Background

Ethnicity: She is of Extremaduran descent on her mother's side and Basque descent on her father's side.

Natalia Tena was born on November 1, 1984, in London, the daughter of Spanish parents: María, an Extremaduran secretary, and a Basque father, Jesús, who works as a carpenter.

Education

Tena attended the ‘Bedales School.’ Smoking almost got her kicked out of Bedales.

Her family was musically inclined. Since the age of 5, Tena started taking piano lessons from her mother. Before she got a career in acting, Nat was going to study psychology and philosophy in Australia.

Career

In the early days of her career, Tena worked with the theater group ‘KneeHigh.’ While working there, she learned to play the accordion. Later, she performed at the ‘London Underground.’ In 2002, Tena made her debut in movies. She was cast as ‘Ellie’ in the comedy-drama movie ‘About a Boy.’ Tena attended the audition on the insistence of her teacher. Her character, ‘Ellie,’ was the girlfriend of one of the protagonists. It marked the beginning of her acting career. The following year, Tena took up acting as her full-time profession. In 2004, she performed as ‘Hazel’ in the play ‘Gone to Earth.’ In 2005, she performed as ‘Cathy’ in the play ‘Bronte.’ In 2005, she performed small characters in movies such as ‘The Fine Art of Love’ and ‘Mrs. Henderson Presents.’ In 2006, Tena performed as ‘Fevvers’ in the play ‘Nights at the Circus.’

In 2007, Tena bagged one of the most prominent characters in her acting career. She was chosen to portray ‘Nymphadora Tonks’ in the movie ‘Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.’ The movie was based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. This was the fifth of the ‘Harry Potter’ series of movies. ‘Nymphadora’ was depicted as a character that was clumsy in handling her spells. She worked as a spy for the ‘Order in the Ministry.’ Tena performed brilliantly and was seen in the sequels of the movie, too.

The year 2009 saw Tena performing as ‘Nymphadora Tonks’ in the movie ‘Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince.’ In the subsequent years, she was seen in both part 1 and part 2 of ‘Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.’ In 2010, Tena was cast in the movie ‘Ways to Live Forever.’ She portrayed ‘Annie,’ a nurse who called herself “Dracula.”

In 2011, Tena starred in the lead role in the British movie ‘You Instead.’ It was a romantic comedy directed by David Mackenzie. The movie featured Tena as ‘Morello,’ the lead singer of an all-girl music band. The story revolved around the altercations between ‘Morello’ and another singer, ‘Adam,’ and showed them ultimately fall in love with each other. From 2011 to 2016, Tena appeared in several episodes of the TV series ‘Game of Thrones.’ It was one of the most popular shows on ‘HBO.’ The series featured Tena as ‘Osha.’

In 2014, Tena performed in the lead role of the Spanish romantic movie ‘10,000 km.’ Tena portrayed ‘Alexandra,’ who struggled to balance her career and a long-distance relationship with her husband. In 2015, Tena performed as the lead character, ‘Emma Oliver,’ in the series ‘The Refugees.’ In 2017, Tena performed as the protagonist, ‘Sara Morton,’ in the series ‘Wisdom of the Crowd.’ The series was canceled due to weak ratings. In 2018, Tena was seen in the series ‘Origin,’ which was aired on ‘YouTube Premium.’

Tena is the lead singer and accordionist for the music band ‘Molotov Jukebox.’ In 2014, the band released their debut album, ‘Carnival Flower.’ In 2016, they released their second album, ‘Tropical Gypsy.’

Achievements

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  Natalia Tena is best known for her portrayal of ‘Nymphadora Tonks’ in the ‘Harry Potter’ series. Her remarkable performance in the movie ‘10,000 km’ won Tena the ‘Biznaga de Plata’ award at the ‘Malaga Film Festival.’ She was also nominated for the ‘Goya Award for Best New Actress.’ At the 2014 ‘SXSW Film Festival,’ Tena and her co-star David Verdaguer received the ‘Special Jury Recognition for Best Acting Duo.’

Works

More photos

• movie

  • Ways To Live Forever

    (Sam embarks on a scientific investigation with questions,...)

    2010
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1

    (As Harry (Daniel Radcliffe), Ron (Rupert Grint), and Herm...)

    2010
  • Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince

    (As Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) begins his sixth year ...)

