Aisling Loftus

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Aisling Loftus
Loftus in Death of a Superhero 2011
Born
Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus

(1990-09-01) 1 September 1990 (age 33)[1]
Nottingham, England
OccupationActress
Years active2000–present
Spouse
​
(m. 2018)​
Children1

Aisling Sinead Katie Loftus (born 1 September 1990) 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).

She has since appeared in the ITV period drama Mr Selfridge (2013–2015), the BBC series War & Peace (2016) and Broken (2017), and the Sky series A Discovery of Witches (2018–2022) and The Midwich Cuckoos (2022). Her performance in the film Property of the State (2016) earned her an IFTA nomination.

Early life and education[edit]

Loftus was born in Nottingham to Irish parents Paddy and Eileen[2] from Drumcondra, Dublin and Roscrea, County Tipperary;[3] she has an older sister Aoife.[2] Throughout her childhood she visited family in Ireland for holidays, in Dublin, Tipperary, Cork, Kerry, Galway and Clare.[3]

Loftus attended St Edmund Campion Catholic Primary School in West Bridgford[2] and later completed A Levels in English literature, drama and history[4] at the Becket School in Wilford.[4] She was nine when she discovered acting;[4] she took classes at the Television Workshop,[3] and participated in the National Theatre Connections.[2] She considered going to drama school, but decided against it when she was cast in Dive whilst on study leave.[5]

Career[edit]

Loftus made her television debut in a 2000 episode of the ITV medical drama Peak Practice. This was followed by guest appearances in the CITV series Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw as well as Casualty, Doctors, and The Bill. In 2009, she starred as Amy in the ITV comedy-drama television film The Fattest Man in Britain,[2] and the titular character of Daniel Elliott's short Jade,[6] which won Silver Bear for Best Short Film at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2009.[7] Loftus was named a 2009 Screen International Star of Tomorrow.[4][8]

In 2010, Loftus starred in the BBC dramas Five Daughters and Dive as Gemma Adams and Lindsey respectively. In her review of Dive, Euan Ferguson of The Observer predicted that Aisling "Ash" Loftus would be a "phenomenon."[9] That same year, Loftus made her London stage debut as Leonie Fowler in Spur of the Moment by Anya Reiss at the Royal Court Theatre.[10] Dominic Cavendish of The Daily Telegraph called her "superb."[11] She also appeared in the Australian film Oranges and Sunshine and the Sky One crime drama Thorne: Sleepyhead.[12]

Loftus starred in the 2011 Irish film Death of a Superhero,[12] for which she was awarded the Special Jury Prize by critics at the 2012 Dublin International Film Festival. She also starred in the television films, as Melissa Legge on BBC Two's Page Eight, and as Arrietty Clock in the BBC One's The Borrowers.[3] as well as the play Noises Off for its Old Vic and Novello Theatre runs, marking her West End debut. This was followed in by roles as Jade in the BBC miniseries Public Enemies,[3] and as Cassandra in Good Cop.[3]

In 2013, Loftus began starring as Agnes Towler in the ITV period drama Mr. Selfridge,[2] a role she would play for the first three series. In 2016, she played Sonya Rostova in the BBC adaptation of War & Peace,[2] and appeared in the films Pride & Prejudice & Zombies and Property of the State. For the latter, she was nominated for Best Lead Actress in a Film at the 14th Irish Film & Television Awards.[13]

In 2017, she played Joan in the 40th anniversary production of Stephen Lowe's Touched at Nottingham Playhouse alongside fellow Television Workshop alumni.[14] and Anne in The Treatment at the Almeida Theatre. She appeared in the film Gun Shy,[12] and played PC Dawn Morris in the BBC series Broken.[12]

Loftus played Sophie Wilson and later Susanna Norman in the 2018 Sky fantasy series A Discovery of Witches.[12] She appeared in Aristocrats at the Donmar Warehouse. She originated the role of Queenie in Helen Edmundson's 2019 stage adaptation of Small Island at the National Theatre. She returned to the Donmar Warehouse with Far Away in 2020. Loftus starred in the film Homebound and the Sky Max science fiction series The Midwich Cuckoos.[15]

In 2024, Loftus played Mia in the BBC Radio 4 drama Sabine.[16]

Personal life[edit]

In December 2018, Loftus married actor Jacob Anderson at the Ace Hotel (now One Hundred Shoreditch).[17] The couple have a daughter, born July 2020.[18]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2006 This Is England Scene cut from theatrical release
Blind Man's Alley Player 4 Short film
2009 Jade[6] Jade [6] Short film; Berlinale Silver Bear winner [7]
2010 Oranges and Sunshine Susie
2011 Death of a Superhero Shelly
Cardinal Envy Short film
2013 Cash Cow Sophie
2014 Educator Lydia
2015 Auld Lang Syne Laura Hammond Short film
2016 Pride & Prejudice & Zombies Charlotte
Property of the State Ann Marie
Tuesday Sophie Short film
2017 Gun Shy Marybeth
2019 Small Island Queenie National Theatre Live
2021 Homebound Holly

