Essie davis photos with kids

Our geography seeps into our being. It can take grit to withstand chilling winters and stinging rain, isolated (even more so now) from some things that people interstate and overseas may take for granted. But people from Hobart have a certain way about them that can be both grounded and in flight at the same time.

Actor Essie Davis embodies this dichotomy. She grew up on the Eastern Shore with creative parents and lots of siblings, enjoying simple pleasures of beachcombing and wilderness exploration. Graduating from NIDA in the early 90’s, she built on her years of youth theatre in Tasmania to work with Bell Shakespeare straight out of drama school. Essie continued to earn critical acclaim and international awards, such as the Laurence Olivier Award for her performance in the National Theatre (UK) produc­tion of Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire. In more recent years her diverse body of screen work has continued to expand. You might recognise Essie from her lead role of Phryne Fisher in Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, as the tormented, grieving Amelia in The Babadook or alongside Richard E. Grant in the mega-production Game of Thrones. She has also starred in a number of works directed by her husband, Justin Kurzel, most recently NITRAM, which opened late last month.

Almost two years ago now, I had the pleasure of spending the day with Essie for a story I was working on. So much has happened since then, with a global pandemic putting the brakes on most of Essie and Justin’s global work, but inspiring more local work. Essie is about to star in The Maids, the challenging 1947 play by French playwright Jean Genet, alongside fellow Australian actors Marta Dusseldorp and Stephanie Jack and produced by Archipelago Productions. This is Essie’s first play in Hobart since graduating drama school and her first in some time. “I haven’t done a play for twelve years so it’s really challenging to come in with such a dense piece of text but I have

Australian actress (born 1970)

Not to be confused with Ossie Davis.

Esther "Essie" Davis is an Australian actress and singer, best known for her roles as Phryne Fisher in Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries and its film adaptation, Miss Fisher & the Crypt of Tears, and as Amelia Vanek in The Babadook. Other major works include a recurring role as Lady Crane in season six of the television series Game of Thrones, Sister Iphigenia in Lambs of God, and the role of Ellen Kelly in Justin Kurzel's True History of the Kelly Gang.

Early life and education

Davis was born on 19 January, 1970 in Hobart, Tasmania, to renowned artist George Davis and Mary Davis, the youngest of seven children. She was raised in suburban Hobart, where her family (who were part of the inception of the Australian Green movement), grew and raised their own food including turkeys.

As a child, Davis was involved in community theatre, making her stage debut at age five at Hobart's Theatre Royal, playing the part of a moonbeam.

She was educated at Clarence High School; Rosny College; the University of Tasmania, where she was a member of the Old Nick Company; and the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) in Sydney.

Career

Her acting career began with the Bell Shakespeare company when, straight out of NIDA, she was cast as Juliet in its 1993 production of Romeo and Juliet. She followed this with performances for the company in Hamlet and Richard III in 1993, and Macbeth and The Taming of the Shrew in 1994.

Davis's film career started with her role in the 1995 Australian film Dad and Dave: On Our Selection, which starred Geoffrey Rush, Leo McKern and Joan Sutherland. Film roles continued in The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions, director Richard Flanagan's 1998 Tasmanian film The Sound of One Hand Clapping, and Girl with a Pearl Earring.^&#