ANDREA RISEBOROUGH

Date of Birth
27 October 1981, Whitley Bay, Northumberland, England, UK

Birth Name
Andrea Louise Riseborough

Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)

Trivia
Is a former member of the National Youth Theatre. Appeared as "Bone Girl" in an amateur production of "Dog Days", which won the 1999 Mike Figgis Award.

Trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA).

Won the 2006 Ian Charleson Award which recognizes exceptional classical stage performances from actors under 30, for her performances in "Miss Julie" in "Measure For Measure".

Member of the National Youth Theatre.

Hailed by The Sunday Times Magazine as one of Britain's finest Rising Stars along with Romola Garai, Matthew Goode, Hugh Dancy, Eddie Redmayne, Gemma Arterton, Hayley Atwell, Richard Coyle, Tom Sturridge, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Eliza Bennett, Daniel Mays and Kaya Scodelario (2009).

2011: Named as one of European films' Shooting Stars by European Film Promotion.

In a relationship with graffiti artist Joe Appel since 2009.


Personal Quotes
I love my work and I love working hard. But I feel lucky every day that in this capitalist society in which we live, one can make one's living doing what one loves.

If I weren't an actress I'd like to be an author. Either that or the proprietor of a pool hall in Texas where I'd show cabaret with homosexual undertones.

[on working with Madonna in W.E. (2011)] She always said, "I'm here if you need anything from me", but she gave us a sense of freedom in regards to embodying the characters. When it came to shooting, she's a very visual, detailed director. She loves blocking things out. Before I walked on-set, she would choose my shoes and jewelery. It was her little ritual.

[on Edward, Duke of Windsor] I was fascinated by this detail in a documentary about Edward. When he and Wallis were living together, he would wait at the bottom of the stairs while she was dressing. After a certain amount of time, the butler would bring him a chair, and he would sit and wait. In a little more time, the butler would bring him a cigarette, and he'd sit there and smoke and wait. He'd wait and wait. Sometimes she would come down and they would leave. And sometimes he'd wait so long that he would end up in tears. There's something about that story that hit me in my heart.

I have lots of early film memories. I used to like watching black & white movies in the afternoon; I would sit kind of transfixed in front of the TV screen.

Initially when you get the script, you peruse the script. It was so simple with Brighton Rock (2010). The feeling, intuitively, was there. It's like reading a half of a whole, and you see the other half. That's not to say that you're destined to play every role you respond to like that, nor is it to say that you might find enough of them. But there are certain things, as an actress, that you're interested in exploring. I was really interested in exploring Rose. It was beautiful and hard and exciting and tragic and wonderful.

What I'd like to say is that I feel sad that, where female characters are involved, we constantly reduce the film... because you and I both know that if this were a film with two male leads, we wouldn't even be having a conversation about gender.

It's different working with every director because by a person's nature, their personality and who they are very much dictates the way that they approach their art, so it's always different. I so much enjoyed working with Madonna. She was so prepared and so passionate and truly innovative in her approach. It was wonderful.


Where Are They Now
(February 2010) Starring off-Broadway as "Sylvia" in "The Pride", by Alexi Kaye Campbell, directed by Joe Mantello. With Hugh Dancy, Adam James, Ben Whishaw.