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Lemony Snicket’s
Background:
“Obviously, you can’t have every little thing from the books, because the books
are like really detailed, which, you know, which works for the books, and
doesn’t work so much for the movie. Or else it would go on, and on, and on. But
I think it will be as much like the books as we can make it.” Emily Browning
about Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events
Australian actress Emily Browning was shot to prominence at the age of 16 with
her highest-profile role to date, as inventor Violet Baudelaire, in Lemony
Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (2004). For her stunning performance,
she picked up an Australian Film Institute Award, and received a Broadcast Film
Critics Association and Young Artist nominations. With her performance in
Snicket and her roles in 2001’s The Man who Sued God, 2002’s Ghost Ship, 2003’s
Darkness Falls and 2003’s Ned Kelly, she has launched herself as a growing young
actress in the form of a younger Scarlett Johansson. On the small screen,
Browning is best known for playing Kristy O’Connor on Lynn Hegarty’s film
Halifax f.p: Playing God (2001), from which she took home an Australian Film
Institute Award, and Maddy in the miniseries “After the Deluge” (2003). She also
jointly earned a Young Artist nod for her work in the Hallmark movie The Echo of
Thunder (1998).
Off camera, Browning currently resides in Australia. She learned an American
accent from watching the TV show “Sesame Street” on PB. She has a cat named
Jasper and a dog named Roxy. As for her romantic life, Browning, whose favorite
horror movies are The Gathering and I Know What You Did Last Summer, used to
date Liam Shambrooke, but they broke up.
Em
Childhood and Family:
Emily Jane Browning was born on December 7, 1988, in Melbourne, Victoria,
Australia. The daughter of Shelley and Andrew has two younger brothers, Matthew
and Nicholas. As a little girl, Emily, known by family and close friends as Em,
wanted to become a fashion designer, but she was “spotted” as an actress in a
school play when she was eight years old.
Emily, whose favorite subjects are English Literature, philosophy and
psychology, is in her final year at Eltham High School. Currently, she is taking
a hiatus from acting to complete her studies.
Halifax f.p
Career:
Emily Browning commenced her acting career at a very young age, after a friend’s
father discovered her at a school play. She performed in numerous productions
for The Learning Co-op in Hurstbridge, Victoria, including Lady Macbeth in
“Macbeth,” and subsequently made her television debut as Opal Ritchie in the
Hallmark movie The Echo of Thunder (1998), starring Judi Davis. The role brought
her a Young Artist nod for Best Performance in a TV Movie/Pilot/Made for Video -
Young Ensemble, sharing with Lauren Hewett, Chelsea Yates and Ben Hanson.
After the auspicious debut, young Browning landed roles in Australian
productions like playing Phoebe Mason in the series “High Flyers” (1999) and
Clio in the children’s show “Thunderstone” (1999). She appeared as Alicia in
several episodes of “Something in the Air” (2000-2001) and had a recurring role
in the long-running “Blue Heelers,” playing Hayley Fulton from 2000 to 2002. In
2001, Browning offered a bright performance, as Kristy O’Connor, in the
made-for-TV film Halifax f.p: Playing God, opposite Rebecca Gibney. Under the
direction of Lynn Hegarty, she took home an Australian Film Institute (AFI) for
Young Actor’s. The same year, she appeared in the TV-movie Blonde (2001), which
starred Poppy Montgomery.
It was also in 2001 that Browning got her first film role as Rebecca Myers in
the Aussie comedy/drama The Man Who Sued God, starring Billy Connolly and Judy
Davis. She went on to portray a young girl named Katie Harwood in Ghost Ship
(2002), an American movie that was filmed in Australia, and young Caitlin Greene
in the Emma Caulfield vehicle Darkness Falls (2003). She also found herself
acting with Heath Ledger, Orlando Bloom, Geoffrey Rush and Naomi Watts in the
biopic Ned Kelly (2003), based on Robert Drew’s “Our Sunshine,” a book based on
the life of the Australian bushranger and icon. Returning to TV, the gifted
actress received an AFI nomination for playing Maddy in the miniseries “After
the Deluge” (2003), opposite Rachel Griffiths and Hugo Weavin.
Browning’s big breakthrough arrived in 2004 when she won the role of inventor
Violet Baudelaire on the big-budget Hollywood feature Lemony Snicket’s A Series
of Unfortunate Events. Costarring with Jim Carrey, Jude Law and again with Billy
Connolly, she was handed a 2005 AFI for Best Actress (International), as well as
received a Broadcast Film Critics Association nomination for Best Young Actress
and a Young Artist nod for Best Performance in a Feature Film - Leading Young
Actress. A year later, Browning could be seen in the acclaimed short Stranded,
which won a 2006 AFI for Best Short Fiction Film and a 2006 Film Critics Circle
of Australia nod (FCCA) for Best Short Film.
“After Hollywood, you know if people are interested in you or in the fact that
you’ve been in a movie. You know who your real friends are.” Emily Browning
The Melbourne girl is now taking a break from acting to complete her high
school.
Awards:
- Australian Film Institute: International, Best Actress, Lemony Snicket’s
A Series of Unfortunate Events, 2005
- Australian Film Institute: Young Actor’s, Halifax f.p: Playing God, 2002
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