Emily Holmes
Biography
Emily Holmes was born in Ottawa and raised in Toronto, Ontario. From a very young age, Emily always envisioned a career for herself in acting. Her dream matured when she attended the University of British Columbia and graduated with a B.F.A in acting. Since then, Emily has successfully carved a niche for herself in the national and international film and television markets, which has enabled her to travel extensively worldwide. Emily has worked with some of the world's best known talent.
Most recently, Emily completed two leading roles in feature films for release in 2007. The first was Peter Greenaway’s (‘The Pillow Book’, 'The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover’) new film ‘Nightwatching’ opposite Martin Freeman (‘The Good Night’, ‘Love Actually’), which was shot in Poland, Wales and Amsterdam. The feature is based on the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn and his most famous picture Nightwatch. In this extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life focused in 1642, Emily plays Hendrickje; at first a beautiful, young, kind hearted servant to the Rembrandt van Rijn (Martin Freeman) household who, later in life, eventually becomes his mistress. Nightwatching will premiere at the 64th Biennale Cinema Venice Film Festival in the category ‘Venezia 64 - In Competition’ and will showcase at the Toronto International Film Festival in the Special Presentations lineup.
Next, Emily was off to Morocco to shoot another lead role in ‘Prisoners Of The Sun’ with John Rhys Davis, David Charvet and Carmen Chaplin. (Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter) Emily plays Claire Becket, a clairvoyant confidant and councilor to Professor Hayden Masterton (John Rhys-Davies), who joins him on a perilous expedition deep beneath the timeless sands of Egypt. Other feature film credits include last summer's cult favorite ‘Snakes on A Plane’ and a co-star role in the critically acclaimed French Canadian film ‘Familia’, which won the Best Canadian First Feature Film at the Toronto Film Festival 2005.
Emily’s lead MOW roles include the backdoor pilot for CBC, entitled ‘Jinnah on Crime’ and the lead role of the daughter to Markie Post and John Larraquette in Fox Family’s ‘Til Dad Do Us Part.’ Her television series credits and guest star appearances include ‘Smallville’, ‘Dead Like Me’, ‘The Collector’ and ‘Stargate SG1’. She also guest starred in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Taken’ and DreamWorks miniseries ‘Into The West’.
Emily currently resides in Vancouver, BC. When not on set and traveling the world, she enjoys snowboarding, surfing, yoga and walking her dog. She also does a mean Sudoku… up for a challenge?
News
Canadian actor Emily Holmes stars in Peter Greenaway’s feature film ‘Nightwatching’ scheduled to premiere at the 64th Biennale Cinema Venice Film Festival 2007
‘Nightwatching’ also added to Special Presentations lineup at the 32nd Toronto International Film Festival
For Immediate Release, August 2007 – Emily Holmes’s most recent film ‘Nightwatching’, directed by multiple award winning director Peter Greenaway, is set to premiere at the 64th Biennale Cinema Venice Film Festival in the category of ‘Venezia 64 - In Competition’. Peter Greenaway’s ‘Nightwatching’ will compete alongside notable directors Wes Anderson (‘The Royal Taunenbaums’, ‘Life Aquatic’) and Oscar award winner Paul Haggis (‘Crash’), just to name a few. The 64th Biennale Cinema Venice Film Festival runs from August 29 to September 8. For more information, please visit http://www.labiennale.org/en/cinema/. ‘Nightwatching’ has also been added to the Special Presentations lineup at this year’s 32nd Toronto International Film Festival, which runs September 6 – 15, 2007. For more information, please visit www.tiffg.ca.
Emily Holmes plays opposite Martin Freeman (‘The Good Night’, ‘Love Actually’). The film, shot in Poland, Wales and Amsterdam, is based on the Dutch painter Rembrandt van Rijn and his most famous picture Nightwatch. In this extravagant, exotic and moving look at Rembrandt's romantic and professional life, focused in 1642, Emily Holmes plays Hendrickje, a beautiful, young, kind hearted servant to the Rembrandt van Rijn (Martin Freeman) household who later in life becomes his mistress.
The colourful, yet controversial, director Peter Greenaway, critically acclaimed for ‘The Draughtsman Contract’s’, ‘The Cook, The Thief, His Wife and Her Lover’, and ‘The Pillow Book’, brings us a film concentrating on the evidence of a dangerous conspiracy contained in the painting of the Nightwatch that mirrors Amsterdam’s society at the centre of the Golden Age. Emily admits that “working with Peter was both liberating and terrifying. It almost felt like I was rehearsing and performing a stage play every day.”
‘Nightwatching’ is a feature film, an opera, an exhibition and a representation of the painting of the Nightwatch, itself, with an immersive presentation of the paintings, characters and artifacts from the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam.
Emily has successfully carved a niche for herself in the national and international film and television markets, which has enabled her to travel extensively worldwide and work with some of the world's best known talent.
Next, Emily is off to Morocco to shoot another lead role in ‘Prisoners of the Sun’ with John Rhys Davis, David Charvet and Carmen Chaplin (Charlie Chaplin’s granddaughter). Emily plays Claire Becket, a clairvoyant confidant and councilor to Professor Hayden Masterton (John Rhys-Davies), who joins him on a perilous expedition deep beneath the timeless sands of Egypt. Other feature film credits include last summer's cult favourite ‘Snakes on A Plane’ and a co-star role in the critically acclaimed French Canadian film ‘Famila’, which won the Best Canadian First Feature Film at the Toronto Film Festival 2005.
Emily’s lead MOW roles include the backdoor pilot for CBC entitled ‘Jinnah on Crime’ and the lead role of the daughter to Markie Post and John Larraquette in Fox Family’s ‘Til Dad Do Us Part.’ Her television series credits and guest star appearances include ‘Smallville’, ‘Dead Like Me’, ‘The Collector’ and ‘Stargate SG1’. She also guest starred in Steven Spielberg’s ‘Taken’ and DreamWorks miniseries ‘Into The West’.
Emily currently resides in Vancouver, BC. When not on set and traveling the world, she enjoys snowboarding, surfing, yoga and walking her dog. She is available for interviews and photographs upon request.
For more information on Emily Holmes, please visit www.imdb.com/name/nm0391820.