Game of Thrones star Nathalie Emmanuel on her character's fate and racism in the series

Childhood and youth

Natalie was born on March 2, 1989 in the English county of Essex, in the town of Southend-on-Sea. The full name of the actress is Nathalie Joanna Emmanuel. The girl’s mother’s pedigree contains a lot of blood: the woman’s relatives lived in England, Spain and Dominica (a small island state in the Caribbean). My father's roots are half from England, half from St. Lucia. Such a diverse cocktail of genes gave Natalie an exotic appearance that is difficult not to pay attention to.

Actress Nathalie Emmanuel

Nathalie Emmanuel is not the only child in the family: the girl has an older sister, Louise, although she is a half-sister. The actress has developed a close and truly warm relationship with Louise, which Natalie, by her own admission, values ​​very much. When the future star was three years old, her parents sent the girl to St. Hilda's School, and later, at the age of 12, Natalie began attending Westcliff High School for girls. Studying was difficult for the girl: at first, Natalie cried every day, not wanting to go to class.

Nathalie Emmanuel in childhood and youth

Then, wanting to please the little girl and distract her from thoughts about school, the parents enrolled their daughter in a vocal studio. The loud-voiced Natalie liked the singing lessons, and after some time the girl also began to study choreography and acting. Such diverse creative development yielded good results: already at the age of 10, Nathalie Emmanuel first appeared on the stage of the West End theater, where the musical “The Lion King” was staged. The girl got the role of the lioness Nala.

Nathalie Emmanuel

After graduating from school, Natalie got a job at a bank. It seemed that childhood dreams of stage and fame were no longer destined to come true. However, fate decreed differently: Natalie passed the casting of one of the advertising agencies and received a role in an advertisement for the mobile operator Vodafone. The bright and talented beauty was noticed, and other offers began to come to Natalie. Later, the aspiring actress starred in commercials for McDonalds and British Airways.

Nathalie Emmanuel: the beginning of the journey

The future performer of the role of Missandei was born in the UK, a joyful event occurred in March 1989. Nathalie Emmanuel was born into a simple family; there are no movie stars among her relatives. Even as a child, she began to be drawn to creativity, enjoyed studying in a theater studio, and went to dances.

Natalie was ten years old when she played her first role on stage. The girl made her debut in the musical “The Lion King” and embodied the image of little Nola. The audience highly appreciated her talent, and the young actress no longer doubted that she wanted to devote her life to dramatic art.

Movies

Nathalie Emmanuel's first serious film work was her role in the TV series Hollyoaks. The actress's heroine is a drug addict girl named Sasha Valentine. The following year, 2007, added roles in the TV series “Catastrophe” and “Misfits” to Nathalie Emmanuel’s filmography.

Nathalie Emmanuel in the movie "Fast and Furious"

2015 pleased fans of the actress with the role of the hacker Ramsay in the movie “Fast and Furious.” Initially, this character was presented to the creators of the film as a strange nerd guy, but Natalie’s unconventional appearance and sparkling sense of humor outweighed all arguments, and the role went to the young actress.

Nathalie Emmanuel in the movie The Maze Runner

In the same year, the girl played in the film “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials.” Nathalie Emmanuel took on the complex role of Harriet, the leader of the so-called Group B, whose task is to create a cure for the outbreak. The actress's partners on the set were stars Katherine McNamara, Dylan O'Brien and Thomas Sangster. However, these roles of Nathalie Emmanuel turned out to be preparation for more serious film work.

Not just Missandei from Game of Thrones

Her childhood passion for theater would most likely remain one of the memories of an ordinary bank employee, where she got a job after graduating from school. But a lucky chance changed everything. She passed a casting at an advertising agency and starred in an advertisement for the mobile operator Vodafone. This was followed by filming in commercials for McDonalds and British Airways.

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But Natalie’s television career dates back to 2006, when the series “Hollyoaks” was released. The young girl played a drug addict named Sasha Valentine. The series aired until 2010. In 2007, Natalie already starred in two TV series: a cameo role in “Catastrophe” and the hooligan Charlie in “Misfits”, the girlfriend of Joseph Gilgun’s character from the third season).

