Sarah Snook | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Snook in 2025 | |
| Born | Sarah Ruth Snook (1987-12-01)1 December 1987 (age 37) Adelaide,South Australia, Australia |
| Education | National Institute of Dramatic Art (BFA) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2009–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
Sarah Ruth Snook (/snuːk/;[1] born 1 December 1987) is an Australian actress.
Snook is best known for her starring role asShiv Roy in theHBO drama seriesSuccession (2018–2023), for which she won twoGolden Globe Awards and aPrimetime Emmy Award.[2][3] She has received threeAACTA Awards for her leading roles in the filmsSisters of War (2010),Predestination (2014), andMemoir of a Snail (2024).
On stage, Snook starred in theWest End andBroadway productions ofThe Picture of Dorian Gray (2024–2025), for which she won theLaurence Olivier Award and theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play. Her other theatre credits include roles inKing Lear (2009),The Master Builder (2016) andSaint Joan (2018).
Sarah Ruth Snook[4] was born on 1 December 1987[5] inAdelaide,South Australia and grew up in the suburb ofEden Hills. She has two older sisters.[6] Her father, a swimming-pool salesman, and her mother, an aged care provider, divorced when she was young.[7] She attendedSt John's Grammar School inBelair and won a drama scholarship toScotch College inTorrens Park.[7] Her first paying job was as a fairy at children's birthday parties.[7]
In 2008, she graduated from Sydney'sNational Institute of Dramatic Art.[8]
While at NIDA, Snook performed in stage productions ofMacbeth andGallipoli. She subsequently appeared inKing Lear with theState Theatre Company of South Australia in 2009.[9] She garnered further success with roles in a string of Australian films, includingSisters of War (2010),Not Suitable for Children (2012),These Final Hours (2013),[10] andPredestination (2014).[11] Snook won twoAACTA Awards for her performances inSisters of War andPredestination. She also earned recognition for starring in thesupernatural horror filmJessabelle (2014). Snook then portrayedAndrea Cunningham inDanny Boyle's biopicSteve Jobs (2015), starringMichael Fassbender andKate Winslet. That same year, she acted inJocelyn Moorhouse's period dramaThe Dressmaker, also starring Winslet andJudy Davis, for which she was nominated for theAACTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. She appeared in the biopicThe Glass Castle (2017), starringBrie Larson and based on the2005 memoir of the same name.
In 2016, Snook appeared in an episode of theNetflix science fiction anthology seriesBlack Mirror, titled "Men Against Fire", alongsideMalachi Kirby,Madeline Brewer, andMichael Kelly. Also that year, she made herWest End debut playing the role of Hilde Wangel in a revival ofHenrik Ibsen's playThe Master Builder oppositeRalph Fiennes at theOld Vic.[12] Paul Taylor fromThe Independent hailed Snook's performance writing, "Sarah Snook, the young Australian star, is a disarmingly direct, deep-voiced and uninhibited as Hilde in an assured [and] striking performance".[13] Snook returned to the stage in 2018, where she portrayedJoan of Arc in theSydney Theatre Company's production ofGeorge Bernard Shaw'sSaint Joan.[14][15][16] Her performance was hailed by John Sand of theSydney Morning Herald, who described her performance as "beyond riveting" and said that "Snook catches the untamed bravado of a teenager fired with passion".[17]
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From 2018 to 2023, Snook gained prominence for her lead role as Siobhan "Shiv" Roy in theHBO drama seriesSuccession. The role earned her widespread critical acclaim[18] and numerous accolades, including thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, theScreen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series, and twoGolden Globe Awards, the first forBest Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film followed by a win forBest Actress – Television Series Drama.[2]
In 2020, Snook acted in the comedy filmAn American Pickle, oppositeSeth Rogen, and inKornél Mundruczó's marital drama filmPieces of a Woman. In December 2021, she replacedElisabeth Moss as the lead in the horror-thriller filmRun Rabbit Run, directed by Daina Reid.[19] The film was a critical failure[20] with her performance receiving mixed reviews. Michael Sun ofThe Guardian wrote of Snook, "[she], of course, is typically excellent, fresh from her turn asSuccession’s petulant, scheming Shiv Roy in another spiky role here – but even her performance, as it heightens towards a crazed delirium, recallsToni Collette’s inHereditary.[21] Monica Castillo ofRoger Ebert.com, praised Snook's performance describing it as "marvelous departure fromSuccession".[22]
In January 2022, Snook was cast alongsideZach Galifianakis andElizabeth Banks in the comedy drama filmThe Beanie Bubble, which was co-directed by Kristin Gore and Damian Kulash.[23] The movie was another critical failure for Snook.[24] Wendy Idle ofThe Guardian described her as being "underused" in the film.[25] Frank Scheck ofThe Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Snook displays a softer side than in her celebratedSuccession turn with yet another portrayal revolving around a ruthless businessman."[26] In 2022, Snook narrated the Netflix documentary filmKangaroo Valley.
