It might only be January, but we’re already excited for award season to kick off in the spring. especially the Oscars. This year's nominations announcement won't be made for a few months, but there is already one woman who is being spoken of as a definite frontrunner: Vanessa Kirby.
The British actress – perhaps best known for playing Princess Margaret in The Crown – is causing a stir for her role in Pieces of a Woman, which has just landed on Netflix. Watch the new trailer here…
She has already won the best Actress prize at the Venice Film Festival for the role, and we think she could go all the way. But she’s proven her talent before, time and time again, through a series of great performances. Here are just some of our favourites.
The Crown
An obvious choice, but a well-deserved one. Vanessa’s depiction of Princess Margaret – the royal rebel whose romantic entanglements are at odds with the decorum of the royal family - was a highlight of the first two seasons of the Netflix hit. She also looked simply divine in every frame.
A Streetcar Named Desire
As well as her screen appearances, Vanessa is an accomplished stage actress, having starred in plays like Chekhov staple Three Sisters and Polly Stenham’s Julie. But her greatest stage role so far is that of Stella, sister of Blanche DuBois, in the acclaimed 2014 production of the Tennessee Williams classic.
She more than held her own opposite Gillian Anderson. To be honest, we rated her performance higher than Gillian’s.
Great Expectations
She and Gillian must have been firm friends by then. Vanessa had played alongside her in 2011, when she played Estella to Gillian’s Miss Havisham in Great Expectations. It was one of her earliest screen roles, and she made an excellent first impression as Dickens’ complex sort-of-heroine. Cruel, but vulnerable. Passionate, yet callous. It’s a gift of a part and she did a great job with it.
Mr Jones
James Norton got top billing for playing the eponymous Mr Jones, who exposed Stalin’s atrocities to the world, but Vanessa stole every scene. The script gave her a little too much exposition, but Vanessa delivered a standout performance, never allowing her character – Ada Brooks – to decend into the classic femme fatale trope.
Mission: Impossible Fallout
If you haven’t seen the first Mission: Impossible film, then the nuance of Vanessa’s performance may have passed you by. She plays the White Widow, daughter of the first film’s antagonist Max, and while she avoids an impression of her on-screen mum Vanessa Redgrave, she absorbs her voice and elegance to a tee. She is playful, yet dangerous. It’s a treat, and it’s no wonder she was asked to return for the forthcoming addition to the franchise. We can't wait to see what she does with her second outing.
There are plenty more to choose from. Brief roles in films like Jupiter Ascending, Genius and About Time all made an impression. But it’s clear that, for Vanessa Kirby, the best is yet to come…