Rebecca Hall | |
|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Hall in 2024 | |
| Born | Rebecca Maria Hall (1982-05-03)3 May 1982 (age 42) London, England |
| Alma mater | St Catharine's College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents | |
| Relatives |
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Rebecca Maria Hall (born 3 May 1982) is an English actress and director. She made her first onscreen appearance at the age of 10 in the 1992television adaptation ofThe Camomile Lawn, directed by her father,Peter Hall. Her professional stage debut came in her father's 2002 production ofMrs. Warren's Profession, which earned her theIan Charleson Award. In 2006, following her film debut inStarter for 10, Hall got her breakthrough role inChristopher Nolan's thriller filmThe Prestige. In 2008, she starred inWoody Allen's romantic comedyVicky Cristina Barcelona, for which she received aGolden Globe nomination forBest Actress.
Hall has appeared in a wide array of films, includingRon Howard's historical dramaFrost/Nixon (2008),Ben Affleck's crime dramaThe Town (2010), the horror thrillerThe Awakening (2011), theMarvel Cinematic Universe filmIron Man 3 (2013), the thrillerThe Gift (2015), and the fantasy filmThe BFG (2016). In 2016, Hall was praised by critics for her portrayal of news reporterChristine Chubbuck in the biographical dramaChristine.[1] She has since starred in theMonsterVerse filmsGodzilla vs. Kong (2021) andGodzilla x Kong: The New Empire (2024), and made her directorial debut with the period dramaPassing (2021).
Hall has also had several notable performances on British television. She won theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 2009Channel 4 miniseriesRed Riding: 1974. In 2013, she was nominated for theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Actress[2] for her performance inBBC Two'sParade's End.
Hall was born on 3 May 1982 in London,[3] the daughter of the American opera singerMaria Ewing andPeter Hall, an English stage director and founder of theRoyal Shakespeare Company. Her mother was born inDetroit, the daughter of anAfrican-Americanmixed-race father and a white Dutch mother. She is a descendant of theAmerican Revolutionary War veteranBazabeel Norman, a free black man.[4][5][6][7]
Years later as a guest onFinding Your Roots, Hall discovered that, while her maternal grandfather, Norman Isaac Ewing, had performed as aNative American figure and was reported as aSioux chief in newspapers, he was the son of mixed-race African-American parents, and had no Native American ancestry. His father, Hall's great-grandfather John William Ewing, had been born into slavery. After theAmerican Civil War, he becamea prominent figure in the black community ofWashington, DC. Hall has 91% European DNA and 9% sub-Saharan African DNA, according to anAncestry.com DNA test.[8] Hall's parents separated when she was still young, eventually divorcing in 1990.[4] Hall has five paternal half-siblings: the stage directorEdward Hall, the producerChristopher Hall, the actressesJennifer Caron Hall and Emma Hall, and the set designer Lucy Hall.[4][9]
Hall attendedRoedean School, where she becamehead girl.[4] She studiedEnglish literature atSt Catharine's College, Cambridge, before dropping out in 2002, just before her final year.[4][10][11] During her time at Cambridge, she was active in the student theatre scene and also set up her own theatre company.[12] She was a member of theMarlowe Society and performed in several productions alongside her housemateDan Stevens, an English literature student atEmmanuel College.[13][14]
Hall's first professional role came in 1992, when at the age of nine she appeared as young Sophy in her father's television adaptation ofMary Wesley'sThe Camomile Lawn.[15] Her feature film debut came in 2006 as Rebecca Epstein inthe film adaptation ofDavid Nicholls'sStarter for Ten.
She got her breakthrough with the role of Sarah Borden inChristopher Nolan's filmThe Prestige (2006). She appeared inStephen Poliakoff'sJoe's Palace in 2007,[16] in addition to appearing in several other television films, includingWide Sargasso Sea andRubberheart.
Hall's Hollywood fame was sparked when she starred in theWoody Allen filmVicky Cristina Barcelona (2008) as one of the title characters, Vicky.[17] Her performance was well-received,[17] and she was nominated for theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy. In 2008, she appeared inRon Howard's historical dramaFrost/Nixon as the girlfriend ofDavid Frost, played byMichael Sheen. The following year she was cast in the British fantasy-horror filmDorian Gray, based onOscar Wilde's 1890 novelThe Picture of Dorian Gray.
