on the money". Daily Mail. Retrieved 30 March 2014.
- ^ "Tormented". United Kingdom: The Film Catalogue. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
- ^ "Film Award Winners". BAFTA.org.
- ^ Friday Night Dinner – Episode 1.6. The Date, British Comedy Guide, Comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
- ^ Cleanskin (2012). Internet Movie Database
- ^ Billington, Michael. "The Living Room – review". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2015.
- ^ "War and Peace's Tuppence Middleton could be TV's naughtiest star". Mail Online. 9 January 2016.
- ^ Thorpe, Vanessa (1 February 2016). "Tuppence Middleton: from Tolstoy's seductress to a Dickensian victim". The Guardian. Retrieved 15 May 2016.
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3095562/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
- ^ [1]
- ^ "IndieLondon: Tormented". United Kingdom: IndieLondon. Retrieved 6 February 2010.
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
| People | |
