Anya Chalotra

Last updated

Anya Chalotra
Anya Chalotra by Gage Skidmore.jpg
Chalotra in July 2019
Born1995or1996(age 27–28)
Wolverhampton, England
Alma mater London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
Guildhall School of Music and Drama
OccupationActress
Years active2017–present

Anya Chalotra (born 1995 or 1996) [1] is a British actress. She is best known for her role as Yennefer of Vengerberg in the Netflix series The Witcher . She began her career in a 2017 production of the play Much Ado About Nothing , and made her screen debut with BBC dramas Wanderlust and The ABC Murders in 2018.

Contents

Early life

Chalotra was born in Wolverhampton, England, [2] the daughter of an English mother and Indian father. [3] She grew up in the nearby village of Lower Penn with her parents, older sister, and younger brother. [4] She attended St Dominic's Grammar School in Brewood. [4] Chalotra started performing at school and youth theatre groups, then moved to London to complete a year-long foundation course at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art [4] followed by a three-year degree at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, [5] [6] before she embarked on her professional career.

Career

Chalotra has starred in several stage productions. [7] [8] She was nominated for The Stage Debut Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performance as Hero in Matthew Dunster's production of Much Ado About Nothing at Shakespeare's Globe in 2017, [9] and subsequently earned acclaim for her roles in April De Angelis' The Village at Theatre Royal Stratford East in 2018, [10] David Hare's Peter Gynt at the National Theatre in 2019, [11] and Rupert Goold's stage adaptation of Cold War at the Almeida Theatre from 2023 to 2024. [12] [13]

Her first on screen role came in 2018 when she portrayed Jennifer Ashman in the BBC comedy-drama, Wanderlust , alongside Toni Collette. Later, she appeared as Lily Marbury in BBC’s adaptation of Agatha Christie’s The ABC Murders , starring John Malkovich. [14] In October 2018, it was announced that Chalotra had been cast in the main role of Yennefer alongside Henry Cavill as Geralt and Freya Allan as Ciri in Netflix series The Witcher , [15] an adaptation of the fantasy novels by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Chalotra currently stars in a leading role as Yennefer of Vengerberg in the Netflix fantasy drama The Witcher . [16] [17] She has featured in all three seasons released to date; the first season premiered on 20 December 2019, [18] with the second following on 17 December 2021 [19] and the third on 29 June 2023. [20]

Chalotra was listed as one of Screen Daily's Stars of Tomorrow 2020. [21] [22] On 15 July, it was announced that she would be headlining the voice cast of the sci-fi animation series NEW-GEN . [23] On 30 September, she starred in a short film called No Masks that aired on Sky Arts, based on real-life testimonies of key frontline workers in East London during the COVID-19 pandemic. [24] [25] She also voiced Sabrina in the 2020 BBC Sounds sci-fi podcast The Cipher . [26] [27] In 2024, Chalotra featured in the Forbes 30 Under 30 list in European entertainment. [28]

In January 2024, it was announced that Chalotra will voice Circe in the animated series Creature Commandos. [29]

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2024 The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep Yennefer of Vengerberg (voice)In production

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2018 Wanderlust Jennifer AshmanMiniseries
The ABC Murders Lily MarburyMiniseries
2019 Sherwood Robin Loxley (voice)Main role
2019–present The Witcher Yennefer of Vengerberg Main role
2020No MasksDr. AnujaShort film (TV special)
2024 Creature Commandos Circe (voice)

Theatre

YearTitleRoleTheaterRef.
2017 Much Ado About Nothing Hero Shakespeare's Globe
2018The VillageJyoti Theatre Royal Stratford East [30]
2019Peter GyntSabine Royal National Theatre
2021MarylandMary 2 Theatre Royal Stratford East
2023-2024Cold WarZula Almeida Theatre [31]

Podcasts

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2020–2021 The Cipher Sabrina (voice)Lead role

