Orla Brady
| Orla Brady | |
|---|---|
| Born |
1961 (age 54–55) Dublin, Ireland |
| Residence | California |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse(s) | Nick Brandt (2002–present) |
Orla Brady (born March 28, 1961) is an Irish actress.
Early life
Orla Brady is the second of four children born to Patrick and his wife Catherine. She lived in Bray, Co.Wicklow, Ireland, from birth until the age of seven.[1] She was educated at a Loreto Convent in Wicklow and an Ursuline Convent in Dublin.
At 25 years of age she moved to Paris where she studied at the L'École Philippe Gaulier, securing a place at Marcel Marceau's École Internationale de Mimodrame de Paris.[2]
Career
Brady began her career with Balloonatics Theatre Company, touring productions of Hamlet and Finnegans Wake. She then returned to Dublin to perform at the Gate Theatre[3] where she played Adele in House of Bernarda Alba and Natasha in Three Sisters. After moving to London she played Kate in Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come! which later transferred from the King's Head Theatre to the West End.
Brady's first professional work in England was in Blinded by the Sun by Stephen Poliakoff at the Royal National Theatre[2] and she has since developed a career based on both Irish and British located theatre, television and film. These have included the RTÉ/BBC co-production A Love Divided where she portrayed Sheila Cloney, for which she won the 1999 Golden Nymph Best Actress Award at the Monte-Carlo Television Festival.[4] She also played one of four main characters in the BBC's drama series Mistresses, Siobhan Dillon, a lawyer who struggled to maintain her relationship with husband Hari while also having an affair with her colleague, Dominic, with whom she later went on to have a child. As well as that, she has appeared in RTÉ's Proof, and had roles in films such as Words Upon the Window Pane (1994), The Luzhin Defence (2000), How About You (2007) and 32A (2007).
Since moving to California in 2001, Brady has also appeared in Family Law where she played Naoise O'Niell. The series ran for 3 years on CBS. She has also starred in Nip/Tuck, a US drama about plastic surgeons where she played Dr. Jordan. She later starred in Shark as Claire Stark, the divorced ex-wife of James Woods. In 2008 she appeared in Firewall, and the second episode of the BBC series Wallander.[5] She also appeared as Meredith Gates, a fleecing art collector who herself is conned in the first series of the British series Hustle.
Commencing in 2009, Brady portrayed Elizabeth Bishop, the wife of Walter Bishop and the mother of Peter Bishop in the Fox television series Fringe.[6] In 2010, she appeared in the TV series The Deep alongside James Nesbitt where she played Catherine. She also starred in the TV series Strike Back as Katie Dartmouth.
In 2012 she appeared in the ITV series Eternal Law as Mrs Sheringham, an angel who fell in love with a human and became mortal. She also appeared in the Sky1 series Sinbad where she played Taryn. In late 2013 she appeared as the Countess Vera Rossakoff in the television adaptation of The Labours of Hercules, part of the final series of Agatha Christie's Poirot alongside David Suchet.
On 25 December 2013 Brady starred in the 2013 Christmas special episode The Time of the Doctor of the hit BBC science-fiction series Doctor Who as the pivotal character Tasha Lem. In 2014, she filmed Banished, playing Anne Meredith.
She is currently appearing in the AMC martial arts drama series Into the Badlands as Lydia.
