Charlotte Riley is back on the big screen this week as one of the new faces on the cast list of the action-packed London Has Fallen.
Charlotte Riley in London Has Fallen
The British actress has been making a name for herself in recent year as she has moved between a string of film and television projects - working with some great actors and directors along the way.
We take a look back at Riley's career so far and some of the roles that she has brought to life.
- Easy Virtue (2008)
Riley came to the big screen for the first time in 2008 when she landed a role in Easy Virtue, a comedy based on the 1925 comedy by Noel Coward. The movie saw her star alongside Ben Barnes, Jessica Biel, Kristen Scott Thomas, and Colin Firth.
Easy Virtue tells the story of glamourous American widow Larita, and charming Englishman John. Tying the knot in the idyllic setting of the South of France, reality soon hits when John's mother takes an immediate dislike to her new radical-thinking daughter-in-law.
Riley took on the role of Sarah Hurst, the woman that John's mother had intended her son to marry. But Sarah puts John's happiness first and is happy for the love that her friend has found... but it is not long until the cracks start to show.
Easy Virtue is a movie that really is a lot of fun. It is a comedy that has some real laugh out loud moments and some wonderful characters - Kristen Scott Thomas is particularly good.
This is a wonderful ensemble and they all bring Coward's dialogue to life wonderfully. It really is a terrific watch that I have enjoyed time and time again. This was Riley's first taste of the big screen and she delivers a very assured supporting performance.
- Wuthering Heights (2009)
In 2009, Riley returned to the small screen for the new adaptation of the Emily Bronte novel, in which she took on the central role of Cathy alongside Tom Hardy's Heathcliff.
Andrew Lincoln, Sarah Lancashire, Burn Gorman, Rosalind Halstead, and Kevin McNally completed an impressive cast list.
The two-episode adaptation follows Heathcliff as he is brought up by the Earnshaw family - only to fall in love with their daughter Cathy. The love that he has for the family that raised him turns to vengeance when she marries another man.
Heathcliff and Cathy are two of literature's most iconic lovers and Hardy and Riley both deliver excellent central performances. This may be a story that we have seen adapted many times, but these two actors brought a fresh feel to the story and to the characters.
They have a wonderful onscreen chemistry and it is their performances that really pushes the story forward. The writer and director also capture well the dark undertones that are so evident in the book.
- Entity (2012)
Riley returned to the big screen in 2012 as she stared alongside Dervla Kirwan and Branko Tomovic in thriller Entity. The movie was written and directed by Steve Stone, as he made his feature film directorial debut with the project.
Winning two awards at the 2013 London Independent Film Awards, Entity tells the tale of a mystery within a remote Siberian forest. When thirty four unidentified bodies are found in shallow graves with no explanation, a film crew becomes determined to get to the bottom of the event.
With a fearful journey ahead, Riley finds herself as Kate Hansen, the host leading the team on in the hope of finding the path to discovery. But as events unfold and terror creeps in, Riley's strong character begins to waver as she begins to question whether it was ever the right direction at all.
At the time, this was one of Riley's biggest film roles and she delivers a great performance in what is a very strong female role.
- Grand Street (2014)
Riley stayed with independent film as she starred in Grand Street in 2014, a movie that saw her team up with writer and director Lex Sidon. This was the feature film directorial debut for Sidon.
In a dark romance set in the heart of New York City, Riley stars as Camilla in this tale of a chance encounter. When a failing scriptwriter tries his luck with a deeply personal script, Camilla remained her stoic self, dismissing it without a second glance.
But a year later when he waltzes back into her life she lets her curiosity get the better of her. Far from the definition of a perfect romance, the two let their guards down as they entered into a muddled love story.
Grand Street is a movie that did go under the radar in terms of being played to a mainstream audience but it really is worth a watch. There is a charm and a melancholy to it that I was a huge fan of.
Grand Street is a wonderful character study and Riley and Tom Byam Shaw both give strong and touching performances in the central roles of Camilla and Amory.
- Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell (2015)
Riley continued to move between film and TV as she returned to the small screen last year with Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell.
The TV miniseries was based on the bestselling novel of the same name by Susanna Clarke; adapted for TV by Peter Harness and directed by Toby Haynes.
Set during the Napoleonic Wars at the beginning of the 19th century, the series follows two warring magicians Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell, played by Bertie Carvel and Eddie Marsan. Marc Warren, Charlotte Riley, Alice Englert, Samuel West, Enzo Cilenti and Paul Kaye completed the great cast list.
Riley takes on the role of Arabella Strange, wife of Jonathan, who is drawn into the dark world of magic leaving her in grave danger.
Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was a big critical hit when it screened on the BBC last year. Not only did it bring together a terrific cast, but it explored an interesting topic in a fascinating time period.
- London Has Fallen (2016)
Riley tackles the big budget blockbuster this week as she stars alongside Gerard Butler and Aaron Eckhart in London Has Fallen, the sequel to Olympus Has Fallen.
Butler and Eckhart reprise the roles of Mike Banning and President Benjamin Asher while Morgan Freeman, Angela Bassett, and Melissa Leo are some of the other familiar faces returning.
Riley, Jackie Earle Haley, and Colin Salmon are the big new additions to the cast list this time around. It is also all change in the director's chair as Babak Najafi takes over from Antoine Fuqua.
London Has Fallen sees an explosive series of events as London becomes the setting for the Prime Minister's funeral. With most world leaders in attendance, the event intends to stand as the most protected on earth. Instead, the intense security is infiltrated, and it emerges that the event is a deadly plot to kill each of the leaders, devastating every known London landmark in the process.
Riley plays an MI-6 agent who makes it her mission to get to the bottom of the events, rightly trusting no one in the process.
Other Charlotte Riley films check out include Edge of Tomorrow and In the Heart of the Sea as well as TV series The Take, World Without End, and Peaky Blinders.
London Has Fallen is out now.
Tagged in Wuthering Heights Charlotte Riley