Following a small role in the indie filmPlease Give, Hall starred inBen Affleck's crime dramaThe Town (2010) opposite Affleck andJon Hamm.[17] In June 2010, she won theBritish Academy Television Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayal of Paula Garland in the 2009Channel 4 productionRed Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974.[18] The following year she played the female lead in the British ghost filmThe Awakening, released in September 2011.[19][20]
In 2012, she took on the role ofBeth Raymer in the comedy-drama filmLay the Favorite, based on Raymer's memoir of the same title. One review commented that she "plays Raymer as an endearing force of nature who somehow manages to survive in a dangerous world through sheer force of character."[21] She starred in the BBC/HBO/VRT production ofParade's End (2012) oppositeBenedict Cumberbatch, which earned her aBAFTA Television Award nomination forBest Actress.[22] In 2013, Hall replacedJessica Chastain asMaya Hansen in the superhero filmIron Man 3. The same year she appeared in the political thrillerClosed Circuit (2013). She starred oppositeJohnny Depp inWally Pfister's directorial debutTranscendence (2014).[23] In 2015, Hall starred in the romantic comedyTumbledown andJoel Edgerton's directorial debutThe Gift.[24][25]
In the 2016 biographical dramaChristine, Hall playedChristine Chubbuck, a real-life TV news reporter.Variety described her as "discomfitingly electric in the best role she's yet been offered".[26]
In 2017, she portrayedElizabeth Holloway Marston, a psychologist who inspired the character ofWonder Woman, inProfessor Marston and the Wonder Women. The same year, Hall joined the cast ofA Rainy Day in New York, directed by Woody Allen.[27] After re-reading accounts related to allegations ofsexual abuse against Woody Allen, Hall in January 2018 donated her salary toTime's Up. She said, "I see not only how complicated this matter is, but that my actions have made another woman feel silenced and dismissed. I regret this decision and wouldn't make the same one today."[28]
In 2018 Hall provided English dubbing for the character Mother inMirai. In 2021 Hall starred in and co-executive produced the well-reviewed horror-thrillerThe Night House. The same year, she appeared in themonster filmGodzilla vs. Kong.
In 2021 she also made her directorial debut with the dramaPassing, based on the 1929 American novel of the same name byNella Larsen. Hall wrote the screenplay and co-produced the film, which was largely inspired by her own mixed-race heritage, as well as her African-American ancestors who passed as white.Passing premiered at the2021 Sundance Film Festival and received critical acclaim.[29][30][31][32] Its distribution rights were acquired byNetflix for approximately $16 million.[33]
Hall made her professional stage debut in 2002 when she starred as Vivie in her father's production ofMrs. Warren's Profession at theStrand Theatre in London. Her performance, described as "admirable"[34] and "accomplished",[35] earned her theIan Charleson Award in 2003.[36][37]
In 2003, Hall's father celebrated 50 years as a theatre director by staging a season of five plays at theTheatre Royal inBath, Somerset. Hall starred in two of these plays; she appeared as Rosalind in her father's production ofAs You Like It,[38] which gained her a second Charleson nomination[39] and starred in the title role ofThea Sharrock's revival ofD. H. Lawrence'sThe Fight for Barbara.[40]In 2004, Hall appeared in three plays for the Peter Hall Company at the Theatre Royal Bath, two of which her father directed:Man and Superman in which she played Ann, andGalileo's Daughter in which she played Sister Maria Celeste. The third,Molière'sDon Juan, in which she played the part of Elvira, was directed by Sharrock.[41]
In 2005, Hall reprised the role of Rosalind in a touring production ofAs You Like It, again under the direction of her father. This tour played the Rose Theatre inKingston upon Thames, theBrooklyn Academy of Music in New York, the Curran Theatre in San Francisco[42] and the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles.[43] This was a second leg of the US tour that began in 2003 with venues at the Shubert Theater[44]New Haven, Connecticut,[45]Columbus, Ohio, and theWilbur Theater in Boston.[46]
In 2008–2009, Hall appeared inSam Mendes's first instalment of the Bridge Project as Hermione inThe Winter's Tale and as Varya inThe Cherry Orchard.[47] The project gave performances with the same cast in Germany, Greece, New Zealand, Singapore, Spain, the United Kingdom and the United States.[48] In 2010–2011, she played Viola in a production ofTwelfth Night at London'sNational Theatre, directed by her father.[49]
Hall made herBroadway debut in 2013 inSophie Treadwell's expressionist playMachinal. The Roundabout Theater production, directed by Lyndsey Turner, began previews on 20 December 2013, with the official opening on 16 January 2014 at theAmerican Airlines Theatre.[50]
In 2010, there was intense media speculation of anaffair between Hall and directorSam Mendes, who was married toKate Winslet at the time.[51][4] Hall and Mendes were in a relationship from 2011 to 2013.[52][53]
In 2014, Hall met the actorMorgan Spector while co-starring in a Broadway production.[54] They married in 2015.[53][54] Their daughter Ida was born in 2018.[55][56]
| † | Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | The Camomile Lawn | Young Sophie | 4 episodes |
| 1993 | The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends | Lucie (voice) | Episode: "The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle and Mr. Jeremy Fisher" |
| Don't Leave Me This Way | Lizzie Neil[58] | TV movie | |
| 2006 | Wide Sargasso Sea | Antoinette Cosway | TV movie |
| 2007 | Rubberheart | Maggie[59] | Short; based on a short story by Hall |
| Joe's Palace | Tina | TV movie | |
| 2008 | Einstein and Eddington | Winifred Eddington | TV movie |
| 2009 | Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1974 | Paula Garland | TV movie |
| 2012 | Parade's End | Sylvia Tietjens | 5 episodes |
| 2015 | Codes of Conduct | Rebecca Rotmensen[60] | Unaired pilot[60] |
| 2016 | Horace and Pete | Rachel | Episode #1.1 |
| 2020 | Tales from the Loop | Loretta | 6 episodes |
| 2024 | The Listeners | Claire | 4 episodes[61] |
| 2025 | The Studio | Linda |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | "A Case of You" | Girl | James Blake video |
plays Raymer as an endearing force of nature who somehow manages to survive in a dangerous world through sheer force of character
