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Naomi Watts - Biography |
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Naomi Watts was born in Shoreham,
England on September 28, 1968 to Peter and Miv Watts. Peter Watts, the
sound engineer to Pink Floyd, died when Naomi was seven and she began to
follow her mother and her brother around England until they settled in
Australia when she was fourteen. She coaxed her mother into letting her
take acting class when they arrived. After bit parts in commercials, she
landed her first role in For Love Alone (1986). Naomi met her best friend,
Nicole Kidman, when they both auditioned for a bikini commercial and they
shared a taxi ride home. In 1991, Naomi starred along Kidman in the
sleeper-hit Flirting (1991) directed by John Duigan. Naomi continued her
career by starring in the Australian "Brides of Christ" (1991) (mini)
co-starring Oscar-winners Russell Crowe and Brenda Fricker. In 1993, she
worked with John Duigan again in Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) and director
George Miller in Gross Misconduct (1993). Tank Girl (1995), in 1995, an
adaptation of the comic book was a cult hit, starred Naomi as "Jet Girl",
but it didn't fare well at the box-office and didn't do much for her
career as a whole. Watts continued to take insignificant parts in movies
including the much forgotten film Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering
(1996) (V). It wasn't until David Lynch cast her in the critically
acclaimed film Mulholland Dr. (2001) that she began to become noticed. Her
part as an aspiring actress showed her strong acting ability and wide
range and earned her much respect, as much as to say by some that she was
overlooked for a Oscar nomination that year. Stardom finally came to Naomi
in the surprise hit The Ring (2002), which grossed over $100,000,000 at
the box-office and starred Watts as a investigative reporter hunting down
the truth behind several mysterious deaths seemingly caused by a video
tape. While the movie did not fare well with the critics, it launched her
into the spotlight. In 2003, she starred in Alejandro González Iñárritu's
21 Grams (2003) which earned her - what some say is a much overdue Oscar
nomination and brought others to call her one of the best in her
generation of actors. The same year, she was nominated for 21 Grams
(2003), Naomi was chosen to play "Ann Darrow" in director Peter Jackson's
King Kong (2005) which took her to New Zealand for a five month shoot.
Watts completed her first comedy in I Heart Huckabees (2004) for director
David O. Russell, playing a superficial spokes model - a break from her
usual intense and dramatic roles she is known for. In 2005, she reprized
her role as the protective-mother-reporter "Rachel Keller" in The Ring Two
(2005). The movie, released in March, opened to $35,000,000 at the box
office in the first weekend and established her as a box-office draw. Also
in 2005, it was decided that her independent movie Ellie Parker (2001)
would be re-released in late 2005 after its success at resurfacing at the
Sundance Film Festival. The movie, which Naomi also produced, features her
in the title role and is a bit biographical, but yet exaggerated take of
the life of a struggling actress as she comes to Hollywood and encounters
nightmares of the profession (it also features Watts' own beat-up Honda
which she travels around in). In 2006, she starred with Edward Norton in
The Painted Veil (2006). In July of 2007, Naomi gave birth to a boy,
Alexander Pete in Los Angeles with Liev Schreiber. |
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Naomi Watts - Personal Quotes |
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'Pain is such an important
thing in life. I think that as an artist you have to experience
suffering. It's not enough to have lived it once; you have to relive
it. Darkness is not a pejorative thing."
"There's a lot of skeletons in my closet, but I know what they're
wearing. I'm not gonna act all ashamed of it" - on her early career.
It was total naivety that got me to Hollywood. I thought it was
going to happen straight away. I told myself 'give it 5 years,
there's no way I'll be here after that if it doesn't happen'. Cut to
ten years later!
On set is where I feel comfortable. The red carpet stuff, talking
about the film, explaining your own life, it doesn't come naturally.
It's all necessary stuff I suppose but it's not my strength.
I find myself gravitating towards drama. It interests me. In the
books I read, the paintings I like, it's always the darker stuff.
For the record, I am actually British as well as Australian. People
always think I'm Australian but I'm happy for the Brits to claim me
back. I'm offering myself up.
Instead of thinking 'how can I slow the ageing process?' I think
'how can I bend the rules?' Every year you add to your life, you're
going to add a different experience to your face.
Whatever is said about roles drying up, I intend to keep working.