In 2024, Snook returned to theWest End portraying all 26 roles in theSydney Theatre Company's production ofThe Picture of Dorian Gray at theTheatre Royal Haymarket.[27]Arifa Akbar ofThe Guardian praised Snook on her performance citing the complexity of the role: "It is a juggling act of high order for Snook. She must perform in real time, react to the recorded footage and manipulate the technology herself in some scenes. She speaks in dialogue but also narrates omnisciently. Some scenes require athleticism, others sudden stillness. It demands an exacting synchronicity and she gets it pitch perfect, powering through 26 characters."[28] Snook's performance earned further acclaim upon the play'sBroadway transfer at theMusic Box Theatre the following year.[29][30][31] Naveen Kumar ofThe Washington Post praised her "extraordinary grasp on the physics of performing for stage and screen, often simultaneously. She can explode like a firework, containing it for the camera while filling the room with sparks."[32] Snook won theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress and theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance.[33][34]
She also voiced the protagonist in the 2024stop-motion animated filmMemoir of a Snail directed byAdam Elliot.[35] Her voice performance drew praise from critics. Nate Richard ofCollider wrote, “Snook gives one of the best voice performances of the year. Never once does she feel like she is haphazardly reading lines into a microphone. She pours so much emotion and soulfulness into Grace, and it pairs perfectly with Elliot’s stunning animation.”[36] Manuel Betancourt ofThe Los Angeles Times remarked, “The filmmaker is helped by Snook’s oft-deadpan delivery. Her voice makes the many outlandish events she describes feel grounded in a reality that refuses the call to pity. There is a push instead toward empathy, toward imagining and caring for the inner worlds of those we might otherwise disregard.”[37] For her performance, she was awarded her secondAACTA award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, marking the first time the award went to a voice performance.[38] The film was nominated forBest Animated Feature at the97th Academy Awards.[39]
In 2020, Snook began dating Australian comedianDave Lawson, whom she married in the backyard of herBrooklyn home in 2021.[40] She gave birth to a daughter in May 2023.[41][42][43] Snook is also thegodmother of herSuccession co-starKieran Culkin's son.[44]
| † | Denotes projects that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | Crystal Jam | Crystal | Short film | |
| 2011 | The Best Man | Isla | Short film | |
| Sleeping Beauty | Flatmate | |||
| 2012 | Not Suitable for Children | Stevie | ||
| 2013 | These Final Hours | Mandy's Mother | ||
| 2014 | Predestination | Jane / John | ||
| Jessabelle | Jessie Laurent | |||
| 2015 | The Dressmaker | Gertrude "Trudy" Pratt | ||
| Oddball | Emily Marsh | |||
| Holding the Man | Pepe Trevor | |||
| Steve Jobs | Andrea "Andy" Cunningham | |||
| 2017 | The Glass Castle | Lori Walls | ||
| 2018 | Winchester | Marian Marriott | ||
| Brothers' Nest | Sandy | |||
| 2020 | An American Pickle | Sarah Greenbaum | [45] | |
| Pieces of a Woman | Suzanne | |||
| 2023 | Run Rabbit Run | Sarah | Also executive producer | |
| The Beanie Bubble | Sheila Warner | |||
| 2024 | Memoir of a Snail | Grace Pudel (voice) |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | All Saints | Sophie | Episode: "Curve Balls" | |
| 2010 | Sisters of War | Lorna Whyte | Television film | |
| 2011 | Packed to the Rafters | Jodi Webb | 2 episodes | |
| Blood Brothers | Debbie Franklin | Television film | ||
| My Place | Minna Muller | Episode: "Henry 1878" | ||
| Spirited | Antonia | 10 episodes | ||
| 2013 | Redfern Now | Officer Sarah Donaldson | Episode: "Dogs of War" | |
| 2014 | The Moodys | Louise | Episode: "Happy Anniversary Kevin & Maree" | |
| 2015 | The Secret River | Sal Thornhill | Main role; 2 episodes | |
| The Beautiful Lie | Anna | Main role; 6 episodes | ||
| 2016 | Black Mirror | Medina | Episode: "Men Against Fire" | |
| 2018–2023 | Succession | Siobhan "Shiv" Roy | Main role; 39 episodes | |
| 2019 | Robot Chicken | Rose the Horse / Midge (voices) | Episode: "Snoopy Camino Lindo in: Quick and Dirty Squirrel Shot" | |
| 2020 | Soulmates | Nikki | Episode: "Watershed" | |
| 2023 | Koala Man | Vicky (voice) | Main role; 8 episodes | |
| 2025 | All Her Fault | Marissa Irvine | Main role; also executive producer | [46] |
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | King Lear | Cordelia | State Theatre Company of South Australia | |
| 2016 | The Master Builder | Hilde Wangel | The Old Vic,West End | |
| 2018 | Saint Joan | Joan of Arc | Sydney Theatre Company,Australia | |
| 2024 | The Picture of Dorian Gray | Dorian Gray, et al. | Theatre Royal Haymarket, West End | |
| 2025 | Music Box Theatre,Broadway | [47] |
Snook has receivedvarious accolades in her career. In her early career, she received attention andAACTA Awards for her performances inSisters of War (2010) andPredestination (2014), and additional nominations forNot Suitable for Children (2012),The Dressmaker (2015),The Secret River (2015), andThe Beautiful Lie (2015). Snook'sbreakthrough role asShiv Roy in theHBO television seriesSuccession (2018–2023) earned her twoCritics' Choice Television Awards (Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in2022 andBest Actress in a Drama Series in2024), twoGolden Globe Awards (Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film in2022 andBest Actress in a Television Series – Drama in2024), aPrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in2024 (after two nominations forOutstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series), and twoScreen Actors Guild Awards for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series in2022 and2024 (also nominated both years forOutstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series). She won a third and fourth AACTA Award forSuccession andMemoir of a Snail (2024); the latter win made her the first to receive theBest Actress prize for avoice-over role.
Snook appeared onWest End andBroadway as multiple characters in the playThe Picture of Dorian Gray, winning respectively theLaurence Olivier Award for Best Actress andTony Award for Best Actress in a Play. As of 2025, she is only theAcademy Award—for which she is yet to be nominated—away from achieving theTriple Crown of Acting.
I'm a proud Sagittarian. I am not born July 28. My birthday's the first of December. Someone made a Wikipedia page up for me, and they just decided that 28th of July was me... It's lucky that I'm only six months out; but, I feel like, if I was going to fake my own birthday, I should have gone, you know, three, four years, five years earlier..
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
