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Dakota Blue Richards

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Dakota Blue Richards
Richards in 2012
Born(1994-04-11)11 April 1994(age 30)
Chelsea,London,England
OccupationActress
Years active2006–present

Dakota Blue Richards(born 11 April 1994) is an English actress. Her film debut at the age of 13 was inThe Golden Compass,as the lead characterLyra Belacqua.[1][2]Other lead roles include the wayward teenager April inDustbin Babyand Maria in the 2009 filmThe Secret of Moonacre.[3]In 2011 she played Franky Fitzgerald in the third generation cast ofBritishteen dramaSkins.She has also played roles in television, film and on stage.

Early life and education

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Richards was born on 11 April 1994 at theChelsea and Westminster Hospitalin theFulham Road,London.The family moved toSussex,where she attended Newlands School. She attended St Paul's Primary School in Brighton,[4]and laterBlatchington Mill SchoolinHoveand KBis Theatre School in Brighton.[4]

Career

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The Golden Compass

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After seeing the stage adaptation ofHis Dark Materialsat theNational Theatre,she says she "just wanted to be Lyra".[5]Theauditionprocess had ten thousand applicants, andPhilip Pullman(author of the books) said, "As soon as I saw Dakota's screen test, I realised that the search was over."[6]Chris Weitz,the director, added that Richards "made what should have been an extremely difficult decision quite easy."[6]The Golden Compasswith Richards as Lyra was released worldwide in December 2007 and grossed $372 million.

Richards' performance inThe Golden Compasswas variously described as "efficient",[7]"a decent job",[8]"nicely played",[9]and "enchanting." One review called the selection of Richards for the role of Lyra "terrific casting".[10]Peter Bradshaw ofThe Guardiancommented "Lyra is nicely played by 13-year-old newcomer Dakota Blue Richards, though with anArtful Dodger-ish 'urchin' accent that comes and goes a bit ",[9]whileEmpirenoted that she "struggles with lumpy dialogue".[8]Roger Ebertwas more effusive, calling Richards "a delightful find" who was "pretty, plucky, forceful, self-possessed, charismatic and just about plausible as the mistress of an armored bear and the protector of Dust."[11]

Skins

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Richards appeared inseries 5and6of theE4teen dramaSkins,which premiered on 27 January 2011. She played the character ofFranky Fitzgeraldwith her androgynous looks, wacky dress sense, two gay dads (one played byJohn Sessions) and a tragic cyber-bullying backstory.[12]Originally she auditioned for the role ofLiv,and in an interview explained "only became Franky right at the very end of the audition process".[13]As a member of the third generation of its young cast, Richards said "It's crazy to be part of thisSkinsphenomenon, it's as much a lifestyle choice as anything because of the attention that comes with it. "[14]

ChickLit

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In this full-length film, Richards plays a protagonist's sister-in-law, cajoled into acting the role of author of a chick-lit novel written by four patrons of a local pub inNorfolk.The character, Zoe, demands £500 a week for as long as the four true authors need her. The film is aneroticBritish comedy.[citation needed]

Other roles

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Richards (left) as April with Marion (played byJuliet Stevenson) inDustbin Baby
Richards inDustbin Baby

BeforeThe Golden Compasswas released, Richards had already been cast as the lead in another film,The Secret of Moonacre,her second book-to-film adaptation, in which she would play Maria Merryweather from the bookThe Little White Horse.Principal photography began in October 2007[15][16]and the film was eventually released February 2009.[3]

In December 2008, Richards played April Johnson inDustbin Baby,theBBCdramatisation of theJacqueline Wilsonnovelof the same name.She described April as a difficult character to play, "she is a really different person to me. On the one hand, she does go through normal things that I can relate to, such as fighting with your parents or getting presents you don't like; but on the other, she has had such a hard life."[17]

In April 2012, she performed a British indie featureThe FoldinBristolandCornwall,playing Eloise, the daughter of anAnglicanpriest. The film is written by Poppy Cogan, winner of the Harpers/William Morris Short Script Award, and directed by John Jencks. It commercially opened inlimited releasein UK on 24 March 2014.[citation needed]The movie won best screenplay at the Women's Independent Festival in LA, Best Picture at the Independent Film Makers Showcase and was nominated for best drama at the National Film Awards.[18]

Richards played a title role inITVthrillerLightfieldsalongsideJill HalfpennyandKris Marshall.It is a supernatural five-part drama which follows on from the ITV dramaMarchlandsand tells the story of three families living in the same house with a ghost during different time periods.[19]

In 2013, she appeared inFrenchfilmmaker Stéphanie Joalland'ssci-fithrillerThe Quiet Hour,about a brother and sister trying to survive in a post-apocalyptic England. During the same year she filmed a short film entitledGirl Power.[20]

Richards made her stage debut inEnglish Touring Theatre's 2015 revival ofTom Stoppard'sArcadia.[21]

Between 2016 and 2018 she was cast in the part of WPC Shirley Trewlove in theEndeavourtelevision series. In 2018, she was cast for the part of Margaret Osborne in the ITV dramaBeecham House.[22]It began airing in 2019.

