From TV Actress To Big Screen Star

1 July 2014

Michelle Dockery in Non Stop

With television dramas upping the ante, actors are falling over themselves to get spots in TV dramas - but what of those who begin on the small screen and graduate to the cinema?

Michelle Dockery, one of the stars of action blockbuster Non-Stop, is best known for her high profile lead as Lady Mary in phenomenally popular British TV drama Downton Abbey, which has amassed a huge following in the US, even winning her an Emmy award!

With Non-Stop, she’s made the transition to the big screen, alongside superstars Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson, and with great success - but she’s not the first actress to have made her name in TV.

- Anna Friel

Anna Friel, who has starred in huge Hollywood titles including Limitless, made her name on Brookside, as the central character in a storyline with a huge cultural impact.

The kiss between Beth Jordache and Margaret drew 6 million viewers and marked the first time that a lesbian kiss had been shown pre 9pm watershed.

The trail blazed meant Anna found an easy transition to the big screen, and now enjoys leading roles in the likes of Pushing Daisies, London Boulevard and Land of The Lost.

Friel has completed work on Good People with James Franco and Kate Hudson, and is currently working on Urban & the Shed Crew.

- Jennifer Garner

She’s a Hollywood A-Lister, most recently wowing audiences in the multiple Academy Award-winning Dallas Buyers Club, and a CV boasting blockbusters and indie titles from Pearl Harbour to Juno.

It was as Sydney Bristow, CIA Agent and all round action-woman that she first captured our attention, in the hugely popular series Alias.

Throughout her career, Garner has effortlessly moved from comedic performances to great drama, and continues to be an exciting actress.

Draft Day was the last time that we saw her on the big screen, but she has completed work on Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Imagine, and Men, Women & Children.

- Mila Kunis

Mila Kunis has two major TV credentials to her name - she remains well known for her turn as Jackie Burkhart in That 70’s Show (eventually becoming a real-life couple with her on-screen partner, Ashton Kutcher - fans worldwide rejoiced), and since 1999 has voiced the Griffin’s collective least-favourite family member Meg, in Seth McFarlane’s Family Guy.

Her transition to film has seen her with hilarious leads in the likes of Ted, and Forgetting Sarah Marshall, but she showed an accomplished dramatic talent in 2010’s critically acclaimed Black Swan.

Kunis returned to the big screen over the weekend with Third Person; a film that saw her team up with director Paul Haggis for the first time.

She has also lent her voice to Hell & Back and has teamed up with Channing Tatum for sci-fi epic Jupiter Ascending.

- Catherine Zeta-Jones

Catherine Zeta-Jones is the epitome of Hollywood starlet, one of a handful of stars harking back to the glamour of old.

The CZJ we see now is very different from her humble beginnings, where she starred as Mariette Larkin in the much-loved comedy drama The Darling Buds of May, alongside British TV favourites Pam Ferris and David Jason.

She turned heads, and quickly landed a role alongside Antonio Banderas in The Mask of Zorro, and hasn’t looked back, with a blistering lead in Chicago - for which she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

More recently, we have seen Zeta-Jones in Rock of Ages, Broken City, Side Effects, and Red 2: Red 2 was the last time that we saw the actress on the big screen.

- Joely Richardson

Joely Richardson is a good example of how to balance critically acclaimed television and film roles throughout a whole career, which might appeal to Miss Dockery with the success of Downton Abbey.

Starring in films such as The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, The Patriot, and 101 Dalmatians, she certainly knows her stuff where film is concerned, but an early television role as Lady Chatterley was what kick started her career, and her turn as Julia McNamara in Nip/Tuck, as well as taking on Catherine Parr for The Tudors, continued a solid reputation and critical acclaim in TV.

Endless love was the last time that we saw on the big screen, but she has completed work on Maggie, Papa, and Fallen.

Non-Stop is available for digital download now, and is out on Blu-Ray, DVD, and Limited Edition Steelbook now.