Ria Zmitrowicz is a British actress. She is known for her work in theatre, earning WhatOnStage and Manchester Theatre Award nominations, and her role in the BBC drama Three Girls (2017).

Ria Zmitrowicz
Zmitrowicz in 2012
Born
Spain
OccupationActress
Years active2010–present

Early life and education

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Zmitrowicz was born in Spain and grew up in Berkshire, Surrey, and Hampshire. She attended the Sixth Form College, Farnborough.[1]

She joined the National Youth Theatre (NYT) at sixteen and moved to London when she was eighteen.[2]

Career

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Theatre

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Playwright and actor Luke Barnes, whom Zmitrowicz met through the NYT, cast her in his play Chapel Street, which premiered at The Old Red Lion, Islington before going on to play at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and the Bush Theatre. This helped Zmitrowicz secure an agent.[3] She then landed a role in Arinzé Kene's God's Property alongside Kingsley Ben-Adir at Soho Theatre.[2]

In 2015, she played Chloe Coverly in Arcadia with the English Touring Theatre[4] and Mary Warren in The Crucible at the Royal Exchange, Manchester. The latter earned her a nomination at the Manchester Theatre Awards.[5] She also appeared in Four Minutes Twelve Seconds. [citation needed]

In 2019 she starred in the plays Three Sisters with Pearl Chanda and Patsy Ferran[6] and The Doctor with Juliet Stevenson at the Almeida Theatre,[7] as well as The Welkin with Maxine Peake at the National Theatre in 2020.[8] Her performance as Sami in The Doctor, a role she originated, earned Zmitrowicz a WhatsOnStage Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Play.[9] She returned to the Royal Court in 2022, starring in The Glow.[10]

Film and television

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In 2013, she played Wilma Grey in the two-part ITV crime drama Murder on the Home Front. She also had a recurring role as Jodie in the E4 comedy-drama series Youngers.[11] The following year, she joined the cast of the sitcom The Midnight Beast as Hope for its second series, also on E4, and the ITV period drama Mr Selfridge as Sarah Ellis, a recurring role she would play for the latter three series.[citation needed]

Zmitrowicz made her feature film debut with a small role in the 2015 film Kill Your Friends.[citation needed]

She starred as Amber Bowen, one of the titular victims, in the BAFTA-winning three-part BBC One miniseries Three Girls, based on a true story with the names changed.[12]

In 2018 Zmitrowicz was named a Breakthrough Brit in the BAFTA awards.[13][14]

She plays Roxy Monke in the 2023 Amazon Prime adaptation of Naomi Alderman's science fiction novel The Power.[15]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
2010 Tearaway Gemma Short films
2011 Hard to Say Kayley
2012 Pants Billy
2014 Pretty Bitch Louise
Two Seas Lauren
Some Candid Observation on the Eve of the End of the World Karen
The Longing Elizabeth
Mustard Penelope
2015 Kill Your Friends Songbird Chantelle
2017 Bad Drawings Grace Short film
2018 Entebbe Jan Almog
Jellyfish Nightclub Girl
Teen Spirit Hayley
Futures Rosie Short film
2020 Misbehaviour Mair
2021 The Booker Prizes 2021: Great Circle Storyteller Short film

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 Whitechapel Sasha Lowood Episode #3.5
2013 Murder on the Home Front Wilma Grey Television film
2013–2014 Youngers Jodie 10 episodes
2014 Casualty Emily Gambol Episode: "Brothers at Arms"
The Midnight Beast Hope Main role; Series 2, 5 episodes
Playhouse Presents Hayley Episode: "Nightshift"
2014–2016 Mr Selfridge Miss Ellis 9 episodes
2017 Three Girls Amber Bowen Mini-series; 3 episodes
2018 On the Edge Aimee Thomas Mini-series; 1 episode: "Through the Gates"
2020 The Third Day: Autumn Special 12-hour long live stream episode
2021 Foresight Ava (voice) Mini-series; 1 episode: "They Heard Him Shout Allahu Akbar"
2023 The Power Roxy Monke Main cast; 7 episodes
2024 Sherwood Lisa Waters Series 2, 6 episodes