Video games

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2024Unknown 9: AwakeningHaroona (voice)Lead role

Awards and nominations

YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef
2017 The Stage Awards Best Actress in a Play Much Ado About Nothing , Shakespeare's Globe Nominated [32]
2018 BroadwayWorld UK AwardsBest Actress in a New Production of a PlayThe Village, Theatre Royal Stratford East Nominated [33]
2020 IMDb STARmeter AwardsBreakout Star The Witcher Won [34]

Related Research Articles

<i>The Last Wish</i> Short story collection by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Last Wish is the third published short story collection in Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series. Published by SuperNowa in 1993, it was preceded by 1992's Sword of Destiny, but is officially considered the first entry in the series and Sword of Destiny the second. The collection contains seven short stories interspersed with a continuing frame story: Geralt of Rivia, after having been injured in battle, rests in a temple. During that time he has flashbacks to recent events in his life, with each flashback forming a short story.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geralt of Rivia</span> Protagonist of The Witcher series

Geralt of Rivia is a fictional character and the protagonist of The Witcher series of short stories and novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. He is a magically enhanced monster-hunter known as a "witcher", who possesses supernatural abilities due to his mutations.

<i>Time of Contempt</i> Second novel in the Witcher Saga

Time of Contempt is the second novel in the Witcher Saga written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, first published 1995 in Polish, and 2013 in English. It is a sequel to the first Witcher novel Blood of Elves and is followed by Baptism of Fire.

<i>The Witcher</i> (TV series) Fantasy drama television series

The Witcher is a fantasy drama television series created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich for Netflix. It is based on the book series by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. Set on a fictional, medieval-inspired landmass known as the Continent, The Witcher explores the legend of Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Princess Ciri. It stars Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aisling Loftus</span> English actress

Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus is a British actress. She began her career as a child actress and first gained prominence through her roles in the BBC dramas Five Daughters (2010) and Dive (2010), the play Spur of the Moment, and the film Death of a Superhero (2011).

<i>The Witcher</i> Fantasy franchise

The Witcher is a series of six fantasy novels and 15 short stories by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous "witcher", Geralt of Rivia. "Witchers" are monster hunters given superhuman abilities for the purpose of killing dangerous creatures. The Witcher began with a titular 1986 short story that Sapkowski entered into a competition held by Fantastyka magazine, marking his debut as an author. Due to reader demand, Sapkowski wrote 14 more stories before starting a series of novels in 1994. Known as The Witcher Saga, he wrote one book a year until the fifth and final installment in 1999. A standalone prequel novel, Season of Storms, was published in 2013.

<i>The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt</i> 2015 video game

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is a 2015 action role-playing game developed and published by CD Projekt. It is the sequel to the 2011 game The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings and the third game in The Witcher video game series, played in an open world with a third-person perspective. The games follow the Witcher series of fantasy novels written by Andrzej Sapkowski.

<i>Sword of Destiny</i> Short story collection by Andrzej Sapkowski

Sword of Destiny is the second published short story collection and fix-up novel in Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series. Although published in 1992, it is officially considered the second entry in the series, behind The Last Wish, which was published the following year. Sword of Destiny was first published in English in the UK by Gollancz in 2015.

<i>The Lady of the Lake</i> (Sapkowski novel) 1999 fantasy novel by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Lady of the Lake is the fifth and final novel in the Witcher Saga written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, first published in Poland in 1999. It is a sequel to the fourth Witcher novel, The Tower of Swallows.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anya Taylor-Joy</span> Actress (born 1996)

Anya-Josephine Marie Taylor-Joy is an actress. Born in Miami and raised in Buenos Aires and London, Taylor-Joy left school at the age of 16 to pursue an acting career. After a series of small television roles, her breakthrough came with a leading role in the horror film The Witch (2015), which earned her several accolades. She continued with roles in the horror film Split (2016) and its sequel Glass (2019), the black comedy film Thoroughbreds (2017), and the television crime drama series Peaky Blinders (2019–2022).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mimî M. Khayisa</span> British actress (born 1991)

Mimî Michelle Ndiweni, since 2021 credited as Mimî M. Khayisa, is a British actress. She is known for playing Fringilla Vigo in Netflix's The Witcher, Tilly Brockless in the television series Mr Selfridge, and Ester/Jekasai in the stage production of The Convert at The Gate Theatre in London. She has also appeared on film in Catherine Called Birdy, Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Cinderella and The Legend of Tarzan.

