Charity Wakefield

Charity Wakefield
Born
EducationOxford School of Drama
OccupationActress
Years active2004–present
Spouse
David Newman
(m. 2016)
[1]

Charity Wakefield is an English actress. Her appearances include roles in Sense & Sensibility (2008), Casualty 1900s (2008–2009), Wolf Hall and The Player (2015), Close to the Enemy (2016), The Halcyon, Genius and Bounty Hunters (2017), and as Georgina Dymova in The Great (2020–2023).

Early life and education

Charity Wakefield was born in Tunbridge Wells[2] Her first taste of acting was in an amateur dramatics school production of Sleeping Beauty in 1987.[1] Wakefield attended a three-year acting course at Oxford School of Drama graduating in 2003.[3] Besides acting, Wakefield plays the violin and has a strong soprano singing voice.[4]

Career

Wakefield made her screen debut in 2004, in (Past Present Future) Imperfect. She starred in a BBC1 production of Rapunzel, in which Rapunzel is a young tennis star,[5] and also appeared in Casualty 1907.[3]

Her theatre credits include Yesterday Was a Weird Day, a production about the 2005 London bombings, Constance in The Three Musketeers at the Bristol Old Vic, and Elaine in The Graduate,[1] at the New Vic; she met her future husband, David Newman, when they acted together in The Graduate.[1] Wakefield's performance as Susan in Baby with the Bathwater at the Old Red Lion Theatre was called "fabulous."[6] In 2008 Wakefield toured in a revival of W. Somerset Maugham's The Circle at the Chichester Festival Theatre, as well as working on the BBC comedy pilot Freddi.[7]

Wakefield played a lead role as Marianne Dashwood in the BBC production of Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility. She appeared in the Channel 4 drama Any Human Heart[2] and played the lead in the British film noir Scar Tissue. In March 2012 she was cast in Mockingbird Lane, the re-imagining of The Munsters for NBC.[8]

Wakefield appeared as Mary Boleyn in the 2015 BBC2 television series Wolf Hall.[9] She also appeared in the NBC drama The Player with Philip Winchester and Wesley Snipes.[10]

On Christmas Day 2016, she was one of the principal guest stars in the BBC1 Doctor Who Christmas special "The Return of Doctor Mysterio".[11]

In 2017, she appeared in two episodes of the ITV drama The Halcyon, playing Charity Lambert.[12] Wakefield appeared in the main cast of both series (2017 and 2019) of the Sky One comedy drama Bounty Hunters, playing Leah Hoover, sister of the character of series co-creator and co-lead Jack Whitehall.[13]

In 2020, she was cast in a main role as Georgina Dymova in the Hulu's Historical comedy-drama The Great, alongside Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2004 (Past Present Future) Imperfect Beanie
2007 Exitz Billy
2009 Vivaldi, the Red Priest Ludovica
2009 Burlesque Fairytales Grace
2009 Act of God Laura O'Connor
2011 National Theatre Live: The Cherry Orchard Anya
2012 The Raven Field's Maid
2012 Day of the Flowers Ailie
2012 Scared Abby Short film
2012 In Absence Abi Short film
2013 Scar Tissue Sam
2014 Serena Agatha
2017 A Midsummer Night's Dream Quince
2017 Kill Switch Mia
2017 Wraps Ivy Short film
2020 Actress Casting Director Short film
2020 The Mechanicals of Hemp Robin / Snug / Oberon Short film
2024 Scoop Princess Beatrice [15]

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2004 Hex Lucy Episode: "Life Goes On"
2006 Jane Eyre Miss Temple Episode: "1.1"
2007 Doctors Carole Hilton Episode: "Personal Services"
2008 Fairy Tales Billy Jane Brooke Episode: "Rapunzel"
2008 Sense & Sensibility Marianne Dashwood Main cast
2008–2009 Casualty 1900s Ethel Bennett Main cast
2010 Legally Mad Brady Hamm TV movie
2010 Any Human Heart Land Fothergill Episode: "1.1"
2011 Midsomer Murders Ruth Lambert Episode: "The Oblong Murders"
2012 Leaving Phoebe Miniseries
2012 Mockingbird Lane Marilyn Munster TV special
2013 Agatha Christie's Marple Molly Kendall Episode: "A Caribbean Mystery"
2014 High Moon Eve TV movie
2015 Wolf Hall Mary Boleyn Miniseries
2015 The Player Cassandra King Main cast
2016 Close to the Enemy Julia Miniseries
2016 Doctor Who Lucy Episode: "The Return of Doctor Mysterio"
2016 Broken Jules Episode: "Pilot"
2017 The Halcyon Charity Lambert Episodes: "1.1", "1.2"
2017 Genius Betty Episodes: "Einstein: Chapters 1 & 8"
2017 Bounty Hunters Leah Walker Main cast
2018 Salvage Gwen TV movie
2020–2023 The Great Georgina Dymova Main cast

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Charity Wakefield Married An Actor! Meet Boyfriend-Turned-Husband". liverampup.com. 28 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b "Meet the rising stars of Any Human Heart". theguardian.com. 21 November 2010.
  3. ^ a b "Charity Wakefield Student Stories". oxforddrama.ac.uk. 24 December 2008.
  4. ^ "Wakefield, Charity – Who's who on UK TV". hellomagazine.com. 24 December 2008. Archived from the original on 24 December 2008.
  5. ^ "Lee Ingleby, Charity Wakefield and Shaun Williamson let down their hair in BBC One's Rapunzel". bbc.co.uk. 7 July 2007.
  6. ^ "Baby with the Bathwater". indielondon.co.uk. 2004. Archived from the original on 7 August 2007.
  7. ^ "Freddi: new BBC Four comedy commission". BBC Press Office. 19 September 2008.
  8. ^ Barton, Steve (12 June 2014). "Say Hello to the New Marilyn Munster of Mockingbird Lane". dreadcentral.com. Archived from the original on 29 October 2013. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
  9. ^ "Mary Boleyn (Charity Wakefield) – Who are the royal subjects? – Wolf Hall – BBC Two". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  10. ^ Petski, Denise (5 March 2015). "Charity Wakefield To Star In 'Endgame'; Ben Hollingsworth Joins 'Code Black'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 8 December 2016. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  11. ^ "The Return of Doctor Mysterio". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  12. ^ "Meet the cast of The Halcyon". Radio Times. Archived from the original on 13 January 2017. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  13. ^ "Bounty Hunters: Interview With CHARITY WAKEFIELD who plays Leah Walker". Bradfordzone.com. 23 February 2019. Archived from the original on 10 May 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  14. ^ "The Great Starring Charity Wakefield". unitedvoices.tv. Retrieved 12 October 2022.
  15. ^ Kanter, Jake (14 March 2023). "'Scoop': Connor Swindells, Romola Garai Join Cast Of Netflix's Prince Andrew Movie As Jeffrey Epstein Snapper & 'Newsnight' Editor". Deadline. Retrieved 14 March 2023.