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Natasha Emma Little[1] (born 2 October 1969) is an English actress. She is best known for her roles as Edith Thompson in the film Another Life, Lady Caroline Langbourne in the BBC miniseries The Night Manager, and Christina Moxam in the BBC miniseries Thirteen. Other credits include Wolf Hall (2015), the Black Mirror episode "Shut Up and Dance" (2016), Absentia (2018-2019), and War of the Worlds (2019–2021).
Little was born in Liverpool,[2] on 2 October 1969. Her mother was an English language teacher,[3] and her father an NHS manager.[2] For the first decade of her life, she lived in the Middle East, where her father set up immunisation clinics for the WHO.[2] By the time she was ten, she had lived in eleven different countries.[3] Her family then moved back to England, and settled in Loughton, Essex.[2] She attended Loughton County High School for Girls, and joined a Saturday drama group called the Epping Youth Theatre.[2] She originally planned on a career in law, but was persuaded to apply to drama school by her teacher after her role in a school production of the musical Chicago.[2] She attended the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 1994.[2]
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Little's first acting role after graduating was a part in the play The Tenth Man at the New End Theatre.[2] She was talent-spotted whilst performing a play at the Latchmere pub theatre, and subsequently won the role of Jenny in the successful ITV drama London's Burning in 1995.[2] She had roles in Vanity Fair (1998);[3] Cadfael (1998);[4] The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything (1999); Man and Boy;[3] Far from the Madding Crowd;[4] Murder in Mind (2003);[4] playing Vicki Westbrook in the spy drama, Spooks (2003);[3] The Crooked Man (2003);[5] Angell's Hell (2005),[5] and playing Lady Hamilton in the Ricky Gervais comedy Extras (2005).[4]
Film credits include The Clandestine Marriage (1999);[5] The Criminal (1999); Kevin & Perry Go Large (2000);[5] Greenfingers (2000);[5] Another Life (2001);[5] Byron (2003);[5] Vanity Fair (2004),[3] where she played Lady Jane Sheepshanks; The Queen of Sheba's Pearls (2004),[5] and A Congregation of Ghosts 2009) among others.[5]
Theatre roles include Voyage Round My Father;[5] The Vagina Monologues;[5] Les Mains;[5] The Alchemist,[5] and the Richard Eyre play The Novice.[5] Little took her role in The Novice at the last minute. She was originally contracted to star in the film Enigma (2001), but the role was subsequently given to the actress Kate Winslet, who had previously turned the part down due to her pregnancy, but changed her mind.[3] Little was paid her full fee of £300,000,[3][6] and appeared in The Novice at the Almeida Theatre instead.[5]
Little won the award for Best Actress in a Drama Series at the 1999 Biarritz International Television Festival for her role as Becky Sharp in Vanity Fair, and she also received a nomination for British Academy Television Award for Best Actress for the same role.[7]
She played Ann Shapland in Agatha Christie's Poirot (Cat Among the Pigeons),[5] Megan Hudson in Mistresses, Nemo's mother in Mr. Nobody,[5] Flick in The Boys Are Back,[5] and Allanah Mountstuart in Any Human Heart.[5]
In 2008, Little appeared as a guest star in Foyle's War.[5] In 2011 she portrayed the wife of hostage negotiator Dominic King (played by Trevor Eve) in the three-part drama Kidnap and Ransom, alongside Helen Baxendale.[8] and played Elspeth Munro in the BBC drama Young James Herriot.[9]