Personal life

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Richards revealed that as a young actress, she "suffered at the hands of schoolbulliesbecause of her ginger hair ".[4]

In 2008, she attended the "Our Space" camp of theEquality and Human Rights Commission(in theLake District), which gathered "teenagers from different backgrounds to discuss human rights anddiscrimination".[4]Since 2010 she has supportedAction for Children,a charity in the United Kingdom helping vulnerable young people overcome injustice and deprivation. In 2011, she fronted their advertising campaign to promote a new charity project.[23][24]

Richards also backs The Young Actors Group, an acting school in Brighton opened in 2014 that gives children and teenagers the training to work professionally in stage and screen.[25]

Richards describes herself as "quite intomodernart andabstractstuff "[13]and a fan of photographer Christian Coigny, artistsTracey EminandDamien Hirst,and films fromStudio Ghibli.[13]

Filmography

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Film

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Film appearances of Dakota Blue Richards
Year Title Role Notes
2007 The Golden Compass Lyra Belacqua Debut role
2008 The Secret of Moonacre Maria Merryweather
2009 Five Miles Out Cassey Short film
2014 The Fold Eloise Ashton
The Quiet Hour Sarah
Girl Power Cassey Short film
2016 ChickLit Zoe Feature film

Television

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Television appearances of Dakota Blue Richards
Year Title Role Notes
2008 Dustbin Baby April Johnson Television film
2011–2012 Skins Franky Fitzgerald 18 episodes
2013 Lightfields Eve 5 episodes
2016–2018 Endeavour WPC Shirley Trewlove 13 episodes
2019 Beecham House Margaret Osborne 6 episodes
2023 Celebrity Mastermind Herself episode #21.11

Stage

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Year Title Role Notes
2015 Arcadia Thomasina English Touring Theatre
A Streetcar Named Desire Stella Curve, Leicester
2017 What The Butler Saw Geraldine
2023 Anthropology Angie Hampstead Theatre,London[26]

Awards and nominations

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Year Organisation Award Work Result
2007 Broadcast Film Critics Association Critics' Choice Award[27] The Golden Compass Nominated
London Film Critics Circle Breakthrough Award[28]
2008 Young Artist Award Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress[29]
Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films Saturn Award
2011 TV ChoiceAwards Best Actress[30][31] Skins
Royal Television Society(RTS)

References

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  1. ^"Lyra cast in Dark Materials film".CBBC Newsround. 29 June 2006.
  2. ^Higgins, Charlotte (30 June 2006)."Dark Materials film gets green light".The Guardian.London.
  3. ^ab"Richards Returns in Moonacre".SciFi Wire. 3 December 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 3 February 2008.
  4. ^abcdAcford, Louise (16 January 2009)."Star bullied for her ginger hair".The Argus.London.
  5. ^"The calm before the storm".The Guardian.London. 30 November 2007.
  6. ^abIrvine, Lindesay (29 June 2006)."Lyra found for $150m Dark Materials film".The Guardian.London.
  7. ^Landesman, Cosmo (2 December 2007)."The Golden Compass".The Sunday Times.London.
  8. ^ab"The Golden Compass".Empire magazine.5 December 2007.
  9. ^abBradshaw, Peter (30 November 2007)."The Golden Compass".The Guardian.London.
  10. ^Christopher, James (27 November 2007)."The Golden Compass".The Times.London.
  11. ^Ebert, Roger (7 December 2007)."The Golden Compass".Chicago Sun-Times.Archived fromthe originalon 31 October 2010.Retrieved10 April2012.
  12. ^Chater, David."Thursday's TV: Skins".The Times.ISSN0140-0460.Retrieved1 February2020.
  13. ^abc"Dakota Blue Richards plays Franky".Channel 4 Press Info. January 2011.
  14. ^Molloy, Kate (2012). "D is for...".Skins A-Z.John Blake Publishing. p. 2 (of chapter).ISBN9781857826982.
  15. ^Lawrence, Will (30 November 2007)."Dakota Blue Richards: The 13-year-old poised to conquer the world".The Telegraph.London.
  16. ^"Lyra actress Dakota gets new role".CBBC Newsround. 2 October 2007.
  17. ^McNulty, Bernadette (19 December 2008)."Dustbin Baby".The Telegraph.London.
  18. ^"Poppy Cogan".JTM.2 February 2017.
  19. ^"Jill Halfpenny to star in ITV's Lightfields".thestage. 29 August 2012.
  20. ^"Interview with Dakota Blue Richards".ASFF. Archived fromthe originalon 25 September 2016.Retrieved9 April2014.
  21. ^Hutchison, David (17 December 2014)."Dakota Blue Richards to make stage debut in touring Arcadia revival".The Stage News.
  22. ^Ling, Thomas (20 August 2018)."ITV announces star-studded period drama Beecham House".Radio Times.
  23. ^"Action for Children Launch".Action for Children. 8 February 2011. Archived fromthe originalon 9 August 2014.
  24. ^Dakota BlueSource (16 July 2015),Dakota Blue Richards talks through My Action for Children,archivedfrom the original on 19 December 2021
  25. ^Cobley, Mike (8 July 2014)."Dakota Blue Richards Helps New Brighton Acting School To Search for the Next 'Golden' Star".The Brighton Magazine.
  26. ^Keaveney, Jim (8 September 2023)."Interview: Dakota Blue Richards on anthropology, 'Entirely unlike anything I've ever worked on before'".The Understudy.Retrieved19 October2023.
  27. ^ "13th Annual Critics Choice Awards - Best Young Actress".VH1.Archived fromthe originalon 14 December 2007.Retrieved16 May2008.
  28. ^"Atonement film up for more awards".BBC News.14 December 2007. Archived fromthe originalon 16 December 2007.Retrieved5 June2022.
  29. ^"2008 nominees and winners".Young Artist Awards. Archived fromthe originalon 4 December 2013.Retrieved16 May2008.
  30. ^"2011 TVChoice Awards 2011".E4.Archived fromthe originalon 23 May 2011.Retrieved20 May2011.
  31. ^"RTS Awards - Best Actress".Bristol Business. 17 February 2012.
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