Birthday:
7 December 1988, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Height:
5' 2" (1.57 m)
Biography
Australian actress Emily Browning was born in 1988 in
Melbourne, Australia. She has two younger brothers. Her start in acting
came after a classmate's father, involved in the acting business,
noticed her "acting all ditsy" in a school play. Emily found an agent
and was soon filming on location for the Hallmark TV-movie, The Echo of
Thunder (1998) (TV). She received more roles from there, including parts
in The Man Who Sued God (2001), opposite Billy Connolly, and Ned Kelly
(2003), opposite Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom. In that film, she had
to hug Heath Ledger, and she said that all of her friends, who went to
see the film, at the same time sent her a barrage of text messages about
how lucky she was! Emily says she tries to avoid "cheesy" movies, and
her big break came when she was on a press tour in LA for Ghost Ship
(2002), that was filmed in Australia and released in America. In the
same year, she won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Young
Actress, and was nominated for the same award, the next year. Emily
received some scripts when she was in LA and sent in a video audition
for Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). She received
a call and was asked to come to LA for a proper audition, which won her
the part. She spent months in LA filming, for the second time acting
opposite Billy Connolly. Emily said she enjoyed the experience of making
a big budget film in America, and says that although she's not sure
what is coming next, she's hoping to do some more Australian work
Browning was born in Melbourne, the daughter of Andrew and Shelley Browning, and has two younger brothers (Nicholas and Matthew).
[1][2]
She has always been interested in the arts, citing English literature,
photography, and fashion design as her favourite school subjects.
[citation needed]
She took a break from acting in order to complete her education at Eltham High School, where, in November 2006, she concluded her Victorian Certificate of Education exams.
[3]
Career
Browning's acting career began at the age of eight, when she was
noticed by a classmate's father at a school play and he recommended that
she pursue acting as a profession.
[citation needed] Her debut role was on the 1998 Hallmark Channel movie
The Echo of Thunder.
[4]
Additional roles in Australian film and television productions soon
followed, including recurring parts in the television series
Blue Heelers from 2000 to 2002, and
Something in the Air from 2000 to 2001.
In 2001, Browning appeared as the daughter of a character played by Billy Connolly in
The Man Who Sued God. She made her American film debut in 2002's
Ghost Ship, and won an Australian Film Institute Award for Best Young Actress, the same year.
[5] In 2003, she appeared opposite Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom in 2003's
Ned Kelly, and then reunited with Connolly the following year in the film adaptation of
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events, in which she played Violet Baudelaire.
In 2006, Browning appeared in the music video for Evermore's "Light Surrounding You".
[6] In the behind-the-scenes video for the clip, the band stated, "[We] suck as actors, so we decided to get Emily."
[7] She attended the L'Oreal Fashion Festival as a festival ambassador on 1 February 2007.
[8]
Browning played the lead in the 2009 horror film
The Uninvited, an American remake of the 2003 South Korean film
A Tale of Two Sisters, co-starring against Elizabeth Banks and Arielle Kebbel. She then turned down a request to audition for the role of Bella Swan in
Twilight, citing exhaustion, despite an endorsement from series author Stephenie Meyer.
[9][10] In 2009, she was cast as Babydoll in Zack Snyder's action film
Sucker Punch, as a replacement for Amanda Seyfried, who dropped out due to scheduling conflicts.
[11] Filming took place in Vancouver from September 2009 to January 2010,
[12] and the film was released on 25 March 2011.
[13] In an interview at Comic Con
[disambiguation needed],
she confirmed that she would be singing in the film, while claiming
that her audition tape brought tears to her casting agent's eyes and the
song she selected ("Killing Me Softly") was one of Zack Snyder's wife Deborah's favourites, which Browning referred to as the "selling point" on her being cast in the role.
[14]
Since
Sucker Punch, Browning has worked steadily in film on a
number of moderately high profile projects and won a number of highly
sought after roles. Browning plays the lead role in the independent
Australian film
Sleeping Beauty, directed by Julia Leigh.
[15] She replaced friend and fellow young Australian actress Mia Wasikowska, who was committed to a film adaptation of
Jane Eyre at the time.
[16] The film screened at the 2011 Cannes Film Festival and the Sydney Film Festival.
Browning said, "Even reading the screenplay, it made me feel
uncomfortable. But that was something that attracted me to it. I would
prefer to polarise an audience as opposed to making an entertaining film
everybody feels ambivalent about."
[17]
In 2012, she replaced English actress Ophelia Lovibond to play as the female lead in the film Summer in February.
[18] The film is based on the book of the same title, by Jonathan Smith. The film was filmed in Cornwall alongside Dominic Cooper and Dan Stevens.
[19]
In July 2012, Browning was cast in
God Help the Girl a musical film by Belle and Sebastian front-man Stuart Murdoch.
[20] Browning played Eve, and the role required live singing.
[21] Filming on the production began on 8 July 2012 and wrapped on 12 August 2012.
Browning was then cast in Catherine Hardwicke's
Plush alongside Cam Gigandet,
[23] replacing Evan Rachel Wood who was originally attached to the project due to scheduling conflicts.