In 2013 she appeared in the premiere production of the play Longing.[5] In 2015 she played Liz Cromwell in the BBC production of Wolf Hall.[5] In 2016, she appeared in "Shut Up and Dance", an episode of the anthology series Black Mirror.[5]
In 2018, Little appeared in "Birches" UK based feature,[5] based on the novel 'Silver Birches' (published in 2009 by Adrian Plass), which was turned into a film directed by Randall Stevens, with screenplay by Mark Freiburger and it also starred Anna Acton and Todd Carty.[10][11]
Little appeared in Seasons 2 and 3 (during 2018 and 2019) of the Amazon Original Absentia.[5] From 2019 to 2021, she starred alongside Gabriel Byrne, and Daisy Edgar-Jones in the British-French production of War of the Worlds.[5]
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Little lives in the Leytonstone area of London with actor Bo Poraj, whom she married in May 2003.[2] They have two sons.[8]
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Supply & Demand | NCIS - Reception | TV film |
| 1998 | Far from the Madding Crowd | Fanny Robin | TV film |
| 1999 | The Criminal | Sarah Maitland | |
| The Clandestine Marriage | Fanny | ||
| The Nearly Complete and Utter History of Everything | Lady Lionbrain | TV film | |
| 2000 | Kevin & Perry Go Large | Anne Boleyn | |
| Greenfingers | Primrose Woodhouse | ||
| 2001 | Another Life | Edith Jessie Thompson | |
| The Island of the Mapmaker's Wife | Finley Descotes | ||
| 2002 | Man and Boy | Gina Silver | TV film |
| 2003 | Byron | Augusta Leigh | TV film |
| The Crooked Man | Lisa Talbot | TV film | |
| 2004 | Vanity Fair | Lady Jane Sheepshanks Crawley | |
| The Queen of Sheba's Pearls | Peggy Pretty | ||
| 2005 | Angell's Hell | Lucy | TV film |
| 2009 | Mr. Nobody | Mother Nemo | |
| The Boys Are Back | Flick | ||
| A Congregation of Ghosts | Daphne du Maurier | ||
| 2012 | We'll Take Manhattan | Peggy Shrimpton | TV film |
| Blood | Lily Fairburn | ||
| 2013 | Welcome to the Punch | Jane Badham | |
| 2016 | Una | Yvonne | |
| 2019 | Birches | Angela | |
| 2020 | The Bet | Isabel | |
| Getting to Know You | Abby | ||
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Between the Lines | Shipping Office Clerk | Episode: "The End User: Part II" |
| 1995-1996 | London's Burning | Jenny | Recurring role, 11 episodes |
| 1997 | This Life | Rachel | Series regular, 20 episodes |
| 1998 | Big Women | Saffron | Episode: "Well, I'm Sorry" |
| Vanity Fair | Becky Sharp | Mini-series - main role - 6 episodes | |
| Cadfael | Melangell | Episode: "The Pilgrim of Hate" | |
| The Bill | Claire | Episode: "Bad Feelings" | |
| 1999 | Love in the 21st Century | Amanda | Episode: "Masturbation" |
| 2002 | Dickens | Ellen Ternan | Mini-series |
| 2003 | Murder in Mind | Hat Vezey | Episode: "Stalkers" |
| Spooks | Vicki Westbrook | Recurring role, 5 episodes | |
| 2005 | Extras | Lady Hamilton | Episode: "Ross Kemp & Vinnie Jones" |
| 2007 | Silent Witness | Alice Huston | Episode: "Hippocratic Oath" |
| 2008 | Foyle's War | Rose Dawson | Episode: "Broken Souls" |
| Agatha Christie's Poirot | Ann Shapland | Episode: "Cat Among the Pigeons" | |
| 2009 | Mistresses | Megan Hudson | Series 2 regular, 6 episodes |
| The Bill | Ms. Stephanie Anderson | Episode: "Conviction: Judgment Day" | |
| 2010 | Any Human Heart | Allanah Mountstuart | Mini-series |
| 2011 | New Tricks | Sarah Winslow | Episode: "Old Fossils" |
| Young James Herriot | Mrs. Munro | Mini-series - 3 episodes | |
| 2011-2012 | Kidnap and Ransom | Sophie King | Series regular - 6 episodes |
