Naomi Watts

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Naomi Watts (2015)

Naomi Ellen Watts (born September 28, 1968 in Shoreham , Kent , England ) is a British - Australian actress and film producer .

Childhood and youth

Naomi Watts is the daughter of Myfanwy (Miv) Edwards (nee Roberts ), a former antique dealer, and Peter Watts, who worked as a sound engineer for the rock group Pink Floyd . Her mother, who was born in England, lived in Australia for several years during her childhood. Watt's maternal grandfather was from Wales and her grandmother was a native of Australia.

Watts' parents divorced when she was four years old. After the divorce, she and her older brother Benjamin (Ben) stayed with their mother and lived with her in various locations in South West England . Her father left Pink Floyd in 1974 and died of a heroin overdose two years later in his Notting Hill apartment .

After the death of their father, who was reconciled with Naomi Watts' mother, the family moved to live with their grandparents in Llanfair PG in North Wales . During this time Watts attended a school where she learned the Welsh language . In 1982, her mother, brother and stepfather, who had meanwhile married, moved to Australia, her grandmother's home. The family settled in Sydney . During a trip to Australia, her mother had come to believe that this was “the land of opportunity” and after emigrating she found various television jobs there. The fact that the grandmother was a native Australian made it easier for the family to acquire Australian citizenship - but Naomi Watts herself also retained British citizenship.

During this time, Naomi's mother began giving acting lessons to her daughter, who had been toying with it for a long time. Soon after, Watts appeared in commercials , where she also met her longtime friend Nicole Kidman . After a failed school graduation, the then 18-year-old decided to try herself as a model . In 1986 she got her first small supporting role as an actress in an Australian film production.

In the same year she went to Japan to advance her desired career as a model. Since the success did not materialize, she returned to Australia and worked for a time in a department store in Sydney and later for a fashion magazine. With acting she came in contact, she had been invited as a co-worker, in a small theater play along. Her passion was awakened again, so she quit her job to devote herself exclusively to acting.

Career

In 1989 Watts met the director John Duigan at the premiere of the film Death Silence, in which Nicole Kidman played a leading role. Duigan then engaged Watts for his new film Flirting - Spiel mit der Liebe (1991), in which she appeared after a five-year film break on the side of Kidman and Thandie Newton . The film was also well received by critics. In the same year Watts also appeared in 19 episodes of the Australian television series Home and Away as a young woman with a handicap.

Watts at the premiere of Deadly Promises (2007)

After that, Watts took a break to travel for a year. In Los Angeles she was referred to suitable agents by Nicole Kidman, who has since made a career in Hollywood as an actress. Encouraged by this, Watts also moved to the United States to pursue her career.

In 1993 she got a small supporting role in the John Goodman film Matinée . That same year she got Seduced in the drama film - Guilty or Not Guilty? her first leading role, for which she briefly returned to her old homeland, Australia. Then there was a nearly two-year forced break in her film career, as she had difficulties in Hollywood to find new agents and role offers. During this period she ran into financial difficulties so that she could temporarily no longer pay her rent.

It wasn't until 1995 that she got a small supporting role in the comedy film Tank Girl , which flopped. In 1996 she got the female lead in the horror film Kinder des Zorns IV - Murderous Cult ; however, the film was not received too well by the critics. In the following years she mostly only played supporting roles in films and television series or she was considered for roles (including for Postman ), which she ultimately did not get. This frustrated her so much that she wanted to give up acting at times. In 2001 she finally had her breakthrough with the lead role in David Lynch's thriller Mulholland Drive , which critics praised enthusiastically.

A year later, Watts was hired by director Gore Verbinski to star in his horror film The Ring . Her portrayal of the young journalist Rachel Keller, who was announced by telephone within seven days of death, was highly praised by the critics. In 2003 she took on a role in the biographical film Lawless - The Story of Ned Kelly , during the production of which she met her compatriot and fellow actor Heath Ledger, with whom she had a relationship for a while.

In the same year she played a leading role alongside Kate Hudson in the comedy An Affair in Paris , which, however, failed the criticism. At the side of Sean Penn , she was seen twice in the female lead, in the drama 21 Grams from 2003 and the following year in the assassination attempt on Richard Nixon .

In 2005, Watts played in the comedy film Ellie Parker, an Australian actress who wants to make a career in Hollywood. With her presentation she was able to convince the critics. The films The Ring 2 and Stay , in which Watts played the female lead in the same year, were less well received, with The Ring 2 being a modest success at the box office. In December 2005, the remake of the classic film King Kong and the White Woman , directed by Peter Jackson , in which Watts played the leading role of the unemployed actress Ann Darrow (originally played by Fay Wray ), who later falls in love with the giant gorilla King Kong . The film received an Oscar in three categories and is to date Watts' most commercially successful film project.

In 2006 she played the wife of Edward Norton in the drama The Colorful Veil , which received good reviews . In 2007 she starred in David Cronenberg's thriller Deadly Promises - Eastern Promises at the side of Viggo Mortensen, a midwife who is involved in matters of the Russian mafia . In the same year, she played the lead role in Michael Haneke's thriller Funny Games US , who is taken hostage with her family by a duo of sadistic teenagers.

