- Rose Byrne
-
Rose Byrne 
Byrne in 2010Born Mary Rose Byrne
24 July 1979
Balmain, Sydney, AustraliaOccupation Actress Years active 1994–present Mary Rose Byrne[1] (born 24 July 1979) is an Australian actress.
Byrne made her screen debut in 1994 with a small role in the film Dallas Doll. In 2000 she played a leading role in the Australian film The Goddess of 1967, which brought her a Venice Film Festival award for Best Actress.
Since 2007, she has played Ellen Parsons in the cable television series Damages, which has earned her two Golden Globe Awards nominations and two Emmy Awards nominations. In 2011, she starred in the financially successful films Insidious, X-Men: First Class and Bridesmaids.
Contents
Early life
Byrne was born in Balmain, a suburb of Sydney, Australia, of Irish and Scottish descent (her grandfather was an Irish immigrant to Australia).[2][3] She is the daughter of Jane, a primary school administrator, and Robin Byrne, a semi-retired statistician and market researcher.[4] She is the youngest of their four children; she has an older brother, George, and two older sisters, Alice and Lucy. Both of her parents are atheists, and she describes herself as agnostic.[5] Byrne attended Balmain Public School and Hunters Hill High School before attending Bradfield College in Crows Nest. She began taking acting classes at age eight, joining the Australian Theatre for Young People and later attended the University of Sydney. In 1999, Byrne studied acting at the Atlantic Theatre Company developed by David Mamet and William H. Macy.
Career
Acting
Byrne in September 2011
Byrne was cast in her first film role, Dallas Doll, when she was 13 years old.[6] She has appeared in several Australian television shows including Heartbreak High and Echo Point, and the film Two Hands with Heath Ledger. She appeared in The Date, My Mother Frank, and Clara Law's The Goddess of 1967 for which she was award the Volpi Cup for "Best Actress" at the 2000 Venice Film Festival. She appeared as a guest in an episode of the police drama series Murder Call. On stage, she played a lead role in La Dispute and in a production of Anton Chekhov's classic Three Sisters at the Sydney Theatre Company.
In 2002, Byrne made her first appearance in a Hollywood film with a small role as Dormé, the handmaiden to Natalie Portman's Senator Padmé Amidala, in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. She appeared the same year in City of Ghosts with Matt Dillon.
The year previously she had flown to the UK to shoot I Capture the Castle, Tim Fywell's adaptation of the 1948 novel of the same title by Dodie Smith. In the 2003 release, she portrayed Rose Mortmain, the elder sister of Romola Garai's Cassandra. In 2003, she starred in three Australian films: The Night We Called It a Day with Melanie Griffith and Dennis Hopper; The Rage in Placid Lake for which she was named Best Actress at the Australian Film Institute with singer Ben Lee; and Take Away, another comedy.
In 2004, Byrne starred as Briseis, the Trojan priestess who is abducted during the Trojan War by Achilles, played by Brad Pitt, in Wolfgang Petersen's epic Troy,[7] also starring Eric Bana, Peter O’Toole, Sean Bean, and Orlando Bloom. She then reunited with Peter O'Toole in the BBC TV drama Casanova. Byrne appeared with Snoop Dogg in Danny Green's film The Tenants, based on Bernard Malamud's novel, and starred with Josh Hartnett[8] and Diane Kruger in the romantic psychological thriller Wicker Park where she played Alex, the woman who manipulated Josh Hartnett's character to keep him apart from the woman he falls in love with.
In 2006, Byrne portrayed Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, a French aristocrat and friend of Marie Antoinette, in Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, with Kirsten Dunst, and appeared in The Dead Girl,[9] directed by Karen Moncrieff.
In 2007, she played Cassie,[10] the pilot in Danny Boyle's science fiction suspense film[11] Sunshine,[12] Scarlett Ross, an army medical officer in Juan Carlos Fresnadillo's science fiction horror 28 Weeks Later, the sequel to Boyle's 28 Days Later, and appeared in the independent film Just Buried,[13] a Canadian dark comedy written and directed by Chaz Thorne.
Since 2007, Byrne has appeared in the FX drama production Damages,[14] playing the regular lead role of Ellen Parsons,[15] a young attorney torn between her new boss, played by Glenn Close, and her own ambitions.
She appeared in the Australian film noir The Tender Hook with Hugo Weaving.