    2009
  • Residue

    (When a repentant, ex-white supremacist turned inept priva...)

    2015
  • Mrs. Henderson Presents

    (Laura Henderson buys an old London theater and opens it u...)

    2005
  • About a Boy

    (Based on Nick Hornby's best-selling novel, About A Boy is...)

    2002
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2

    (Harry, Ron, and Hermione set out on their perilous missio...)

    2011
  • Superbob

    (Superbob is a hilarious and touching new twist on the sup...)

    2015
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix

    (Lord Voldemort has returned, but the Ministry of Magic is...)

    2007
  • Bel Ami

    (A chronicle of a young man's rise to power in Paris via h...)

    2012
  • Womb

    (A woman's consuming love forces her to bear the clone of ...)

    2010
  • The Fine Art of Love

    (The Fine Art of Love is a 2005 erotic drama film directed...)

    2005
  • 10,000 km

    (Alex moves to Los Angeles for a new job; Sergi stays in B...)

    2014
  • Anchor And Hope

    (A lesbian couple, living a simple life, decide to have a ...)

    2017

• music

  • Carnival Flower 2014
  • Tropical Gypsy 2016

• TV series

  • Wisdom of the Crowd

    (Wisdom of the Crowd is a drama about a visionary tech inn...)

    2017
  • Game of Thrones

    (Nine noble families fight for control over the mythical l...)

    2011
  • Ambassadors

    (The adventures and politics of a British ambassador to a ...)

    2013
  • Origins

    (A genealogist and a cop: a great team for uncovering the ...)

    2017

Religion

Natalia Tena does not believe in the existence of God.

Politics

In January 2013 Natalia Tena lent her support to the campaign to finally bring the killers of three Colombian Indian leaders to justice.

Views

Natalia Tena is a supporter of the human rights organization Survival International. She is a big supporter of human rights and has been seen to be very dedicated in stamping out injustices where she sees them. Many tend to say such things but she has been noted as doing something to help those that seek out offenders and bring them to justice.

Quotations: "A heart is comprised of four chambers and four valves that all work together for us to think, breathe, feel, and live.

Nerds rule the fucking world. Fuck everyone else."

"My love of music comes from as long as I remember. I begged my mum to learn piano for a year when I was 4, she wanted to make sure I was serious and I wanted to be Chuck Berry when I grew up! We were a very musical family, my mum would play guitar and her, my dad and aunt would sing and harmonize!"

Membership

• 

  Survival International

Personality

Natalia Tena was greatly influenced by American singer Chuck Berry.

She learned to play the accordion while she was in a stage production called Nights at the Circus.

Physical Characteristics: Height: 5 ft 5½ in (166.5 cm)

Weight: 58 kg (128 lbs)

Hair color: dark brown

Eye color: blue

Interests

• Artists

  Favorite actress - Helena Bonham Carter

• Music & Bands

  Chuck Berry

Connections

Natalia Tena prefers to keep her personal life guarded.

Father:

Jesús Gastiain

Mother:

María Gastiain

Friend:

Oona Chaplin

Natalia Tena is close friends with fellow Game of Thrones actress Oona Chaplin.

colleague:

Isaac Hempstead-Wright

Isaac Hempstead Wright is an English actor. He is best known for his role as Bran Stark on the HBO series "Game of Thrones."

colleague:

Alfie Allen

Alfie Evan Allen is an English actor. He is best known for playing Theon Greyjoy in the HBO series Game of Thrones (2011–2019).

colleague:

Iwan Rheon

(born 13 May 1985)

He is a Welsh actor, singer, and musician.

colleague:

Kristian Nairn

Kristian Nairn is a Northern Irish actor and DJ. He is best known for his portrayal of Hodor in the HBO fantasy series Game of Thrones.

colleague:

Art Parkinson

Art Parkinson is an Irish actor. He is best known for his role as Rickon Stark on the HBO series Game of Thrones, and Kubo in the film Kubo and the Two Strings.

colleague:

Donald Sumpter

Donald Sumpter is an English actor, known for his work in film and television since the mid-1960s.

colleague:

Richard Madden

(born 18 June 1986)

He is a Scottish actor.

References

• Journal Inspired by Natalia Tena
• Natalia Tena - Instagram