Certainly now the roles couldn't be more interesting - playing
mothers, divorcees. I think it's going to be exciting to play a
mother of teenagers. The longer your life, the deeper it gets.
My mum put me in drama classes when I was about 14. I'd been going
on about it for some time, so maybe it was a way to shut me up.
"We're so afraid of death in our culture, but I think if we
understand it better, then we'll appreciate the life we have more."
- in response to 21 Grams (2003).
"I've had people who've seen 21 Grams (2003) say, 'Wow, you're so
brave to be looking like that'. This shocks me. I think that's what
an actor's job is, to lose yourself in a role".
"You have to make peace with yourself. The key is to find the
harmony in what you have." quoted in the Feb 01, 2005 issue of
WOMAN'S WORLD
If I have to produce movies, direct movies, whatever to change the
way Hollywood treats older women, I'll do it. If I have to bend the
rules, I will. If I have to break them, I will.
Even during my most intense scenes with Sean Penn (in 21 Grams
(2003)), we found ways to have fun. Sure, I have my dark moments,
but I'm the girl you'll see driving down the highway singing to
Blondie.
"It's always nerve-racking to take off your clothes on film. But
doing it with a woman felt safer than with a man. You know you can
say, 'Don't grab me there: That's where my cellulite is'!" [after
being asked if it was hard to do a love scene with a woman
(Mulholland Dr. (2001)]
I always love being in the company of women. It's all about good
conversation and great wine.
"The consequences are that you fear and dread being abandoned. You
get a little tougher, and it's more difficult for you to become
intimate. The pros are that you can adapt to any situation and that
you're open to new surroundings. A lot of people get stuck in their
ways, but I embrace change." on moving frequently when she was
younger.
"The biggest place I look for validation is from my mother. That's
the little girl in me that will never grow up." - on why not having
an Oscar yet doesn't faze her.
"That ad recently turned up in a magazine in Australia. My head is
in my hands as I'm sitting at as desk, thinking, 'When can I start
using tampons?' I was quite old, but I was supposed to look 12". -
on one of her first gigs
I'm a tomboy now. I always wanted to fit in with my brother's group,
so I climbed trees and played with lead soldiers. But I'm a woman's
woman. I never understood women who don't have woman friends.
Yeah, I suppose I am ordinarily drawn to the darker stuff. You won't
find me in a romantic comedy. Those movies don't speak to me. People
don't come to talk to me about those scripts, because they probably
think I'm this dark, twisted, miserable person.
"Every time I dress up to go somewhere, I say this is who I am:
like, I feel like a Russian hooker tonight. A long time ago, I put
on a Stella McCartney top with a huge amount of feathers, and I had
really black eye makeup and stringy hair. My mom was like, 'That
top's not working'. But that's what I looked like, a Russian
hooker".
I keep saying to myself, Oh, God, I'm sick of playing these dark,
harrowing roles. I want a big paycheck, so put me in some dumb
romantic comedy any day.
When I had dark hair I definitely felt that I was more anonymous.
I had gotten to a place where I truly believed everything I was
called: 'not sexy,' 'not funny,' 'too intense,' desperate.' All
those labels they gave me, I took them because there wasn't a trace
of my true self left. - on the struggles of her early career
To be appreciated or recognized is everything to an artist, but to
be placed in a category where judgment occurs is awful, and yet we
are all liars if we can't admit that we haven't all chased it or
dreamed of it, even just a little bit.
Every time I'd think to book a ticket to leave L.A., something would
come up-even just a three day job or something. That was enough to
keep me invested. I still pinch myself when a certain director calls
and says, 'Would you like to read my script?' I don't take any of it
for granted because I struggled for so long.
Yes, I've had six great years of being in a position where I can
pick and choose a bit, but it's not like I suddenly feel so calm and
relaxed about that. Having spent a large portion of my life with a
constant struggle and trying to find ways to make it work, that's
what sticks with me.
There's a set of rules out there somewhere that says it all ends by
40. I hope to be able to defy that because I truly love my work. |
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Naomi Watts - Filmography |
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Need (2009)
The Birds (2009) .... Melanie Daniels
Kicked, Bitten and Scratched (2009)
The International (2008)
Funny Games (2008) .... Anna
Eastern Promises (2007) .... Anna
... aka Promesses de l'ombre (Canada: French title)
The Painted Veil (2006) .... Kitty Fane
Inland Empire (2006) (voice) .... Suzie Rabbit
King Kong (2005) .... Ann Darrow
... aka Kong: The Eighth Wonder of the World (International: English
title: teaser title)
... aka Peter Jackson's King Kong (USA: promotional title)
King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie (2005) (VG) (voice) ....
