Tamzin Claire Merchant[1] (born 4 March 1987)[2] is an English actress and author, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film Pride & Prejudice (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series The Tudors (2009–2010) and as Anne Hale in the WGN America series Salem (2014–2017). She wrote the 2021 children's book The Hatmakers.[3]
Tamzin Merchant | |
|---|---|
 Merchant in 2011 | |
| Born | 4 March 1987 Haywards Heath, Sussex, England |
| Alma mater | Homerton College, Cambridge |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2004–present |
Early life
editMerchant was educated at Windlesham House School and Brighton College,[4][5] although she has also lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[4] After twice deferring university places to concentrate on her acting career, she eventually studied English and Drama with Education at Homerton College, Cambridge.[5]
Career
editMerchant's early credits include Margo Durrell in the 2005 BBC television film My Family and Other Animals. In 2006 she appeared in two more BBC dramas, as Sara Fox, the daughter of Alan Davies and Michelle Gomez, in the comedy The Good Housekeeping Guide, and as Probationer Eastwood in the historical drama Casualty 1906.
In 2007, while studying at the University of Cambridge, she performed in an audio production of Lady Windermere's Fan as Lady Agatha, while in 2008 she appeared in the ensemble drama Radio Cape Cod in which she plays a summer theatre camper.
She appears in the music video for Jamie T's "If You've Got The Money" and in Belle and Sebastian's "Nobody's Empire".
She was cast in the third season (2009) of The Tudors, playing Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She debuted in the part in the third-season finale and features heavily in several episodes of the fourth (and final) season.
Merchant played Daenerys Targaryen in the unaired pilot of the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels. The pilot was poorly received, and as a result the first episode was completely remade. Merchant was replaced in her role as Daenerys by Emilia Clarke.[6]
She has also starred in DCI Banks: 'Playing with Fire' as Miranda. In early 2012, Merchant played the 17-year-old Rosa Bud in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood, written by Gwyneth Hughes.
Merchant was a series regular for 3 seasons of Salem on WGN America from 2014 to 2017.[7]
In 2019 Merchant was cast as a series regular on the Amazon Prime series Carnival Row.[8] The series premiered on 30 August and was renewed for a second season.[9]
Filmography
editFilm
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Pride & Prejudice | Georgiana Darcy | |
| 2008 | Radio Cape Cod | Anna | |
| 2009 | Princess Kaiulani | Alice Davies | |
| 2011 | Jane Eyre | Mary Rivers | |
| 2011 | Red Faction: Origins | Lyra Mason | |
| 2012 | Second Wind | Anna | |
| 2014 | Copenhagen | Sandra | |
| 2015 | Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse | Rhonu | Direct-to-video film |
| 2015 | The Messenger | Sarah | |
| 2016 | The Dancer | Kate | |
| 2017 | Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire | Queen Rhonu | Direct-to-video film |
| 2020 | Running Naked | Sara | |
| 2022 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Helena | |
| 2022 | James and Lucia | Helen Fleischmann-Joyce |
Television
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | My Family and Other Animals | Margo Durrell | Television film |
| 2006 | The Good Housekeeping Guide | Sara Fox | Television film |
| 2006 | Casualty 1906 | Probationer Eastwood | Television film |
| 2008 | Bonekickers | Helena | Episode: "Army of God" |
| 2009–2010 | The Tudors | Catherine Howard | Main role (seasons 3–4), 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Red_Faction: Origins | Lyra | Television film |
| 2011 | DCI Banks | Miranda Aspern | Episodes: "Playing with Fire: Part 1 & Part 2" |
| 2012 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Rosa Bud | Television film (2 parts) |
| 2013 | Murder on the Home Front | Molly Cooper | Television film |
| 2014–2017 | Salem | Anne Hale | Main role Nominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best TV Supporting Actress (2017)[10] |
| 2017 | Supergirl | Lyra Strayd | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2019-2023 | Carnival Row | Imogen Spurnrose | Main role[11] |
| 2019 | Thanks for the Memories | Joyce Conway | 2 episodes (the entire film) |
| 2023 | Tom Jones | Aunt Harriet | 4 episodes |
Music videos
edit| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "If You Got the Money" | Jamie T |
| 2007 | "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" | Groove Armada feat Mutya Buena |
| 2014 | "Nobody's Empire" | Belle and Sebastian |
Stage
edit| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Hay Fever | Jackie | Queens' College, Cambridge |
| 2008 | Dahling You Were Marvellous | Sister 3, Hanger-on | ADC Theatre |
| 2009 | Breakfast at Night | Chorus | ADC Theatre |
| 2009 | The 24hr Plays | Group 1 Producer | ADC Theatre |
| 2010 | Cigarettes and Chocolate | Gemma | ADC Theatre |
References
edit- ^ "Tamzin Merchant Biography". TV Guide. Archived from the original on 29 August 2023. Retrieved 29 August 2023.
- ^ "A 'Tudors' tutorial". New York Daily News. 3 April 2009. Archived from the original on 25 May 2024. Retrieved 15 January 2009.
- ^ Hibberd, James. "Tamzin Merchant on The Hatmakers and Carnival Row season 2 | EW.com". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
- ^ a b "Tamzin Merchant". HuffPost. Archived from the original on 9 April 2016. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
- ^ a b "Record Oxbridge Success". Brighton College. 28 June 2007. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ Hall, Jacob (4 February 2016). "'Game of Thrones' Showrunners Get Honest About the Awful Pilot They Had to Reshoot". Slash Film. Archived from the original on 1 August 2017. Retrieved 25 July 2017.
- ^ Andreeva, Nellie (1 November 2013). "Shane West Set As Male Lead of WGN America's 'Salem', Tamzin Merchant Cast as Female Lead". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ Petski, Denise (22 September 2017). "'Carnival Row': Amazon Adds Four To Cast of Fantasy Drama Series". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ Massabrook, Nicole (1 September 2019). "Will 'Carnival Row' Return For Season 2? Renewal, Cancellation Details". International Business Times. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
- ^ "Never mind Oscar, here's the 2017 FANGORIA Chainsaw Awards Nominees Ballot!". FANGORIA®. Archived from the original on 8 February 2017. Retrieved 14 February 2017.
- ^ Petski, Denise (22 September 2017). "'Carnival Row': David Gyasi, Karla Crome, Indira Varma & Tamzin Merchant Join Amazon's Fantasy Drama Series". Deadline. Archived from the original on 22 September 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.