Personal life
In 2001 Brady moved to Los Angeles where she met English photographer, Nick Brandt, whom she married in December 2002 in the Chyulu Hills of Kenya. She currently lives in the mountains of southern California.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Words Upon the Window Pane | Vanessa | |
| 1999 | Love Divided, AA Love Divided | Sheila Kelly Cloney | |
| 2000 | Luzhin Defence, TheThe Luzhin Defence | Aunt Anna | |
| 2001 | Silent Grace | Eileen | |
| 2002 | Fogbound | Ann | |
| 2006 | Last Night | Lucy | Short film |
| 2007 | 32A | Jean Brennan | |
| 2007 | How About You... | Kate Harris | |
| 2013 | Wayland's Song | Grace | |
| 2015 | Price of Desire, TheThe Price of Desire | Eileen Gray |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Minder | Bank Teller | "Opportunity Knocks and Bruises" |
| 1994 | Bill, TheThe Bill | Amy | "No Job for an Amateur" |
| 1994 | Absolutely Fabulous | Nurse Mary | "Hospital" |
| 1994 | Rector's Wife, TheThe Rector's Wife | Sister Josephine | "1.2" |
| 1995 | Dangerfield | Diane Foster | "Victim of Rape: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 1995 | New Voices | Ruby | "The Treasure of Zavimbi" |
| 1995 | Casualty | Wendy | "Outside Bulawayo" |
| 1995-1996 | Out of the Blue | D.S. Rebecca "Becky" Bennett | Main role |
| 1996 | Pie in the Sky | Kit Kelly de Goris | "Irish Stew" |
| 1996 | Vicar of Dibley, TheThe Vicar of Dibley | Aoife | "The Christmas Lunch Incident" |
| 1997 | Heart Surgeon, TheThe Heart Surgeon | Marcella Duggan | TV film |
| 1997 | Noah's Ark | Clare Somers | Main role |
| 1998 | Wuthering Heights | Cathy | TV film |
| 1999 | Pure Wickedness | Jenny Meadows | Recurring role |
| 1999 | Magical Legend of the Leprechauns, TheThe Magical Legend of the Leprechauns | Kathleen Fitzpatrick | TV film |
| 2001-2002 | Family Law | Naoise O'Neill | Regular role |
| 2003 | Servants | Flora Ryan | Regular role |
| 2003 | Debt, TheThe Debt | Angela Jahnsen | TV film |
| 2004 | Hustle | Meredith Gates | "Picture Perfect" |
| 2004 | Nip/Tuck | Dr. Monica Jordan | "Christian Troy" |
| 2004 | Lawless | Liz Bird | TV film |
| 2004-2005 | Proof | Maureen Boland | TV miniseries |
| 2005 | Revelations | Nora Webber | TV miniseries |
| 2005 | Empire | Atia Balba Caesonia | TV miniseries |
| 2005 | World of Trouble | Joan Denny | TV film |
| 2006 | Sixty Minute Man | Kate Henderson | TV film |
| 2006 | Jesse Stone: Death in Paradise | Lilly Summers | TV film |
| 2007 | Protect and Serve | Dr. Lorna Herrera | TV film |
| 2007-2008 | Shark | Claire Stark | Recurring role |
| 2008 | Wallander | Ella Lindfeldt | "Firewall" |
| 2008-2010 | Mistresses | Siobhan Dillon | Regular role |
| 2010 | Deep, TheThe Deep | Catherine Donnelly | TV miniseries |
| 2010-2012 | Fringe | Elizabeth Bishop | Recurring role |
| 2012 | Sinbad | Taryn | Regular role |
| 2012 | Eternal Law | Mrs. Sheringham | Main role |
| 2013 | Jo | Beatrice Dormont | Main role |
| 2013 | Agatha Christie's Poirot | Countess Rossakoff | "The Labours of Hercules" |
| 2013 | Doctor Who | Tasha Lem | "The Time of the Doctor" |
| 2015 | Banished | Anne Meredith | Main role |
| 2015 | American Odyssey | Sofia Tsaldari | Regular role |
| 2015 | Into the Badlands | Lydia | Main role |
References
- ↑ Interview with Miriam O'Callaghan on RTÉ Radio 12 January 2014
- 1 2 Philby, Charlotte (2008-01-05). "How Do I Look?: Orla Brady, actress, 46". The Independent. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ↑ "Biography". orlabrady.org. Retrieved 2008-05-09.
- ↑ "Brits strike gold at Monte Carlo". Broadcastnow.co.uk. 1 March 2000. Retrieved 7 November 2013.
- ↑ BBC One Programmes: Wallander, bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 30 November 2008.
- ↑ Editor@BuddyTV. "Meet Mrs. Bishop: Orla Brady Joins 'Fringe'". TV.com. Archived from the original on 13 December 2009. Retrieved 15 December 2015.