Television[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2000 Peak Practice Abby Moffett Episode: "Electricity"
2001 A Fish Out of Water Angela Television film
2004 Help! I'm a Teenage Outlaw Montague's Food Tester Episode: "Betrayal"
2005, 2008 Doctors Emma Tyler / Ellie Lowell 2 episodes
2006, 2008 Casualty Mellie Bennett / Jo Balmayne 2 episodes
2008 The Bill Sophie Randall 2 episodes
2009 The Fattest Man in Britain Amy Television film
2010 Five Daughters Gemma Adams Miniseries; 2 episodes
Dive Lindsey Television film
Thorne: Sleepyhead Rachel 2-part drama
2011 Case Histories Lily Rose / Tanya 2 episodes
Page Eight Melissa Legge Television film
The Borrowers Arrietty Clock Television film
2012 Public Enemies Jade Miniseries; 2 episodes
Good Cop Cassandra Miniseries
Little Crackers Maria Christmas special
2013–2015 Mr Selfridge Agnes Towler / Leclair Main role (series 1–3)
2016 War & Peace Sonya Rostova Main role
2017 Broken PC Dawn Morris Main role; 3 episodes
Midsomer Murders Tegan Langton 1 episode[19]
2018–2022 A Discovery of Witches Sophie Wilson / Susanna Norman Main role; 14 episodes
2022 The Midwich Cuckoos Zoë Moran Main role[20]

Stage[edit]

Year Title Role Notes
2010 Spur of the Moment Leonie Fowler Royal Court Theatre, London
2011 Noises Off Poppy Norton-Taylor Old Vic / Novello Theatre, London
2014 The Hotel Plays Girl Langham Hotel, London
2017 The Treatment Anne Almeida Theatre, London
Touched Joan Nottingham Playhouse, Nottingham
2018 Aristocrats Claire Donmar Warehouse, London
2019 Small Island Queenie Royal National Theatre, London
2020 Far Away Joan Donmar Warehouse, London

Awards and nominations[edit]

Year Award Category Work Result Ref.
2009 Screen International Star of Tomorrow Career achievement so far Won [4]
2012 Dublin International Film Festival Special Jury Prize Death of a Superhero Won
2017 Irish Film & Television Awards Best Actress in a Lead Role – Film Property of the State Nominated [13]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Rose, Mike (1 September 2022). "Today's famous birthdays list for September 1, 2022 includes celebrities Zendaya, Padma Lakshmi". The Plain Dealer. Associated Press. Retrieved 30 August 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "An epic role for West Bridgford actress Aisling Loftus as War & Peace begins". Nottingham Post. 2 January 2016. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  3. ^ a b c d e f "Far Away up close". The Irish World. 6 February 2020. Archived from the original on 6 February 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d e "Notts actress is "star of tomorrow"". 28 July 2009. Archived from the original on 23 December 2009.
  5. ^ Dickson, Andrew (10 January 2016). "Aisling Loftus: 'Tolstoy is quite cruel about women'". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 December 2022.
  6. ^ a b c "Jade". berlinale.de. 2009.
  7. ^ a b "Berlinale Archive International Short Film Jury 2009". berlinale.de. 2009.
  8. ^ "Loftus in the Television Workshop website". Archived from the original on 25 September 2008. Retrieved 23 December 2009.
  9. ^ Ferguson, Euan (11 July 2010). "TV review: Dive; Identity; To Kill a Mockingbird at 50". The Guardian. London.
  10. ^ "Spur of the Moment". Royal Court.
  11. ^ Cavendish, Dominic (21 July 2010). "Spur of the Moment, Royal Court, review". The Daily Telegraph. London.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Aisling Loftus Credits". tvguide.com. Retrieved 3 August 2023.
  13. ^ a b "14th Irish Film & Television Awards 2017 Nominations". ifta.ie. 2017.
  14. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 17 July 2018. Retrieved 30 September 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. ^ "Aisling Loftus: "I've been an over-sharer for a long time"". Square Mile. 6 June 2022. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  16. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Limelight, Sabine - Episode 1". BBC Online. Retrieved 26 February 2024.
  17. ^ Instagram
  18. ^ Deen, Sarah (7 July 2020). "Game Of Thrones star Jacob Anderson shares first picture of baby daughter after becoming a dad". Metro UK. Retrieved 20 October 2022.
  19. ^ "Meet the cast of Midsomer Murders". RadioTimes. Retrieved 20 January 2017.
  20. ^ Victory, Constance (1 June 2022). "Aisling Loftus". 1883 Magazine. Retrieved 22 December 2022.

External links[edit]

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