[24] Browning also starred alongside Xavier Samuel
[25]
whom she met on the set during filming. Both Australians, the pair
sparked a close friendship and a rumored romantic relationship. They
have been spotted together numerous times by fans since the filming of
Plush, most notably arriving to the Sundance Film Festival together in 2013.
[26]
Magic Magic, directed by Sebastián Silva, screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival to mostly favorable reviews.
[27][28]
In February 2013, it was announced that Browning will shoot a major role in a film called
Pompeii co-starring Kit Harrington, most known for Game of Thrones. The project will be filmed in Toronto and the actual city of Pompeii itself.
[29][30] During the same month, it was also announced that rumors surrounding Browning's possible appearance in
The Host - a film adaption of the novel of the same name by Stephenie Meyer - were proven to be true as revealed by co-star Saoirse Ronan that she would be playing Pet, during a press junket interview for the film.
[31] Director Andrew Niccol also stated in the special The Host
collector's edition of Us magazine that Browning would be 'great for
the next movie', indicating a larger role in a possible sequel.
[32] Browning took a break from filming on Pompeii and returned home to Australia to film a music video directed by Guy Franklin for the song
No Matter What You Say by San Francisco-based band Imperial Teen. The video follows Browning as the lead character, conducting a 'live art-piece'.
[33]
Fashion
Since Browning's return to film, she has been called a rising fashion icon by MTV.
[34] Catching the eye of fashion Magazines "Vogue" and "W". She has also stated an interest in fashion design
[35][unreliable source?]
and has considered pursuing a career in fashion, but worries about her
rising fame interfering with her work. "I never want to be known as
someone who would put her name on something just because you're famous.
That's something that disgusts me, and want nothing to be a part of."
[36][unreliable source?]
Personal life
Browning is close friends with upcoming Australian film maker Guy Franklin
[37] - known for directing many of singer Kimbra's music videos. Franklin is apparently set to direct her in a second short film titled
Mr. Beautiful, according to a recent interview he gave to Onya magazine.
[38]
Browning had been in a relationship with English actor Max Irons since 2011, but the relationship was reported to have ended in the summer of 2012.
[39][40]
Filmography
| Notes |
| 1998 |
The Echo of Thunder |
Opal Ritchie |
TV movie |
| 1999 |
High Flyers |
Phoebe Mason |
|
| 1999 |
Thunderstone |
Cleo |
TV series |
2000–
2002 |
Blue Heelers |
Hayley Fulton |
TV series |
| 2001 |
The Man Who Sued God |
Rebecca Myers |
|
| 2001 |
Halifax f.p: Playing God |
Kristy O'Connor |
TV movie |
| 2001 |
Blonde |
Fleece |
|
| 2002 |
Ghost Ship |
Katie Harwood |
|
| 2003 |
After the Deluge |
Maddy |
TV miniseries |
| 2003 |
Ned Kelly |
Grace Kelly |
|
| 2003 |
Darkness Falls |
Young Caitlin Greene |
|
| 2004 |
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events |
Violet Baudelaire |
Main role |
| 2005 |
Stranded |
Penny |
|
| 2006 |
Light Surrounding You |
Hero Girl |
Music video |
| 2009 |
The Uninvited |
Anna Ivers |
Main role |
| 2009 |
Talk.Distance.Listen |
Natalie |
Short film |
| 2011 |
Sucker Punch |
Babydoll |
Main role |
| 2011 |
Sleeping Beauty |
Lucy |
Main role |
| 2012 |
Mr. Beautiful |
Olivia White |
Short film |
| 2013 |
The Host |
Pet/Wanderer |
|
| 2013 |
Summer in February |
Florence Carter-Wood |
Main role |
| 2013 |
Magic Magic |
Sarah |
Main role |
| 2013 |
God Help the Girl |
Eve |
Main role |
| 2013 |
Plush |
Hayley |
Main role |
| 2013 |
Cassie and Jude |
Cassie / Jude |
Main role |
| 2013 |
No Matter What You Say |
|
Music video |
| 2013 |
Sacred Country |
Mary |
Main role |
| 2013 |
Plush |
|
Post-production |
| 2014 |
Pompeii |
Cassia |
Main role |
Discography
| 2011 |
"Sweet Dreams (Are Made of This)" |
Sucker Punch OST |
| 2011 |
"Where Is My Mind?" Yoav (feat. Emily Browning) |
Sucker Punch OST |
| 2011 |
"Asleep" |
Sucker Punch OST |
Awards
Won:
- 2002 Australian Film Institute Young Actor's Award (Halifax f.p: Playing God)
- 2005 Australian Film Institute International Award for Best Actress (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)[3]
Nominated:
- 1999 Australian Film Institute Young Actor's Award (The Echo of Thunder)
- 2003 Australian Film Institute Young Actor's Award (After the Deluge)
- 2005 BFCA Awards: Best Young Actress (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)
- 2005 Young Artist Awards: Best Performance in a Feature Film, Leading Young Actress (Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events)
Filmography
She has taken on diverse roles ranging from Virginia (Cissy) Poe, the ailing wife of Edgar Allan Poe, in the Masters of Horror episode "The Black Cat", to a flame-wielding bog witch in Flash Gordon.