| 2011-2013 | Case Histories | Julia Land | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Moving On | Sonia | Episode: "Friends Like These" |
| Breathless | Elizabeth Powell | Mini-series | |
| 2014 | Masterpiece Mystery | Episode: "Breathless, Part 1" | |
| 2015 | Father Brown | Harriet Greensleeves | Episode: "The Owl of Minerva" |
| Wolf Hall | Liz Cromwell | Mini-series - 3 episodes | |
| DCI Banks | Elaine Foster | Episode: "Ghosts" | |
| 2016 | Thirteen | Christina Moxam | Main role - 5 episodes |
| The Night Manager | Caroline Langbourne | Mini-series - 4 episodes | |
| Black Mirror | Karen | Episode: "Shut Up and Dance" | |
| 2017 | Death in Paradise | Victoria Baker | Episode: Erupting in Murder |
| Midsomer Murders | Melody Henderson | Episode: Last Man Out | |
| 2018 | Silent Witness | Zoe McMorris | Episode: Family |
| Press | Sarah Allen | Mini-series - 3 episodes | |
| 2019-2020 | Absentia | Special Agent Julianne Gunnarsen | Main role - 20 episodes |
| 2019-2021 | War of the Worlds | Sarah Gresham | Main role - 16 episodes |
| 2021 | Dalgliesh | Matron Mary Taylor | Episode: Shroud For A Nightingale |
| 2021 | Ragdoll | Andrea Wyld | 5 episodes |
| 2022 | Ten Percent | Charlotte Nightingale | Main role - 8 episodes |
Video games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Dragon Age: Origins | Nan/Lady Landra/Redcliffe Priest | Voice only |
| 2010 | Dragon Age: Origins – Awakening | Mistress Woolsey/Ser Rylock/Amaranthine Guards | Voice only |
| 2011 | Dragon Age II | Janeka/Chateau Haine Party Guest | Voice only |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic | Sith Warrior (Female) | Voice only | |
| 2012 | 007 Legends | Pussy Galore | Voice only |
| 2013 | Star Wars: The Old Republic – Rise of the Hutt Cartel | Sith Warrior (Female) | Voice only |
| 2014 | Star Wars: The Old Republic - Shadow of Revan | Sith Warrior (Female)/Imperial Scout | Voice only |
| 2015 | Star Wars: The Old Republic - Knights of the Fallen Empire | Sith Warrior | Voice only |
| 2016 | Star Wars: The Old Republic - Knights of the Eternal Throne | Sith Warrior (Female) | Voice only |
| 2017 | Total War: Warhammer II | Morathi the Hag Sorceress | Voice only |
| 2018 | Vampyr | Beatrice/Carolyn/Doris | Voice only |
| 2019 | Blood & Truth | Anne Marks | Voice only |
| Star Wars: The Old Republic - Onslaught | Sith Warrior (Female) | Voice only | |
Theatre
| Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | My Favorite Year | Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London | ||
| The Tenth Man | Thérèse | Hampstead Theatre, London | ||
| 1996 | The Alchemist | Doll Common | Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham & Royal National Theatre, London | Understudy to Josie Lawrence |
| 2000 | The Novice | Jessica | Almeida Theatre, London | |
| 2003 | The Vagina Monologues | — | Arts Theatre, London | |
| 2006 | A Voyage Round My Father | Elizabeth | Donmar Warehouse, London & Wyndham's Theatre, London | |
| 2013 | Longing | Tania | Hampstead Theatre, London | |
| 2018 | Again | Louise | Trafalgar Theatre, London | |
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| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | BAFTA Television Awards | BAFTA TV Best Actress | Vanity Fair | Nominated | [7][12] |
| FIPADOC Awards | Best Actress in TV Series and Serials | Vanity Fair | Won | [12] | |
| RTS Television Awards | Best Actress | Vanity Fair | Nominated | [12] | |
| 2002 | Cherbourg-Octeville Festival of Irish & British Film | Best Actress | Another Life | Won | [12] |
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