DORMER ON HER NEW TV DRAMA When you’re shy like me, strong roles can make you a better seductress in real life
and the kind of things happening in the mid-to-late 1930s and the lead-up to the Second World War.
One of the big philosophical questions the series poses is whether mankind is innately selfish and prejudiced, or whether there is something fundamentally good about being a human being.”
ACHIEVER
Natalie’s success comes after a tough time at school. Bullies made life hard for her – yet she became a high achiever and went on to be head girl.
Cambridge University beckoned but
Natalie missed out on top grades after misreading a question in her A-level history paper. She enrolled for drama school instead and the rest, as they say, is history.
Raised in Reading, Berks, she learned her craft at Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Her grandfather had sparked the idea that she might make an actress.
Natalie explains: “A lot of it comes from my grandfather. When I was a young girl, he was very interested in my desire to tell stories and transform myself. I had a huge imagination and I was constantly pretending to be characters and putting on little shows.
“He really appreciated that about me and in his spare time, he built me a portable wardrobe where I kept my costumes and things for my shows.”
Natalie’s big break came in 2007 when she played Anne Boleyn in The Tudors, opposite Jonathan Rhys Myers, 42, and Henry Cavill, 37.
Through the Hunger Games trilogy she became great pals with fellow star Jennifer Lawrence, 29.
The pair famously accidentally kissed on the lips at The Hunger Games premiere in 2015, with Jennifer joking afterwards: “Oh my God, we just kissed on camera – and I liked it.”
From 2012 to 2016 Natalie starred as Margaery Tyrell in TV juggernaut Game of Thrones.
But there was heartache in 2018 when she split from her Irish actor fiancé Anthony Byrne, who she met on the set of The Tudors.
The pair wrote and produced 2018 film In Darkness and Natalie admits it led to friction in their relationship. She says: “Couples say terrible things to each other that you would never say to your best friend. We learned very quickly that we couldn’t write in the same room.
“Doors got slammed at various points and I wouldn’t necessarily rush into writing with Anthony again.”
She now lives with actor David Oakes, 36, who she met when they performed in the David Ives play Furs.
The pair were recently spotted sharing another lead role... walking their dog Indy in West London.
NATALIE DORMER BRITISH STAR ON HER HUGE CAREER