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A staple of British soap operas
before she was even out of her teens, Anna Friel experienced the type of
fame encouraged by tabloids and Internet shrines before getting a chance
to prove her talents on the stage and screen. Born in Rochdale, Lancashire
on July 12, 1976, Friel began acting as a teenager, performing with
theatres across Britain. In 1990, she made her television debut with a
role on the BBC series In Their Shoes, and was soon appearing in a number
of popular TV series, including Coronation Street and Emmerdale. She
received her greatest amount of notice to date when she was cast on the
soap opera Brookside in 1993; the resulting popularity of her role on the
show made the beautiful actress something of a celebrity in her native
country.
In 1997 (two years after leaving Brookside) Friel made her film debut in
The Land Girls. A World War II drama, it featured Friel, Rachel Weisz and
Catherine McCormack as its titular heroines. Although the film was
virtually unheard of outside the UK, it received generally favorable
reviews. The following year, Friel appeared in two more films, The
Stringer and Rogue Trader, the latter of which had her starring opposite
Ewan McGregor. That same year, she won great acclaim on the London stage
for her performance in Patrick Marber's Closer. A trenchant commentary on
love and sex, it featured the young actress as an enigmatic stripper, and
allowed her to work alongside such performers as Natasha Richardson,
Ciaran Hinds and Rupert Graves. The play proved to be so successful that
it moved to Broadway the next year, where it continued to win accolade
after accolade. Friel herself won a Drama Desk award for Best Supporting
Actress for her work. That same year, she continued to broaden her resume
and fan base with starring roles in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Sunset
Strip, the former of which featured her as Hermia, and the latter of which
saw her experiencing the ups and downs of life in 1972 Los Angeles.
Following roles in The War Bride and Me Without You (both 2001) Friel
continued to develop her onscreen persona, and with Richard Donner's time
travel adventure Timeline (2003) the actress remained poised for the role
that would provide her with her widest exposure to date. |
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"Some producer suddenly
grabbed my doughnut out of my hand. Then he said, 'Anna, you really
shouldn't be doing that'. He said, 'your tummy's not looking right
on screen'. If it's just about that they should have hired a model.
I mean, we're not talking about a big f**king tummy here!" |
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Angel Makers (2007)
"Pushing Daisies" (2007) TV Series (pre-production) .... Charlotte
'Chuck' Charles (2007-)
Goal! 3 (2007) (pre-production) .... Roz Harmison
Bathory (2007) (completed) .... Elizabeth Bathory
Goal! 2: Living the Dream... (2007) .... Roz
Irish Jam (2006) .... Maureen
Niagara Motel (2005) .... Denise
Goal! (2005) .... Roz Harmison
... aka Goal! The Dream Begins (USA)
Perfect Strangers (2004) (TV) .... Susie Wilding
"The Jury" (2004) TV Series .... Megan Delaney (unknown episodes)
Timeline (2003) .... Lady Claire
Last Rumba in Rochdale (2003) (voice) .... Bodney
Watermelon (2003) (TV) .... Claire Ryan
Fields of Gold (2002) (TV) .... Lucia Merritt
Me Without You (2001) .... Marina
The War Bride (2001) .... Lily
... aka Love and War (USA: MIFED title)
... aka War Bride (USA)
"The Fear" (2001) TV Series .... Storyteller
An Everlasting Piece (2000) .... Bronagh
Sunset Strip (2000) .... Tammy Franklin
Mad Cows (1999) .... Maddy
Rogue Trader (1999) .... Lisa Leeson
A Midsummer Night's Dream (1999) .... Hermia
... aka Sogno di una notte di mezza estate (Italy)
... aka William Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (USA:
complete title)
St. Ives (1998) .... Flora Gilchrist
... aka All for Love (UK: TV title)
The Tribe (1998) .... Lizzie
The Stringer (1998) .... Helen
"Our Mutual Friend" (1998) (mini) TV Series .... Bella Wilfer
The Land Girls (1998) .... Prue (Prudence)
... aka Trois Anglaises en campagne (France)
"Cadfael" .... Sioned (1 episode, 1996)
... aka Mystery!: Cadfael (USA)
- A Morbid Taste for Bones (1996) TV Episode .... Sioned
"Tales from the Crypt" .... Angelica (1 episode, 1996)
... aka HBO's Tales from the Crypt
- About Face (1996) TV Episode .... Angelica
"The Imaginatively Titled Punt & Dennis Show" (1 episode, 1995)
... aka Punt & Dennis (UK: second season title)
- Episode #2.1 (1995) TV Episode
"Brookside" (1982) TV Series .... Beth Jordache (unknown episodes,
1993-1995)
"Medics" .... Holly Jarrett (1 episode, 1993)
- Episode #3.3 (1993) TV Episode .... Holly Jarrett
"Emmerdale Farm" (1972) TV Series .... Poppy Bruce (unknown
episodes, 1992)
... aka Emmerdale (UK: new title)
"G.B.H." (1991) (mini) TV Series .... Susan Nelson |