In 2009 she starred alongside Clive Owen in Tom Tykwer's acclaimed political thriller The International in the role of a New York prosecutor. That same year, Watts starred in the film drama mothers and daughters on the side of Annette Bening and Kerry Washington the lead role which earned her several nominations.

In the next few years films followed as the tragicomedy You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and the psychological thriller Dream House and 2012 based on true events film drama The Impossible , a mother played in the Watts operating at a Thailand holiday by the 2004 tsunami from her husband (played by Ewan McGregor ) and children are separated. Both the film and Watts' portrayal received extremely positive reviews.

In 2013 she made a small appearance in the episode film Movie 43 together with many well-known actors . Oliver Hirschbiegel's biography Diana from 2013, in which Watts played the eponymous Princess of Wales , fell through with both critics and audiences.

In 2014 she starred in the tragic comedy St. Vincent alongside Bill Murray and Melissa McCarthy in the role of a Russian prostitute. In 2015 she starred in the drama Demolition - Love and Life alongside Jake Gyllenhaal . In the science fiction films The Determination - Insurgent (2015) and its sequel The Determination - Allegiant (2016), she played the role of the rebel leader Evelyn Johnson-Eaten .

In 2018 she was appointed to the competition jury of the 75th Venice International Film Festival . In October 2018, it was confirmed that she would take a lead role in the prequel series for Game of Thrones . A year later, however, the spin-off was discontinued after the completion of the pilot .

Private life

Watts with Liev Schreiber (2012)

Watts was in a relationship with director Stephen Hopkins in the 1990s . From August 2002 to May 2004 she was in a relationship with Heath Ledger . In 2006 it became known that she is with Liev Schreiber , also a fellow actor. They have two sons (born 2007/2008). On September 27, 2016, it became public that Watts and Schreiber had split up.

Naomi Watts actively supports the UN project UNAIDS for the prevention of AIDS and HIV .

Filmography (selection)

Awards (selection)

  • 2002: Chicago Film Critics Association Award and National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress in Mulholland Drive
  • 2002: Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress in Mulholland Drive - Street of Darkness
  • 2003: Audience Award at the Venice International Film Festival for the best actress in 21 grams
  • 2003: Saturn Award for best leading actress in Ring
  • 2004: Screen Actors Guild Award , nomination for best leading actress in 21 grams
  • 2004: British Academy Film Award , nomination for best leading actress in 21 grams
  • 2004: Oscar nomination for best leading actress in 21 grams
  • 2006: London Critics Circle Film Award for Actress of the Year in King Kong
  • 2006: Saturn Award for Best Actress in King Kong
  • 2013: Saturn Award, nomination for best leading actress in The Impossible
  • 2013: Screen Actors Guild Award, nomination for Best Actress in The Impossible
  • 2013: Golden Globe Award , nomination for best actress in a drama in The Impossible
  • 2013: Oscar nomination for Best Actress in The Impossible
  • 2014: Golden Raspberry , nomination for worst actress in Diana and Movie 43
  • 2015: Screen Actors Guild Award, nomination for Best Supporting Actress in St. Vincent
  • 2015: Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Acting Company in Birdman or (The Unexpected Power of Cluelessness)
  • 2017: Golden Raspberry, nomination for worst actress in The Determination - Allegiant and Shut In
  • 2018: Golden Camera for the best international actress
  • 2019: Bambi in the Acting International category

synchronization

In the German dubbed version, Naomi Watts was mostly spoken by Irina von Bentheim , but occasionally also by Claudia Lössl .

Web links

Commons : Naomi Watts  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Naomi Watts on 'While We're Young', her roots and being a mum | Rockhampton Morning Bulletin . themorningbulletin.com.au.
  2. ↑ Naomi Watts Biography . In: TalkTalk . Tiscali UK Limited trading.
  3. ↑ Naomi Watts' Unpronounceable Town Name . YouTube. March 6, 2015.
  4. ↑ Naomi Watts . In: BBC North West Wales . BBC. November 2009. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008.
  5. ↑ Interview with Naomi Watts in the Kölner Stadt-Anzeiger on 11/12. January 2014.
  6. ↑ Naomi Watts To Star In 'Game Of Thrones' Prequel For HBO. In: Deadline.com. Retrieved October 31, 2018 .
  7. ↑ Vera Tidona: Game of Thrones spin-off about the Targaryens and their dragons confirmed. In: GameStar . October 30, 2019, accessed October 30, 2019 .
  8. ↑ http://movies.yahoo.com/person/naomi-watts/biography.html
  9. ↑ Naomi Watts raves about Heath Ledger. In: promiflash.de . September 25, 2011.
  10. ↑ Naomi Watts does not want to marry Liev Schreiber! In: promi-magazin.de . 5th February 2013.
  11. ↑ Sira Brand: Naomi Watts: Second child, a boy. In: spielfilm.de . December 16, 2008.
  12. ↑ UNAIDS goodwill ambassador Naomi Watts . In: UNAIDS . United Nations.
  13. ↑ News: Night of the Strong Women. Retrieved November 21, 2019 .
personal data
SURNAME Watts, Naomi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Watts, Naomi Ellen (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION British-Australian actress and film producer
DATE OF BIRTH September 28, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Shoreham , Sevenoaks District , Kent , England , United Kingdom