Tanya Louise Reynolds is an English actress. She landed her first major role as a series regular on the Sky 1 comedy-drama Delicious (2016–2019). Reynolds portrayed Lily Iglehart on the Netflix comedy-drama Sex Education (2019–2021), where she was a part of the main cast in the first three seasons. Other credits include Outlander (2017), Death in Paradise (2017), Emma (2020), Dodger (2022), The Baby (2022), I Hate You (2022), and The Decameron (2024).

Wanderlust is a British television drama miniseries written by Nick Payne and directed by Luke Snellin and Lucy Tcherniak. The series is a co-production between BBC One and Netflix, with BBC One airing the first episode on 4 September 2018 in the United Kingdom, and Netflix streaming the show outside the UK. It began airing on 19 October 2018 on Netflix. The miniseries consists of six episodes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chance Perdomo</span> British actor (1996–2024)

Chance Perdomo was a British and American actor. He earned a British Academy Television Award nomination for his performance in the BBC Three film Killed by My Debt (2018). He gained further prominence through his roles as Ambrose Spellman in the Netflix series Chilling Adventures of Sabrina (2018–2020) and Andre Anderson in the first season of the Amazon Prime Video series Gen V (2023). He also appeared in the films After We Fell (2021), After Ever Happy (2022), and After Everything (2023).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freya Allan</span> English actress (born 2001)

Freya Allan is an English actress. She is best known for her role as Princess Cirilla of Cintra in the Netflix series The Witcher, for which she was nominated for two Saturn Awards. She also appears as young Sam in the 2021 film Gunpowder Milkshake, as the younger version of The Widow in the AMC series Into the Badlands, and as Mae in the film Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024).

"Toss a Coin to Your Witcher" is an original song from the Netflix TV series The Witcher, composed by Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli with lyrics by Jenny Klein, and sung by Joey Batey in the second episode. It became a viral hit shortly after the series' release in late December 2019. The song was remixed by fans in YouTube videos and received new covers within days.

The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep is an upcoming animated fantasy drama film set in The Witcher universe. It was directed by Kang Hei Chul and written by Mike Ostrowski and Rae Benjamin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isis Hainsworth</span> Scottish actress (born 1998)

Isis Hainsworth is a Scottish actress. She began her career on the West End. On television, she is known for her role in the BBC Three horror series Red Rose (2022). Her films include Metal Lords (2022). She was named a 2022 Screen International Star of Tomorrow.

<i>The Cipher</i> (podcast) Science fiction thriller podcast by BBC

The Cipher is a science fiction thriller podcast by Goldhawk Productions and BBC Sounds starring Anya Chalotra and Chance Perdomo.

