Natalie Dormer

Natalie Dormer (born 11 February 1982) is an English actress. She is known for her roles as Anne Boleyn in the Showtime series The Tudors, Irene Adler in Elementary, and Margaery Tyrell in the HBO series Game of Thrones. She will also appear as Cressida in the science fiction adventure films The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 and The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2. Early life Dormer was born in Reading, Berkshire, and attended Chiltern Edge Secondary School, before moving to Reading Blue Coat School, an independent boys' school that admits girls in the sixth form. She grew up with her stepfather, mother, sister Samantha, and brother Mark. She says that she was the victim of bullying while at school and that "still to this day she can't place why". At school, Natalie was head-girl, a straight-A student, vice-captain of the school netball team, and she also got to travel the globe with her school's public speaking team. During her school years, she trained in dance at the Allenova School of Dancing. She describes herself as the "academic hopeful" of the family, and was offered a place to study history at Cambridge, but, in her A Level History exam, did not achieve the A Grade she needed to attend. She decided she would audition for drama schools, and decided to train at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London. Career Six months after graduating from the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, Dormer auditioned and won the role of Victoria in Casanova with Heath Ledger and Sienna Miller. This was her film debut and it was released in 2005. The director, Lasse Hallström, was so impressed with Dormer's comedic timing that he had the script writer expand her part. On the strength of her audition for the role and her performance, she secured a three-film deal with Disney Touchstone which was never exercised. In 2005, Dormer had a small part in Distant Shores. After the filming of Casanova, Dormer was out of work for nine months and has said that "it was the best lesson I could have had in the first 12 months of my career". In 2006, she guest starred as Phillippa Balfour in the Rebus episode "The Falls". Personal life Dormer has been engaged to Irish director Anthony Byrne since 2011, whom she met in Dublin while filming The Tudors in 2007. Dormer has stated that Cate Blanchett has been an influence in her career as an actress. Dormer took part in the 2008 PartyPoker.com Women's World Open in London, where she came in second to Emma Kennedy in the Celebrity Heat.