Stage

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Year Title Role Notes
2012 Skanky Kate Arcola Theatre, London
Cortae Talawa Theatre Company[16]
Chapel Street Kirsty Underbelly, Edinburgh Fringe Festival / Bush Theatre, London
2013 God's Property Holly Soho Theatre, London
2015 Arcadia Chloe Coverly Theatre Royal, Brighton / UK tour
The Crucible Mary Warren Royal Exchange, Manchester
Four Minutes Twelve Seconds Cara Trafalgar Studios / Hampstead Theatre, London
2016 X Mattie Royal Court Theatre, London
2017 Plastic Jessica Ustinov Studio, Bath
Bad Roads Journalist Royal Court Theatre, London[17]
2018 Gundog Becky
Dance Nation Zuzu Almeida Theatre, London
2019 Three Sisters Irnina Sergeyevna
The Doctor Sami
2020 The Welkin Sally Poppy Royal National Theatre, London[18]
2022 The Glow The Woman Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, London

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2015 Manchester Theatre Awards Actress In A Supporting Role The Crucible Nominated [5]
2020 WhatsOnStage Awards Best Supporting Actress in a Play The Doctor Nominated [9]

References

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  1. ^ "Massive turn-out in Student Elections!" (PDF). The Sixth Form College, Farnborough. May 2007. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  2. ^ a b Thompson, Jessie (20 January 2022). "Ria Zmitrowicz interview: 'It's scary for emerging artists at the moment - that worries me'". Evening Standard. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  3. ^ "Ria Zmitrowicz (Actor)". Generation Arts. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  4. ^ Peterson, Tyler (17 December 2014). "Dakota Blue Richards to Lead ARCADIA UK Tour; Full Cast Announced!". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
  5. ^ a b Upton, David (25 February 2016). "2015 Manchester Theatre Awards - the nominations". Lancashire Life. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  6. ^ Tripney, Natasha (18 April 2019). "Actor Ria Zmitrowicz: 'Being challenged by the artists I work with – that excites me'". The Stage. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  7. ^ Longman, Will (13 May 2019). "Juliet Stevenson and Ria Zmitrowicz to star in Robert Icke's The Doctor at the Almeida". London Theatre. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  8. ^ Smith, Gwendolyn (10 February 2020). "Maxine Peake on The Welkin: 'They've had plays for hundreds of years about men. It's dull'". INews. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  9. ^ a b Wood, Alex (1 March 2020). "20th Annual WhatsOnStage Awards winners include Andrew Scott, Claire Foy, Come from Away and Six". WhatsOnStage.
  10. ^ Marlowe, Sam (28 January 2022). "The Glow, Royal Court Theatre Downstairs, review: Ria Zmitrowicz dazzles in a stunning time-travelling tale". iNews. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  11. ^ "I TALK TO Ria Zmitrowicz". I Talk Telly. 17 May 2014. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  12. ^ Groome, Imogen (17 May 2017). "Three Girls cast: The stars behind Holly, Amber and Ruby". Metro. Retrieved 16 May 2018.
  13. ^ "Ria Zmitrowicz - Actress". BAFTA. 31 October 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2022.
  14. ^ Berrington, Katie (1 November 2018). "Meet The 4 Actors BAFTA Tips To Be The Next Breakthrough Stars". British Vogue. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
  15. ^ Ramos, Dino-Ray (14 January 2020). "John Leguizamo, Toheeb Jimoh, Ria Zmitrowicz And 4 Others Join All Female-Directed Amazon Thriller Series 'The Power' – TCA". Deadline. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
  16. ^ "Talawa Firsts 2012". Talawa Theatre Company. 2012. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Ria Zmitrowicz". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Ria Zmitrowicz". National Theatre. January 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2022.
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