It’s official: Indira Varma has entered the Whoniverse – or rather, re-entered. Varma is the latest cast member announced for Doctor Who series 14, playing the mysterious ‘Duchess’ – quite the villain by the sounds of it, as Russell T Davies promises “a whole new audience will be hiding behind the settee when the Duchess unleashes her terror.”
But while these days Varma is best-known for her roles in Game of Thrones, Obi Wan and Obsession, not only has she already worked with Davies on Torchwood, she’s starred alongside a whole host of Doctor Who’s most notable alumni:
She Was Torchwood’s First Villain Back in 2006
Varma’s got form when it comes to playing lovable baddies in the Whoniverse – like Peter Capaldi, she appeared on Torchwood before her Doctor Who debut. Her character Suzie Costello was a key part of the Torchwood team, but her fear of death led...
But while these days Varma is best-known for her roles in Game of Thrones, Obi Wan and Obsession, not only has she already worked with Davies on Torchwood, she’s starred alongside a whole host of Doctor Who’s most notable alumni:
She Was Torchwood’s First Villain Back in 2006
Varma’s got form when it comes to playing lovable baddies in the Whoniverse – like Peter Capaldi, she appeared on Torchwood before her Doctor Who debut. Her character Suzie Costello was a key part of the Torchwood team, but her fear of death led...
- 5/25/2023
- by Lauravickersgreen
- Den of Geek
In the weeks leading up to the war in Iraq, Katharine Gun exposed a Us plot to spy on the Un in leaks published in the Observer. She joins former Observer journalist Martin Bright to tell their story ahead of a forthcoming Hollywood adaptation. Plus the BBC’s Carrie Gracie on how she fought for equal pay
In the weeks before the invasion, Tony Blair and George W Bush continued to make the case for war in Iraq despite the lack of evidence that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. In Cheltenham, a young Mandarin-language specialist at the UK spy agency Gchq, Katharine Gun, was at her desk when she received an email detailing a secret plan by the Us government to spy on the United Nations to try to secure a resolution from the security council to authorise an attack.
In an attempt to prevent a...
In the weeks before the invasion, Tony Blair and George W Bush continued to make the case for war in Iraq despite the lack of evidence that Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. In Cheltenham, a young Mandarin-language specialist at the UK spy agency Gchq, Katharine Gun, was at her desk when she received an email detailing a secret plan by the Us government to spy on the United Nations to try to secure a resolution from the security council to authorise an attack.
In an attempt to prevent a...
- 9/23/2019
- by Presented by Anushka Asthana with Martin Bright, Katharine Gun and Carrie Gracie; produced by Elizabeth Cassin, Gary Marshall and Axel Kacoutié; executive producers Nicole Jackson and Phil Maynard
- The Guardian - Film News
From “Doctor Who” to “The Crown,” Matt Smith has enjoyed an enviable career on the small screen. But he makes a powerful impression on the big screen in Gavin Hood’s “Official Secrets,” where he plays real-life English whistleblowing reporter Martin Bright. “Official Secrets,” which is currently expanding throughout the U.S., also stars Keira Knightley as British intelligence whiz Katharine Gun who, in the lead-up to the Iraq War, leaked damning intel on Britain’s attempt to blackmail U.N. council members into voting in favor of the invasion.
In dealing with the still-unspooling fallout of the Iraq War, “Official Secrets” takes audiences to an uncomfortable and all-too-recent place that most generations will remember acutely. “In our recent history, there’s a lot we can be proud of and a great deal we are ashamed of as well,” Smith told IndieWire in a recent phone interview. “Whatever your take on this movie,...
In dealing with the still-unspooling fallout of the Iraq War, “Official Secrets” takes audiences to an uncomfortable and all-too-recent place that most generations will remember acutely. “In our recent history, there’s a lot we can be proud of and a great deal we are ashamed of as well,” Smith told IndieWire in a recent phone interview. “Whatever your take on this movie,...