“Misfits”: Nathalie Emmanuel as Charlie But the main success in her career was the invitation to film the series “Game of Thrones.” The actress played the role of a slave with an exotic appearance, Missandei, a polyglot translator and confidant of Daenerys Targaryen (Emilia Clarke). Her character first appears in the third season, but by the seventh she becomes one of the central figures of the series. For this role, Nathalie Emmanuel was repeatedly nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in the company of Peter Dinklage, Lena Headey, Sophie Turner, Maisie Williams, Nikolai Waldau and other Game of Thrones actors.

The former slave Missandei made Nathalie Emmanuel famous. In an interview with the host of the popular evening TV show in the States, Jimmy Kimmel, she admitted that before she began filming Thrones, she worked as a sales assistant in a clothing store.

Nathalie Emmanuel and Emilia Clarke Worldwide popularity brought Natalie penultimate place in the list of the hundred sexiest women of 2013 (according to the men's magazine FHM) and 75th in the same ranking in 2020. In the same year, she was invited to shoot by InStyle and GQ magazines. Meanwhile, having seen her photographs on the pages of the glossy magazine, the actress was not very pleased: “I would like them to publish my real, and not retouched, photos, in the name of the self-esteem of young readers.”

Photo shoot by Nathalie Emmanuel for GQ In 2020, fans saw the actress in the seventh part of the popular “racing thriller” “The Fast and the Furious” with Vin Diesel. Nathalie Emmanuel played hacker Ramsay. Initially, the filmmakers imagined Ramsay as an eccentric nerd guy, but then they decided that Nathalie's sense of humor and her striking appearance would convince viewers that girls, too, could be crazy cyber hackers. "Fast and Furious 7": Nathalie Emmanuel in a scene on the beach And in a science-fiction film “The Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials” (2015) the girl embodied the complex character of Harriet. It must be said that the dreadlocks braided on the actress’s head only added to her charm. She had the opportunity to work on set with Dylan O'Brien, Thomas Sangster and her on-screen partner Katherine McNamara.

The Maze Runner: Nathalie Emmanuel as Harriet

TV series "Game of Thrones"

The actress’s finest hour was her invitation to film “Game of Thrones,” a series that has been attracting the whole world to the screens for several years now. This fantastic saga is distinguished by the unpredictability of the plot, as well as an abundance of erotically explicit and frankly cruel scenes. Here Nathalie Emmanuel played the role of Missandei, a slave girl who became first an assistant and translator, and then the main confidante of Daenerys Targaryen (played by Emilia Clarke).

Nathalie Emmanuel in the series "Game of Thrones"

Natalie will appear for the first time in the third season of the series, and by the seventh she will become not just one of the central characters, but also a favorite of the audience. Her role in Game of Thrones brought Nathalie Emmanuel multiple nominations for the Screen Actors Guild Award - and this was even before the filming of the film saga was completed. Here the actress's partners were Lena Headey, Nikolai Waldau, Sophie Turner, Peter Dinklage, Maisie Williams and other equally bright film stars.

Missandei (Nathalie Emmanuel) and Gray Worm (Jacob Anderson)

In addition, Natalie's sudden popularity gave her a place in the top 100 sexiest women of 2013 and 2015 according to FHM magazine, as well as invitations to a photo shoot in InStyle and GQ magazines. However, the actress was dissatisfied with the published photos. Nathalie Emmanuel admitted in an interview:

“I wish they would publish my real photos, not retouched ones, for the sake of self-esteem for young readers.”

Missandei in Game of Thrones

The showrunners liked Natalie precisely because of her appearance. She was called to audition. After the girl successfully showed herself at the casting, she was approved for the role in 2012.

Emmanuelle was to play Missandei, a polyglot and slave who became Daenerys Stormborn's confidante. Viewers first saw her in season 3 of GOT. Natalie, along with other actors from the series, was nominated several times for the Best Cast Award.

Natalie became famous throughout the world. Such popularity brought her to 99th place in the “100 Sexiest Women in the World” chart in 2013, and 2 years later she rose to 75th place. The rating was compiled by men's magazine FHM.

The actress immediately began to be invited to various shoots for glossy magazines. When the media resource GQ published her photographs, she was extremely dissatisfied. Emmanuelle was outraged that her photo was so heavily retouched.

After filming in the cult series, Natalie's acting career took off sharply. She began to appear in larger projects.

