Childhood & Early Life
Kate Dickie was born on July 4, 1971, in East Kilbride, Scotland. Due to her father’s job, Kate spent most of her childhood moving around Scotland in cities such as Wigtownshire, Ayrshire and Perthshire.
It also meant that she had to change schools very frequently. As a kid, Kate was very shy and too conscious about her looks, which had her feeling uncomfortable whenever she moved to a new school, in a new city.
However, she always had a passion for acting, which her parents always supported. She began taking acting lessons when she was young. But she refrained from telling about it to her classmates because she was afraid that everybody would make fun of her.
Her training in acting eventually solved her psychological issues as she became more and more comfortable moving to new places. She also began acting in theatrical productions as well.
She graduated high school and enrolled into the Adam Smith College to study drama. She earned a national certificate in drama and had a huge achievement in 1990 when she was accepted into the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.
She stayed in Glasgow for the next few years and ended up working with some of Scotland’s best theatre companies. She also auditioned for roles in films and television around the same time.
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Career
She began her professional career performing in plays such as ‘Bonjour Tristesse’ and ‘Timeless.’ She made her screen acting debut playing a guest role as an unnamed young girl in the episode titled ‘Mother’ of the series titled ‘Rab C. Nesbitt.’
For the next few years, as she awaited better acting projects, she appeared in many acclaimed theatrical productions such as ‘Electra’ and ‘Mainstream.’
In 2000, she had her major acting breakthrough when she appeared playing one of the lead roles in the drama series titled ‘Tinsel Town.’ She played Lex in the commercially/critically successful series which ran for 2 seasons and 20 episodes. For her performance, she received a nomination for the British Academy Scotland Award for Best Television Performance.
In 2003, she made her film debut appearing a prostitute in the short film titled ‘Room for the Night.’ She further appeared playing key roles in short films such as ‘Who Do You Love?,’ ‘Accidents’ and ‘The Harvest.’
In 2006, she had a major film breakthrough when she appeared playing the lead role as Jackie Morrison in the British-Danish thriller film titled ‘Red Road.’ The film ended up becoming a massive critical and commercial success, earning the jury prize at the 2006 Cannes Film Festival.
Kate also won many awards and accolades for her performance in the film, such as British Independent Film Award for Best Actress and the London Film Critics’ Circle Award nomination. However, receiving great acclaims as such would have resulted in more leading roles. But it was not the case with Kate. She received British Academy Scotland Award for Best Actress in a Scottish Film for her performance in ‘Couple in a Hole.’
She however did earn a supporting role in the 2008 film titled ‘Somers Town.’ The film failed on the commercial scale but ended up winning many accolades at the Tribeca, Berlin and Edinburgh International Film Festivals.
She further appeared playing a critically acclaimed role in the film titled ‘Summer.’ The film was also a huge critical success and received rave reviews at many film festivals. ‘Summer’ received two ‘BAFTA Scotland’ awards and one nomination.
She followed with key roles in short films such as ‘Trace’ and ‘Pussyfooting.’
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In addition to her film and television career, she also kept moving ahead with her stage career, appearing in plays such as ‘Blooded,’ ‘Running Girl,’ ‘AD’ and ‘Lament.’
As for her television career, she began her 2000s with guest roles in series’ such as ‘The Vice’ and ‘Still Game.’ In 2006, she appeared playing herself in ‘Film ‘72.’
In 2010, she had yet another major television breakthrough when she appeared playing one of the main roles as Agnes in the television mini-series titled ‘The Pillars of the Earth.’ She followed with key roles in short films such as ‘Village on the Roof’ and ‘The Gift.’
In 2012, she appeared playing a supporting role as Ford in the science fiction drama film titled ‘Prometheus.’ Although the film received very average reviews, it was a huge box office success.
Her main focus always remained on doing more content-based films than spectacles. After a grand film like ‘Prometheus,’ she appeared in two low budget critically acclaimed films titled ‘Shell’ and ‘Filth.’
She was a very well respected actor by then. But she shot to a widespread international fame only after she appeared playing Lysa Arryn in the fantasy drama series titled ‘Game of Thrones.’ She played an eccentric lady of a kingdom named Vale, and as the series became a worldwide phenomenon, she also became an internationally recognized face too.
In the more recent years, she has appeared in films such as ‘Prevenge’ and ‘Star Wars VIII: The Last Jedi.’ She has also appeared on television with series’ such as ‘Vera’ and the miniseries ‘The Cry.’