- 9/7/2019
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
If movies were simply judged by their educational and historical merits, “Official Secrets” would be a slam dunk. Based on real events, the drama about a British translator who leaked a top secret Nsa memo during the 2003 lead-up to the Iraq war fancies itself the next “Spotlight” or “The Post,” but its workmanlike translation is more fitting for social studies classrooms than awards conversations. Keira Knightley delivers a routine performance in a central role that is more expository than explosive, and the dramatic action builds around her character more like it would a glorified coat rack than a compelling heroine.
Based on the true story of British Intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun (Knightley), “Official Secrets” begins with Katharine facing trial for treason in 2004 before cutting back to one year prior. While working as a Mandarin translator at Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (G.C.H.Q.), Katharine is shocked to receive...
Based on the true story of British Intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun (Knightley), “Official Secrets” begins with Katharine facing trial for treason in 2004 before cutting back to one year prior. While working as a Mandarin translator at Britain’s Government Communications Headquarters (G.C.H.Q.), Katharine is shocked to receive...
- 8/30/2019
- by Jude Dry
- Indiewire
Filmmaker Gavin Hood is at his best when he gets political. The less said about his superhero outing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the better, while Ender’s Game underwhelmed. However, after his breakthrough Tsotsi, efforts like Rendition, though especially Eye in the Sky and now Official Secrets, show how engaged he is when he’s passionate about a cause. Here, telling the true story of a British whistleblower in the lead up to the 2003 Iraq War, he’s found a terrific vehicle for his talents. The film is angry, urgent, and effortlessly well made. Hitting theaters this week, it’s a mature and serious work that’s well worth your time. The movie is a political thriller, based on the true story of Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley), a member of British Intelligence who leaked classified documents in an attempt to stop the 2003 invasion of Iraq. A longtime effective and loyal intelligence office,...
- 8/29/2019
- by Joey Magidson
- Hollywoodnews.com
Official Secrets is not kinetic cinema. Instead, it dumps a ton of data on audiences in telling the true story of Katharine Gun (Keira Knightley), the British whistleblower who leaked classified documents meant to pressure the U.N. Security Council into supporting the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq. But even when director Gavin Hood’s political thriller fails to thrill, there’s no doubting the continuing relevance of the topic on the table. Gun, an intelligence operative at Gchq (Government Communications Headquarters), a British surveillance agency tasked with ferreting out terrorist activity,...
- 8/28/2019
- by Peter Travers
- Rollingstone.com
High-minded and sturdy, if never as galvanizing as it should be, Gavin Hood’s whistleblower drama “Official Secrets” follows a string of similarly themed, recent-history docudramas in trying to frame a noble fight as worth waging no matter the repercussions.
And in the real-life case of British intelligence analyst Katharine Gun, played with trademark poise and fierce smarts by Keira Knightley, a consequential impulse to go rogue and do right by millions of citizens in England and Iraq in the pre-invasion buildup put her squarely in the crosshairs of her country’s need to punish those willing to expose the darker workings in the drumbeat to war.
If you don’t know anything about Gun’s actions and subsequent ordeal — highly likely since war happened anyway, and regrettably so since this incident should have helped prevent it — “Official Secrets,” serves as an efficiently told primer. It’s a historical sidebar...
And in the real-life case of British intelligence analyst Katharine Gun, played with trademark poise and fierce smarts by Keira Knightley, a consequential impulse to go rogue and do right by millions of citizens in England and Iraq in the pre-invasion buildup put her squarely in the crosshairs of her country’s need to punish those willing to expose the darker workings in the drumbeat to war.
If you don’t know anything about Gun’s actions and subsequent ordeal — highly likely since war happened anyway, and regrettably so since this incident should have helped prevent it — “Official Secrets,” serves as an efficiently told primer. It’s a historical sidebar...
- 8/27/2019
- by Robert Abele
- The Wrap
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