In 2009, Byrne co-starred with Nicolas Cage in the science fiction thriller, Knowing. Later that year, she appeared in the indie film, Adam, with Hugh Dancy. She appeared in the 2010 comedy film, Get Him to the Greek, starring Russell Brand and Jonah Hill and she was joint lead in the James Wan horror film Insidious, which premiered in September 2010 at the Toronto International Film Festival[16] and went on general release on 1 April 2011.[17]
Byrne also starred in the Kristen Wiig comedy, Bridesmaids, released on 13 May 2011.[18][19] On 15 August 2010, it became public that she had been cast in the role of Moira MacTaggert in the X-Men spin-off, X-Men: First Class, directed by Matthew Vaughn. The movie opened 3 June 2011.[20]
Byrne has employed several different accents in her films: Australian, English,[6] American,[21] and Canadian.[22]
Other activities
Byrne has appeared in the music videos for Darren Hayes's single "I Miss You", M.Craft's "Sweets", and starred with Australian musician Alex Lloyd in the music video for his single "Black The Sun", as well as featuring on the cover artwork for the EP. She also appeared in a television commercial for Sony.
Byrne was the face of Max Factor between 2004 and 2006 and named in the Most Beautiful People of 2007 list in Who Magazine.[23]
Byrne has supported UNICEF Australia by being the face of the 2007 Designers United campaign and a member of tropfest jury in 2006 and tropfest @ tribeca[24] in 2007. She is a graduate and ambassador for NIDA's (National Institute of Dramatic Art) Young Actors Studio. She was recently named the first patron of Chauvel Cinemas presented by the Brisbane International Film Festival and named in honour of Charles Chauvel.
Personal life
Byrne was in a relationship with Australian writer, director and actor Brendan Cowell for over six years. For much of the time their relationship was maintained at long-distance, with work commitments meaning they were often on separate continents. Cowell moved from Sydney to New York City, following Byrne's success on Damages. The relationship ended in January 2010.[25] Previously she dated Australian writer/director Gregor Jordan, who directed her in Two Hands.[26]
Filmography
List of film credits Year Title Role Notes 1994 Dallas Doll Rastus Sommers 1999 Two Hands Alex 1999 The Date Sophie 2000 My Mother Frank Jenny 2000 The Goddess of 1967 BG Volpi Cup for Best Actress 2001 The Pitch Girl 2002 Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones Dormé 2002 City of Ghosts Sabrina 2003 I Capture the Castle Rose Mortmain 2003 The Night We Called It a Day Audrey Appleby 2003 Monster Uncredited Role 2003 The Rage in Placid Lake Gemma Taylor Nominated—Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role 2003 Take Away Sonja Stilano 2004 Troy Briseis 2004 Wicker Park Alex 2005 The Tenants Irene Bell 2006 Marie Antoinette Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac 2006 The Dead Girl Leah 2007 Sunshine Cassie 2007 28 Weeks Later Major Scarlet Ross 2008 Just Buried Roberta Knickle 2008 The Tender Hook Iris 2009 Knowing Diana Wayland 2009 Adam Beth Buchwald 2010 I Love You Too Drunk Passenger Cameo[27] 2010 Get Him to the Greek Jackie Q 2011 Insidious Renai Lambert 2011 Scream Awards Nominated for Best Horror Actress 2011 Bridesmaids[19] Helen Harris 2011 X-Men: First Class Moira MacTaggert List of television credits Year Title Role Notes 1995 Echo Point Belinda O Conor Lead character 1997 Fallen Angels Siobhan Guest (1 episode) 1997 Wildside Heidi Benson Guest (2 episodes) 1999 Big Sky Angie Guest (1 episode) 1999 Heartbreak High Carly Whitely Guest (3 episodes) 2000 Murder Call Sarah Watson Guest (1 episode) 2005 Casanova Edith BBC Mini series 2007–present Damages Ellen Parsons Lead character 2009 The Chaser's War on Everything Herself Awards
- Nominated
- Golden Globe Awards
- Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Damages
- 2008
- 2010
- Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for Damages
- Primetime Emmy Awards
- Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Damages
- 2009
- 2010
- Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for Damages
- Movie Extra Filmink Awards
- 2008– Best Performance by an Aussie In An Overseas Movie for Sunshine (2007)
- Australian Film Institute
- 2003– AFI Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Rage in Placid Lake (2003)
- Film Critics Circle of Australia
- 2002– FCCA Award for Best Actress for The Goddess of 1967 (2000)
- Satellite Awards
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series for Damages
- 2010
- Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series for Damages
- Won
- Australian Film Institute
- 2007– International Award for Best Actress for Damages (2007)
- Venice Film Festival
- 2000– Volpi Cup for Best Actress for The Goddess of 1967 (2000)
References
- ^ "Rose Byrne talks Irish Roots – & movies Damages, Knowing & Get Him To The Greek". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eBltI4tUsPc. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ Burke, Gavin (25 March 2009). "Q&A With Star of 'Knowing', Rose Byrne". entertainment.ie. http://entertainment.ie/Movie/feature/Q&A-With-Star-of-%27Knowing%27,-Rose-Byrne/2/138.htm. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ Lipworth, Elaine (31 July 2009). "Rose Byrne: ‘I wanted to be Kylie Minogue’". The Sunday Times. http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/article6733670.ece. Retrieved 4 June 2011.
