Tanya Moodie

Acting

Tanya Moodie

Born 1972-04-16 · Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Tanya Moodie is a Canadian actress and producer, best known for her work on Motherland, The Clinic, and her many stage credits, which include productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Court Theatre, the National Theatre and the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. Tanya Moodie was born on 16 April 1972 in Ottawa, Canada, to Jamaican parents. She moved to England at the age of 17, when she was offered a place at RADA, where she was later employed as an associate teacher and council member. Moodie's first television role was in the comedy So Haunt Me in 1994, followed by a starring role as Hunter in Neil Gaiman's 1996 fantasy mini-series Neverwhere (1996). She featured in guest roles in various series in the 2000s, and in 2008–9 had a regular role in Irish medical drama The Clinic. She also played the role of John Watson's therapist Ella Thompson in Sherlock. In 2016 she played Gertrude in Simon Godwin's production of Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company. From 2019, Moodie starred as Meg in the BBC comedy series Motherland. In a 2021 interview with the Huffington Post, Moody shared that she was proud of the feedback she had received about her character's cancer storyline: "There’s been people who have written me very personal messages saying that they’re going through [cancer] right now or their parents are, and they say we’ve really shown what it’s like. I’m really happy that that’s happened – I didn’t expect it to. I didn’t finish filming and say ‘I really feel like I’ve nailed what it’s like to go through this journey’, because it’s so subjective and unique to people." In 2020, Moodie starred in the third series of Tin Star as Catherine Mckenzie. The series was created by Rowan Joffé. In April 2022, Moodie featured as Regina in series 1 episode 4 of Ten Percent. Moodie appeared in Sam Mendes' film Empire of Light, released in the US in December 2022, and the UK in January 2023. Moodie appears alongside Olivia Colman, Colin Firth and Micheal Ward. Also in December 2022, Moodie reprised her role as Meg in the Christmas special of Motherland, titled "Last Christmas". The episode garnered wholly positive reviews from critics. In March 2023, Moodie appeared as Serena in two episodes of the Cash Carraway-created Rain Dogs.

Acting credits

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker poster
6.3

The surviving Resistance faces the First Order once again as the journey of Rey, Finn and Poe Dameron continues. With the power and knowledge of generations behind them, the final battle begins.

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker

2019

Empire of Light poster
6.6

The duty manager of a seaside cinema, who is struggling with her mental health, forms a relationship with a new employee on the south coast of England in the 1980s.

Empire of Light

2022

Joy poster
6.9

A young nurse, a visionary scientist and an innovative surgeon face opposition from the church, state, media and medical establishment, in their pursuit of the world’s first ‘test tube baby’, Louise Joy Brown.

Joy

2024

Hostages poster
5.1

After a terrifying explosion in a hotel in London, three strangers escape together and hide out in a room. Hostages is a comedy about the 24hr news cycle, "experts" and whether or not social media is more important than people's lives....

Hostages

2025

Brook by Brook poster
8.0

An intimate portrait of director Peter Brook by his son, Simon Brook.

Brook by Brook

2002

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story poster
5.2

A comic study of 20th-century history, reconstructing the life of writer, creator and professional prisoner Tulse Luper. Born in 1911 Newport and last heard of in 1989, Luper’s life is pieced together from the evidence found in 92 suitcases scattered across the globe. In the first of three parts, we follow Luper through three distinct episodes: as a child during the First World War; as an explorer in Mormon Utah; and as a writer in Belgium during the rise of fascism.

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 1: The Moab Story

2003

Legacy poster
4.4

What do you do when the party of the year kicks you to the curb? Simple... create your own! When Sean and his friends are refused entry to the night of their year, they embark on a mission to stage a monster event, whilst at the same time taking down the opposition.

Legacy

2015

No artwork available
6.1

The Rabbit is the world's belling-selling vibrator. In the past year alone, millions have been sold all over the globe. Now experts are warning the Rabbit is becoming the new addiction; women who start using often find they simply cannot stop. RABBIT FEVER is the first film to follow the trials and tribulations of a group of Rabbit Addicts as they attempt to kick their Rabbit habit.

Rabbit Fever

2006

Care poster
6.4

Jenny, a single mother raising two daughters after her husband leaves, is aided by her widowed mother, Mary. But Jenny struggles to stay afloat after Mary suffers a devastating stroke and develops dementia.

Care

2018

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish poster
5.0

A comic study of 20th-century history, reconstructing the life of writer, creator and professional prisoner Tulse Luper. Born in 1911 Newport and last heard of in 1989, Luper’s life is pieced together from the evidence found in 92 suitcases scattered across the globe. In the final installment, Luper continues his adventures as a professional prisoner during the later years of the Second World War and the Cold War.

The Tulse Luper Suitcases, Part 3: From Sark to the Finish

2005

Motherland: Last Christmas poster
NR

School's out for the festive season, so the mums (and Kevin) host the ultimate blended celebrations, but the big day takes a shocking turn at Julia's.

Motherland: Last Christmas

2022

The Final Passage poster
9.0

In 1958, a Caribbean couple make the journey to a new life by moving to England.

The Final Passage

1996

Promoted to Glory poster
7.0

An alcoholic falls in love with a Salvation Army captain who is trying to help him.

Promoted to Glory

2003

RSC Live: Hamlet poster
8.2

Hamlet has the world at his feet. Young, wealthy and living a hedonistic life studying abroad. Then word reaches him that his father is dead. Returning home he finds his world is utterly changed, his certainties smashed and his home a foreign land. Struggling to understand his place in a new world order he faces a stark choice. Submit, or rage against the injustice of his new reality. Simon Godwin directs Paapa Essiedu as Hamlet in Shakespeare's searing tragedy. As relevant today as when it was written, Hamlet confronts each of us with the mirror of our own mortality in an imperfect world. Hamlet played in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until throughout summer 2016.

RSC Live: Hamlet

2016

Get Real Dude poster
NR

If you want to make the finest wine, use the sweet grape on the vine. It's a few bloody skits from bloody Sam Campbell.

Get Real Dude

2019

National Theatre Live: Trouble in Mind poster
NR

In 1950s America, protests for racial equality erupt in the face of voter suppression. On Broadway, Wiletta Mayer, a talented black actress, begins rehearsals for a new play about racism – written and directed by two white men. When Wiletta finds that her arguments to tell the truth of the story are dismissed, she decides to take action. First staged over 60 years ago, Trouble in Mind is widely considered the masterpiece of actress and playwright Alice Childress – a wry and radical satire of racism in theatre.

National Theatre Live: Trouble in Mind

2021