Personal life

Despite the fact that constant filming, it would seem, should have accustomed the actress to the idea that her whole life passes in full view of the audience, there are moments that the girl prefers not to advertise. The personal life of Nathalie Emmanuel largely remains a mystery both to journalists and to the actress’s loyal fans. One can only guess who is the happy chosen one of the slender beauty (Nathalie Emmanuel’s height is 170 cm and her weight is 61 kg).

Nathalie Emmanuel and Devon Anderson

It is known that the girl devoted several years to her relationship with actor Devon Anderson, but neither the details of this relationship nor the reasons for the separation became public.

Nathalie Emmanuel and Jacob Anderson

The press often attributes Nathalie Emmanuel to having an affair with Jacob Anderson, who played the role of Gray Worm in Game of Thrones. Indeed, many photos of young people together have been posted on Instagram. However, apparently, romantic relationships connect the actors exclusively on the screen.

short biography

Nathalie Emmanuel (photo of the actress is available for viewing) was born on March 2, 1989 in the small town of Southend-on-Sea, Essex County. The artist’s father is half English, while her mother’s blood contains Dominican, Spanish and English blood. This affected the appearance of the future actress, making her exotic.

Natalie never experienced problems with her nationality: there was no persecution or infringement of her interests because of her origin . Everyone around her, as she admits, treated her with respect.

In addition to Natalie, her half-sister grew up with her in the family, with whom the girl got along well. The child was taken to St. Hilda's School early when Natalie was 3 years old. At age 12, she continued her education at Westcliff Girls' High School. However, teaching was torture for Natalie, and almost every day it began with hysterics and sobs.

To interest the child, her parents took her to vocal classes, dance and theater clubs. For the active kid that Natalie was in those years, this was a salvation from the daily tedious work of gaining general knowledge.

Art became a profession for her. From the age of 10 she performed on stage in plays. For example, in the West End theater the girl was involved in the musical play “The Lion King”, where she brilliantly performed the lioness Nala.

Nathalie Emmanuel now

Nathalie Emmanuel is currently busy filming Game of Thrones. Season 7, just released, has many surprises in store for fans of the series. The actors are preparing for the upcoming filming of the final season of the popular fantasy saga, which will reveal the remaining secrets and tell the world the fate of the Iron Throne. It is known that the actress starred in the science-fiction film “Titan”, agreeing to a supporting role. The film's premiere is scheduled for October 2017.

Nathalie Emmanuel in 2020

In addition to work, Nathalie Emmanuel’s life also includes hobbies: the girl independently developed the Nathalie Emmanuel Seduction fashion collection, and also released a women’s perfume With Love from Nathalie. The girl, by her own admission, devotes her free time to communicating with loved ones, as well as her beloved dog named Spinny.

Actors and roles

Vin Diesel will reprise his lead role as Dominic Toretto in the film, and Michelle Rodriguez will play her longtime character Letty Ortiz, Domi's girlfriend-turned-wife. Rodriguez's involvement was only confirmed last month after she agreed to join Universal's Fast 9th Furious creative team.

As for the rest of the cast, it is known that Dwayne Johnson will not appear in the film due to widely publicized creative differences with Vin Diesel in the eighth installment of the franchise, released in 2020.

However, he will return as Luke Hobbs in Fast & Furious: Hobbs & Shaw instead. However, the film will still feature a wrestling star who decides to try the acting life - this time as John Cena instead of The Rock. Cena's role is being kept under wraps for now, but it's possible he's playing an as-yet-unnamed villain in the installment.

Natalia Emmanuel's first film roles

Natalia began her television career at the age of 17. Her first role as drug addict Alexandra in the TV series Hollyoaks brought success. After the second season, she was offered several more minor roles in the series “Catastrophe” and “Misfits”.

The most significant role in her life came in 2010 in the film Game of Thrones. Then she also played in the Fast and Furious films, in 2 parts. In total, the artist was involved in 14 projects, of which 8 were serials and 6 were serials. In 2014 and 2020, Natalia Emanuel was awarded the prestigious Guild Awards for her role in Game of Thrones.

After the actress became popular, she began to appear on the pages of fashion magazines, becoming one of the sexiest women, according to some publications. She arranged a photo shoot of her real photos, without retouching or photoshop.

Awards and nominations[ | ]