- ^ "Rose Byrne Biography (1979–)". Filmreference.com. http://www.filmreference.com/film/94/Rose-Byrne.html. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "Actress Rose Byrne on ‘Knowing’ Religion & the End of the World". Blackbookmag.com. 18 March 2009. http://www.blackbookmag.com/article/actress-rose-byrne-on-knowing-religion-and-the-end-of-the-world/6808. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ a b Sacha, Molitorisz (5 July 2007). Rose Byrne accidental star. The Age
- ^ Michael, Fitzgerard (18 May 2004)The Goddess of Troy The Time
- ^ Josh, Hartnett (July 2004).TV.com Rose Byrne Josh Hartnett's interview. Interview
- ^ Craig, Mathieson (15 June 2007). Rose by another name. The Sydney Morning Herald
- ^ Kevin, Maher (17 March 2007). Byrne as hot as the sun. The Time
- ^ Stacy, Layne (16 July 2007). Horror.com Rose Byrne Interview. Horror.com
- ^ Jack, Foley (18 April 2007). Sunshine Rose Byrne Interview. Indie London
- ^ Sharaff, Amy (10 September 2007). Byrne Confront gory scenes in Just Buried. Metro Canada
- ^ Tim, Surette (14 August 2007). TV.com Q&A: Damages' Rose Byrne TV.com
- ^ Moore, Frazier (12 October 2007). Byrne is damaged lawyer on `Damages' . "Associated Press"
- ^ "First Casting for James Wan's Now Filming Insidious". Bloody-disgusting.com. 21 April 2010. http://www.bloody-disgusting.com/news/19916. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ "Haunted House Film Insidious To Be Released on April Fool's Day". Shockya. http://www.shockya.com/news/2010/12/30/haunted-house-film-insidious-to-be-released-on-april-fools-day.
- ^ "Rose Byrne Signs on to the Untitled Kristen Wiig Project". Movieweb.com. 30 April 2010. http://www.movieweb.com/news/NE6vh9a67mIi8b. Retrieved 30 May 2010.
- ^ a b Garth, Franklin (18 June 2010) Several More Join Wiig's "Bridesmaids" darkhorizons.com
- ^ Keyes, Rob (16 August 2010). "Rose Byrne To Play Moira MacTaggert in X-Men: First Class". screenrant.com. http://screenrant.com/rose-byrne-moira-mactaggert-x-men-first-class-rob-73746/. Retrieved 22 November 2010.
- ^ Michael, Flaherty (19 July 2007). 60 Seconds With Rose Byrne LA Times
- ^ Collins, Catarina (10 September 2007).Just Buried a hilarious look at some dark truths. Toronto Film Festival
- ^ Olivia, Bishop (15 June 2007) Most Beautiful People: Rose Byrne. Who.com
- ^ McCarthy, Sean L (31 August 2007). Tropfest@Tribeca comes to NYC . "Nydailynews"
- ^ "Rose Byrne and Brenden Cowell Split". Pedestrian TV. http://www.pedestrian.tv/news/view/7774/rose-byrne-and-brendan-cowell-split.htm.
- ^ "Biography". TV Guide. http://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/rose-byrne/bio/173031.
- ^ "Rose Byrne on IMDb". IMDb. http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0126284/.
External links
Categories:- 1979 births
- Australian agnostics
- Australian expatriate actors in the United States
- Australian film actors
- Australian people of Irish descent
- Australian stage actors
- Australian television actors
- Living people
- People from Sydney
- University of Sydney alumni
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