British Actresses You Should Know: Natalie Dormer

If you’re a fan of British programming of any stripe – or were even just a casual Game of Thrones viewer – then you’re definitely familiar with Natalie Dormer, an actress that’s made quite a name for herself for playing complicated female characters from Anne Boleyn to Margaery Tyrell and beyond.

But if you just came to Dormer’s work thanks to her breakout role in the HBO fantasy epic, you’re missing out on quite a lot. From her turn in Showtime limited series The Tudors to the Amazon remake of Picnic at Hanging Rock and the BBC historical retelling of Lady Seymour Worsley’s life, her range is both extensive and impressive.

Here are just a few of Dormer’s best and most notable roles from the past few years. (Listed alphabetically, so we don't play favorites.)

Elementary

CBS’s Elementary turned out to be a surprisingly inventive take on the story of Sherlock Holmes for many reasons and not just because it gender flipped the character of John Watson, turning her into a her a woman and calling her Joan instead. Jonny Lee Miller played Holmes as a brilliant mind that was never quite able to escape the chains of drug addiction, and Lucy Liu turned out to be an exceptional Watson, with established arcs of her own outside of her relationship with the great detective.

Dormer only appeared in roughly a half dozen episodes over Elementary’s seven-season run, but her role is one of the series’ most memorable. She plays a gender-flipped version of Holmes’ greatest nemesis James Moriarty….who also turns out to be his former lover, Irene Adler. Dormer and Miller have ridiculous chemistry, and the twists of their relationship are incredibly entertaining to watch.