Oona Castilla Chaplin is a Spanish-British actress. Her roles include Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series Game of Thrones, The Crimson Field and the series Taboo.
Background
Ethnicity:
Her father is Chilean and her mother has English and Irish ancestry.
Chaplin was born on June 4, 1986, in Madrid to Anglo-American actress Geraldine Chaplin and Chilean-Romanian cinematographer Patricio Castilla. She has a half-brother named Shane from her mother's previous relationship with film director Carlos Saura.
Chaplin's paternal grandmother is Mapuche. She was named after her maternal grandmother, Oona O'Neill Chaplin and spent her childhood mostly in Spain, Great Britain, Switzerland, and Cuba, but travelled often because of her mother's film career. She started dancing ballet, salsa and flamenco at an early age.
Education
When Chaplin was 15, she began studying at Gordonstoun School in Scotland on a drama scholarship. During her time there, she appeared in several school plays and toured the United Kingdom in an adaptation of Romeo and Juliet and impersonating her grandfather in the role of Bottom in an adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, which was performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.
After leaving Gordonstoun, she was accepted to the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, from which she graduated in 2007.
Oona can speak English, French and Spanish fluently.
Career
In 2007, Oona Chaplin made her debut on screen, when she was cast as ‘Kate’ in an episode of the TV series ‘Spooks.’ In 2008, she reprised the same character in the series ‘Spooks: Code 9.’ In 2008, she performed as ‘Laura Chappel’ in the satirical movie ‘Inconceivable.’ The movie also featured her mother. In 2008, Chaplin performed in a small role of a receptionist in the movie ‘Quantum of Solace.’ It was a ‘James Bond’ movie. In 2009, she appeared as ‘Arianna,’ a major character, in the Italian–Spanish movie ‘Imago Mortis.’ It was a supernatural thriller. Chaplin’s mother, too, played a major role in the movie.
In 2009, Chaplin appeared in three episodes of the British drama series ‘Married Single Other,’ in which she appeared as a Brazilian cage dancer named ‘Fabiana.’ The same year, she performed as ‘Linda’ in the movie ‘Pelican Blood.’ In 2010, Chaplin was seen in the short films ‘High and Dry’ and ‘Vampyre compendium.’ In 2011, Chaplin appeared as a major character, ‘Marnie Madden,’ in the British drama series ‘The Hour.’ ‘Marnie’ was the wife of one of the protagonists, ‘Hector Madden.’ The series was on air for a year. The same year, Chaplin performed in the Spanish comedy movie ‘Para que sirve un oso’ and in the Belgian movie ‘The Devil’s Double.’
In 2012, Chaplin bagged one of the most prominent roles of her career. She was cast as ‘Talisa Maegyr’ in the second and third seasons of the highly acclaimed TV series ‘Game of Thrones.’ The series was aired on ‘HBO.’ ‘Talisa’ was a healer working on the battlefields of the ‘War of Five Kings.’ The character was stabbed to death in the third season.
In 2013, Chaplin appeared as ‘Jess’ in the British comedy movie ‘Powder Room.’ The same year, she performed as ‘Julianne’ in the romantic comedy ‘What If?’ In 2013, Chaplin was seen as ‘Mia,’ one of the major characters of the British romantic drama series ‘Dates.’ It was aired on ‘Channel 4.’ The series was short-lived.
In 2014, Chaplin performed as ‘Alice’ in the movie ‘Aloft.’ The same year, she appeared as ‘Sabrina’ in a single episode of the dark comedy series ‘Inside No. 9.’ In 2015, she performed as ‘Ruth’ in the American romantic drama ‘The Longest Ride.’ Chaplin also appeared as ‘Kitty Trevelyan,’ the protagonist, in the British period drama TV series ‘The Crimson Field.’ It was telecast on ‘BBC One.’ The series told the story of a fictional hospital and its inmates during World War I. The show was canceled after just one season, due to its lackluster reception by the audience.
In 2017, Chaplin was seen in a major role in the drama series ‘Taboo.’ It was aired on ‘BBC One.’ The series featured Chaplin as ‘Zilpha Geary,’ the half-sister of the protagonist, ‘James Delaney.’ The series was set in the 1800s and told the story of a man returning to England after a long gap of 12 years. It was received favorably by the audience. In 2017, Chaplin essayed the role of ‘Eva,’ the central character, in the romantic comedy movie ‘Anchor and Hope.’ Chaplin will next be seen in the sequels of the popular science-fiction movie ‘Avatar.’ She has been roped in to play ‘Varang’ in both ‘Avatar 2’ and ‘Avatar 3.’ ‘Varang’ is a powerful character that is pivotal to the plots of the sequels.
Religion
Oona Chaplin has not spoken about her religious beliefs publicly.
Views
Quotations:
"I'm a big fan of David Attenborough, who I think is the most adventurous of the nature program presenters."
"I don't buy things now, I buy plane tickets. The only thing I want is to make enough money to be able to travel with my children."
"My grandmother died in 1991 and I was born in '86. We only met once, but I didn't speak English and she didn't speak Spanish-so we had a communication problem."
"I have to go through auditions, and my surname has got me into rooms, but I'll never know if it gets me any jobs. There's a lot of sexism and objectification, and a lot of people put you down."
"When people say (Charles Chaplin) I still think now of the guy in the mustache and bowler hat and funny walk-I don't think of an old man who was my grandfather."
"People think that I can just walk into a room and get a job, but of the 200 interviews and auditions I go through a year, I may get three yeses. I just have to use my sense of humour to get me through."
"I loved being on stage, but I told myself that if I didn't get into RADA, I wouldn't pursue an acting career. I did get in, though, and that was that."
"I love boxing. I box in a local boxing gym in London. I usually spar. But I've done two fights and I lost both of them admirably. I didn't realize how much it would hurt for them to actually hit me."
"As I don't know what life would be like without my Chaplin connections, I work with them. I'm just really happy it's a family I can be proud of; it's not as if I'm related to some Z-list celebrity.
"I'm part Cuban, so anything with a good beat like Rumberos de Cuba gets me going."
Personality
Oona Chaplin has been actively dancing since her early childhood and hence is quite healthy and in shape. Oona still maintains her figure by healthy eating and living an active lifestyle. She is skilled in various forms of dancing such as ballet, flamenco, and salsa.
Oona always wanted to be a ballet dancer and not an actress. She started searching for a different career after she was told that she had a big derriere to be a ballet dancer.
Physical Characteristics:
Height: 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight: 57 kg (126 pounds)
Hair color: dark brown
Eye color: light brown
Distinctive features: wide smile, black hair
Measurements: 36-26-35 in (91.5-66-89 cm)
Dress Size: 6 (US) or 36 (EU)
Bra Size: 34B
Shoe Size: 9 (US)
