Sophie Rundle

British actress Sophie Rundle rose swiftly from relative obscurity in the late 2010s to starring and major supporting roles in such high-profile television projects as "Peaky Blinders" (BBC One/Two, 2013-), "Bodyguard" (BBC One, 2018-) and "Gentleman Jack" (HBO, 2019-). Born in England, she made her screen debut in the independent British horror film "Small Town Folk" (2007) before enrolling at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art the following year. Upon earning her bachelor's degree in acting in 2011, Rundle returned to screen work with roles in a string of high-profile projects, including the Julian Fellowes-penned "Titanic" (ITV/ABC/Global Television Network, 2012) miniseries, Mike Newell's feature adaptation of "Great Expectations" (2012), series regular work on the critically praised mystery drama "The Bletchley Circle" (ITV, 2012-14) and a recurring role as an obsessed fan on the US-UK co-production "Episodes" (Showtime/BBC Two, 2011-17), with Matt LeBlanc. Rundle was soon a staple of such popular and well-regarded British series as "Peaky Blinders," for which she played the law-abiding member of a large English crime family; an ill-fated police officer in the crime drama "Happy Valley" (BBC One, 2014-), and Honoria Barbary in the unique "Dickensian" (BBC One, 2015-), which brought together many of Charles Dickens' literary characters in a murder mystery setting. These led to starring roles in the comedy "Brief Encounters" (ITV, 2016), about a quartet of women who found success by selling intimate apparel and toys, and "Jamestown" (Sky 1, 2017-19), with Rundle as one of two sisters sent to the American colony at Jamestown in 1619. When the latter series ran its course, Rundle was cast in "Bodyguard" as the estranged wife of series lead Richard Madden's troubled soldier turned Protection Command officer. A runaway hit in the United States, where it aired on Netflix, and abroad, it introduced Rundle to a wide international audience, and helped to pave the way for her next high-profile project, "Gentleman Jack." The drama reunited Rundle with executive producer Sally Wainwright, who had cast her in "Happy Valley," and who tapped Rundle to play real-life 19th century heiress Ann Walker, whose romantic involvement with landowner/industrialist Anne Lister was detailed in an intricately coded diary.