Ann Darrow
... aka Kong: The 8th Wonder of the World (USA)
Stay (2005/I) .... Lila Culpepper
The Ring Two (2005) .... Rachel Keller
... aka Samara (Hong Kong: English title) (Singapore: English title)
... aka The Ring 2 (International: English title: alternative
spelling) (UK)
... aka Samara: Ring 2 (Philippines: English title: informal title)
Ellie Parker (2005) .... Ellie Parker
I Heart Huckabees (2004) .... Dawn Campbell
... aka I Love Huckabees (USA: alternative title)
The Assassination of Richard Nixon (2004) .... Marie Andersen Bicke
We Don't Live Here Anymore (2004) .... Edith Evans
21 Grams (2003) .... Cristina Peck
Divorce, Le (2003) .... Roxeanne de Persand
Ned Kelly (2003) .... Julia Cook
... aka Ned Kelly: Public Enemy No. 1 (Philippines: English title:
poster title)
The Outsider (2002) (TV) .... Rebecca Yoder
Plots with a View (2002) .... Meredith Mainwaring
... aka Grabgeflüster (Germany: video title)
... aka Grabgeflüster - Liebe versetzt Särge (Germany)
... aka Plotz with a View (UK)
... aka Undertaking Betty (USA)
The Ring (2002) .... Rachel Keller
Rabbits (2002) .... Suzie
Mulholland Dr. (2001) .... Betty Elms/Diane Selwyn
... aka Mulholland Drive (France) (USA: closing credits title)
Down (2001) .... Jennifer Evans
... aka The Shaft (USA: video title)
Ellie Parker (2001) .... Ellie Parker
Never Date an Actress (2001) .... The shallow girlfriend
The Wyvern Mystery (2000) (TV) .... Alice Fairfield
Strange Planet (1999) .... Alice
The Hunt for the Unicorn Killer (1999) (TV) .... Holly Maddux
The Christmas Wish (1998) (TV) .... Renee
Babe: Pig in the City (1998) (voice) .... Additional Voices
"Sleepwalkers" .... Kate Russell (9 episodes, 1997-1998)
- Cassandra (1998) TV Episode .... Kate Russell
- Sub-Conscious (1998) TV Episode .... Kate Russell
- A Matter of Fax (1998) TV Episode .... Kate Russell
- Passed Imperfect (1998) TV Episode .... Kate Russell
- Counting Sheep (1998) TV Episode .... Kate Russell
(4 more)
Dangerous Beauty (1998) .... Giulia De Lezze
... aka The Honest Courtesan (UK) (USA: working title)
... aka A Destiny of Her Own (Australia)
A House Divided (1998) .... Amanda
Under the Lighthouse Dancing (1997) .... Louise
Persons Unknown (1996) .... Molly
Timepiece (1996) (TV) .... Mary Chandler
Children of the Corn IV: The Gathering (1996) (V) .... Grace Rhodes
... aka Deadly Harvest
Bermuda Triangle (1996) (TV) .... Amanda
Tank Girl (1995) .... Jet Girl
Gross Misconduct (1993) .... Jennifer Carter
... aka Gross Indecency
Wide Sargasso Sea (1993) .... Fanny Grey
Matinee (1993) .... Shopping Cart Starlet
The Custodian (1993) .... Louise
"Home and Away" (1988) TV Series .... Julie Gibson (unknown
episodes, 1991)
"Brides of Christ" (1991) (mini) TV Series .... Frances Heffernan
Flirting (1991) .... Janet Odgers
"Hey Dad..!" .... Belinda (2 episodes, 1990)
- Bulk Bill Dill (1990) TV Episode .... Belinda
- Eternal Quadrangle (1990) TV Episode .... Belinda |
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Naomi Watts - Related Links |
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Wikipedia: Naomi Watts
YouTube: Naomi Watts
Naomi Watts at Celebs, Inc.
Naomi Watts at Babemania.com
Top Celebrities Sites:
The Celebrity
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