With her striking looks, gracious smile and humble demeanour, the UK’s Eleanor Tomlinson has been making a name for herself on home turf with major parts in acclaimed TV shows. But, this year could see things go up a gear. Here’s what you need to know about the young lovely.
What’s her story?
Eleanor May Tomlinson was born May 19 1992 in London and is the daughter of singer Judith Hibbert and actor Malcolm Tomlinson, and the sister to her brother Ross Tomlinson also an actor. Quite the thespian family, right?
At a young age they moved to Beverly in Yorkshire, where she attended school and juggled a career as a young actress, something which others used to bully her for. But that didn’t deter her and in 2005, around the age of 12/13 she got her first role in TV film ‘Falling’ on UK TV.
Eleanor Tomlinson in Dolce&Gabbana at the Glamour Women of the Year Awards
Where have I seen her before?
Tomlinson’s first major film role was at the age of 13 as Young Sophie in Neil Burger’s Oscar-nominated mystery film ‘The Illusionist’ that starred Edward Norton and Jessica Biel. Four years later she appeared as Fiona Chattaway in Tim Burton’s Oscar-winning take on Lewis Carroll’s ‘Alice In Wonderland’.
In 2013, things picked up for the young actress, and just after turning 20, she appeared in various roles within period settings: first there was the adventure fantasy ‘Jack the Giant Slayer’ with Nicholas Hoult, Ewan McGregor and Stanley Tucci, in which she played the beautiful Princess Isabelle.
In same year she starred in two one-off mini-TV series ‘The White Queen’, about three women that vie for the throne in 15th century England, and ‘Death Comes to Pemberley’, which was set a couple of hundred years later and is based on PD James’ homage to Pride and Prejudice.
Both TV series were a hit but nothing compared to the current show she stars in ‘Poldark’ in which she plays Demelza, the love interest of the show’s hero Ross Poldark (Aiden Turner). It’s been renewed for a second season so I suggest you get up to speed with the first.
Here’s how she got into acting in the first place.
When talking to Marie Claire, Tomlinson spoke about the bolshy way in which she got into acting. ’I spent time on set with my dad who is an actor and on stage with my mum who is a singer and suddenly decided I’d quite like to do that. When I was 11, my dad’s agent came over for dinner and I locked all the doors and refused to let her leave until she represented me. She said, ‘I don’t represent children,’ and I said, ‘I don’t care, you’re gonna represent me because you’re not leaving until you do.’ It makes me cringe now. But that led to me doing The Illusionist in 2006.’ I love her.
Is there a certain someone?
There is yes. But, as with all women that just so happen to star in a film that features romance to a certain degree, she has been linked to the likes of Nicholas Hoult, and her Poldark co-star Aiden Turner.
But it is stunt man Ben Atkinson who has stolen the girl’s heart. She met him on the set of Poldark when he stepped in to do Aiden Turner’s horse stunts. The two have been seen stepping out together and look darn cute doing so.
What’s next for the lovely lady?
As mentioned above, there are the continued adventures of Poldark which are penned in for early in 2016 but details as to what direction the story will be going are yet to be released. But, seeing as the finale of season one saw Demelza contracting the disease known as putrid throat with disastrous consequences, we will have to see what happens.
Click here to view the embedded video.
In the works there is the illegal bicycle thriller set in London, based on alley cat races that always take places in cities across the globe. The first ever held is said to have been in Toronto in 1989 and now it can be seem happening in major cities. The film tells the tale of the Alleycats in London and the lengths they go to hold their underground races. The cast is made of faces known and new, like John Hannah, Sonoya Mizuno, Camilla Rutherford and, of course, Eleanor Tomlinson.
Then, most excitingly, is the long-awaited hand painted animated film that tells the complicated, controversial and mysterious death of none other than Van Gogh. It’s said to be a technique never used before and is hopefully going to be one of the most memorable animations for decades to come. The creators released a concept video back in 2012. Check it out here.