References

  1. ↑ "'The Witcher' star Anya Chalotra has the magic touch". GQ.
  2. ↑ "'The Witcher' Star Anya Chalotra Shares A Few Of Her Favourite Things With Vogue". British Vogue. 10 December 2021. Retrieved 6 March 2022.
  3. ↑ Dabral, Anupam (3 June 2020). "Who is Anya Chalotra, the Indian-Origin Actor from The Witcher?". Lifestyleasia.com. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
  4. 1 2 3 St. Dominic's Grammar School Staff (13 September 2017). "Heroic Role for Actress Anya". StDominicsGrammarSchool.co.uk. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  5. ↑ "Anya Chalotra: 'You can forget your lines no matter how well you know a play'". the stage.
  6. ↑ "Guildhall School of Music & Drama | Anya Chalotra (2017)". gsmd.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 28 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  7. ↑ Wolf, Matt (24 August 2017). "A Mexican-Style 'Much Ado About Nothing'". The New York Times. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  8. ↑ Billington, Michael (15 September 2018). "The Village review – teenage firebrand leads resistance against patriarchy". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 25 September 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  9. ↑ "Anya Chalotra: 'You can forget your lines no matter how well you know a play'". the stage.
  10. ↑ "The Village, Stratford East — striking use of movement and music". financial times.
  11. ↑ Billington, Michael (9 July 2019). "Peter Gynt review – David Hare brings modern madness to Ibsen's epic". the guardian.
  12. ↑ Beaumont-Thomas, Ben (20 September 2023). "Oscar-nominated romance Cold War to have major London stage adaptation". the guardian.
  13. ↑ "Cold War review — a lush tender play with joy as well as trauma". The Times.
  14. ↑ Iyengar, Radhika (16 December 2019). "Meet Anya Chalotra, the Indian origin lead actor in Netflix's The Witcher". Vogue India. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  15. ↑ Shanley, Patrick (10 October 2018). "Netflix's 'The Witcher' Finds Its Female Leads (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 18 June 2024.
  16. ↑ Radulovic, Petrana (1 July 2019). "Netflix Reveals First Look at The Witcher Cast". Polygon . Archived from the original on 29 July 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  17. ↑ Wise, Louis (15 December 2019). "Anya Chalotra is The Witcher's secret weapon". The Times. Archived from the original on 18 December 2019. Retrieved 7 January 2020.
  18. ↑ Gonzalez, Oscar (31 October 2019). "Netflix's The Witcher begins streaming in December". Cnet. Archived from the original on 31 October 2019. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  19. ↑ "Geralt fights giant monsters, and Jaskier befriends rats in new Witcher season 2 trailer". 29 October 2021. Retrieved 29 October 2021.
  20. ↑ "The Witcher Season 3 release date case details". Esquire . 29 June 2023. Retrieved 1 July 2023.
  21. ↑ "Screen unveils the 2020 Stars of Tomorrow". Screen. 28 September 2020. Retrieved 28 September 2020.
  22. ↑ "BBC One famous for acting in – Wanderlust – Jennifer". BBC. Archived from the original on 3 August 2019. Retrieved 28 July 2019.
  23. ↑ Ramachandran, Naman (15 July 2020). "'Stranger Things' Star Finn Wolfhard, 'Witcher's' Anya Chalotra Set For Sci-Fi Animation 'New-Gen' (EXCLUSIVE)".
  24. ↑ "Anya Chalotra joins coronavirus play No Masks". Outlook India.
  25. ↑ "No Masks – Stratford East". Stratford East . Archived from the original on 13 November 2021. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  26. ↑ "BBC – Anya Chalotra and Chance Perdomo star in new sci-fi podcast The Cipher – Media Centre". BBC.
  27. ↑ "The Cipher Episode 1 – Media Centre". BBC Sounds.
  28. ↑ "Anya Chalotra". Forbes.
  29. ↑ Peralta, Diego (15 January 2024). "'The Witcher's Anya Chalotra Joins 'Creature Commandos' in a Perfect Role". Collider. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
  30. ↑ Vine, Hannah (13 September 2018). "First Look at The Village at Theatre Royal Stratford East". Playbill. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  31. ↑ Wood, Alex (20 September 2023). "Initial cast confirmed for Cold War musical at the Almeida". WhatsOnStage. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
  32. ↑ "The Stage Nominees and winners 2017". thestage.co.uk. 22 September 2022.
  33. ↑ "Shortlist Announced For The 2018 BroadwayWorld UK Awards". broadwayworld.com. 22 October 2018.
  34. ↑ "Anya Chalotra Awards". IMDB (Index source only). Retrieved 19 September 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.