Maeve Dermody ( ; born 2 November 1985) is a UK-based Australian actress. After a film appearance at 5 years old, her adult acting career has included work in Australian and British television, theatre, short films, and movies. She characterises her own acting goal as "to be able to play different characters every time, without traces of myself".

Early life

She is the daughter of Susan Murphy Dermody, a film theorist, historian, director, and Zen Roshi (teacher). Her father is a psychologist. Dermody's family encouraged a love of literature and the arts, and supported performing as well - her mother gave Dermody her first part when she was 5 years old in the film her mother directed '' Breathing Under Water'' (1993). Dermody attended Mosman High School in Sydney with a near-perfect UAI. During high school she was active in drama classes, as well as the

Australian Theatre for Young People Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP) is a not-for-profit national youth theatre company located in Woolloomooloo, New South Wales, Australia. It was founded in 1964 by Eleanor Witcombe. History The first committee was formed in 1964 and ...

, and furthered her acting education with several courses at the

National Institute of Dramatic Art The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) is an Australian educational institution for the performing arts is based in Sydney, New South Wales. Founded in 1958, many of Australia's leading actors and directors trained at NIDA, including C ...

in Sydney.

Career

While still in high school, Dermody began getting roles in Australian television series such as '' All Saints'' (1998), and in short films. Her first major film role was in the independent thriller '' Black Water'' (2007), about a trio of people trapped in the mangroves of the Northern Territory by a menacing

saltwater crocodile The saltwater crocodile (''Crocodylus porosus'') is a crocodilian native to saltwater habitats and brackish wetlands from India's east coast across Southeast Asia and the Sundaic region to northern Australia and Micronesia. It has been list ...

. Dermody's performance in ''Black Water'' earned her multiple nominations for Best Supporting Actress awards in the Australian film industry. Her next major film role was in '' Beautiful Kate'' (2009), for which she was again nominated for the AFI Best Supporting Actress Award. She had a lead role in the 2010 film '' Griff the Invisible'', and in the 2012 miniseries '' Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms''. In 2013, Dermody starred as Claire Simpson in the 10-part Australian-Singaporean TV drama series '' Serangoon Road''. Dermody is also active in the Australian theatre, having appeared in productions such as '' Killer Joe'', ''

Measure for Measure ''Measure for Measure'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1603 or 1604 and first performed in 1604, according to available records. It was published in the ''First Folio'' of 1623. The play's plot features its ...

'', ''

Our Town ''Our Town'' is a 1938 Metatheatre, metatheatrical Three act structure, three-act play by American playwright Thornton Wilder which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. The play tells the story of the fictional American small town of Grover's Cor ...

'', and ''

The Seagull ''The Seagull'' ( rus, Ча́йка, r=Cháyka, links=no) is a play by Russian dramatist Anton Chekhov, written in 1895 and first produced in 1896. ''The Seagull'' is generally considered to be the first of his four major plays. It dramatises ...

'', for major theatre companies in Sydney. In Christmas 2015, Dermody starred as Vera Claythorne in

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

's version of

Agatha Christie Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie, Lady Mallowan, (; 15 September 1890 – 12 January 1976) was an English writer known for her 66 detective novels and 14 short story collections, particularly those revolving around fictiona ...

's thriller ''

And Then There Were None ''And Then There Were None'' is a mystery fiction, mystery novel by the English writer Agatha Christie, described by her as the most difficult of her books to write. It was first published in the United Kingdom by the Collins Crime Club on 6 N ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Music videos

Theatre

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dermody, Maeve Actresses from Sydney Australian film actresses 1985 births Living people Australian expatriates in England