Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie (born 26 July 2000) is a New Zealand actress. A daughter of actress Miranda Harcourt, she began working as a teenager. After a minor role in The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014), she rose to critical prominence for playing a young girl living in isolation in Debra Granik's drama film Leave No Trace (2018), winning the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance,[1][2] as well as her role as Elsa Korr in the Academy Award-winning satirical comedy film Jojo Rabbit (2019).[3]
Thomasin McKenzie | |
|---|---|
 McKenzie promoting the film Jojo Rabbit in 2019 | |
| Born | Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie[citation needed] 26 July 2000 Wellington, New Zealand |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2012–present |
| Parent |
|
| Relatives | Kate Harcourt (maternal grandmother) Geraldine Harcourt (aunt)[citation needed] |
McKenzie continued gaining recognition with supporting roles in the 2019 films The King and True History of the Kelly Gang.[4] In 2021, she starred in M. Night Shyamalan's thriller Old and Edgar Wright's psychological horror film Last Night in Soho, and featured in Jane Campion's western film The Power of the Dog. She has since played the title role in the thriller Eileen (2023) opposite Anne Hathaway.
Early life
McKenzie was born and raised in Wellington, New Zealand;[5] to actress and acting coach Dame Miranda Harcourt, and director Stuart McKenzie. She is the granddaughter of actress Dame Kate Harcourt and Peter Harcourt. Her grandfather Peter Harcourt's family has founded the real estate company Harcourts International in Wellington.[6] She has an elder brother, Peter McKenzie and a younger sister, actress Davida McKenzie. She completed her secondary education at Samuel Marsden Collegiate School in 2018 at her hometown.[1]
Career
After appearing with her brother in the film Existence (2012), McKenzie portrayed teenager Louise Nicholas in the television film Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story (2014). In 2015, she played Pixie Hannah in the soap opera Shortland Street. The following year, she played the titular character in the children's comedy web series Lucy Lewis Can't Lose.
She gained recognition for her portrayal as a daughter of a war veteran in Debra Granik's Leave No Trace (2018). Her performance received critical acclaim and won her the National Board of Review Award for Breakthrough Performance. In 2019, McKenzie joined the ensemble cast of Netflix's The King as Queen Philippa of Denmark, starring alongside Timothée Chalamet, Joel Edgerton and Robert Pattinson. She next played the role of a young Jewish girl who hides in the home of the title character in Taika Waititi's satirical comedy-drama Jojo Rabbit (2019) which she obtained a nomination at the Critics' Choice Movie Award as Best Young Actress.
In August 2018, McKenzie was cast in Top Gun: Maverick, but dropped out of the film after signing onto Lost Girls (2020). In 2021, she starred in the M. Night Shyamalan's thriller Old, and played the lead character in Edgar Wright's psychological horror film Last Night in Soho, opposite Anya Taylor-Joy.[7] In the same year, she joined John Crowley's televised adaptation of Kate Atkinson's novel Life After Life for BBC Two, which premiered in 2022.[8]
In 2023, McKenzie joined the main cast of the second season of Pantheon, a science fiction drama adaptation of the series of short stories by Ken Liu, voicing MIST, the first C.I. (computational intelligence) born of U.I. (uploaded intelligence). In the same year, she played the lead character in the William Oldroyd's psychological thriller Eileen, opposite Anne Hathaway and will portray American gymnast Kerri Strug in Olivia Wilde's Perfect.[9]
McKenzie was cast in the lead role for the upcoming film, Joy, a true story of the world’s first in vitro fertilisation baby and set to be released in 2024.[10] In May 2023, McKenzie joined in the lead role for Mona Fastvold's upcoming psychological horror Self-Portrait.[11] In the same month, McKenzie joined Andrew Niccol's upcoming live-action animated film I, Object.[12] In September 2023, McKenzie joined Jim O'Hanlon's upcoming British period comedy Fackham Hall, written by comedian Jimmy Carr.[13]
Personal life
As of March 2017, McKenzie resides in Wellington, New Zealand.[1]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | Existence | Scraps | ||
| 2014 | The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies | Astrid | ||
| 2017 | The Changeover | Rose Keaton | ||
| 2018 | Leave No Trace | Tom | ||
| 2019 | The King | Queen Philippa of Denmark | ||
| Jojo Rabbit | Elsa Korr | |||
| True History of the Kelly Gang | Mary | |||
| 2020 | Lost Girls | Sherre Gilbert | ||
| 2021 | The Justice of Bunny King | Tonyah | ||
| Old | Maddox Cappa (aged 16) | |||
| Last Night in Soho | Eloise "Ellie" Turner | |||
| The Power of the Dog | Lola | |||
| 2023 | Eileen | Eileen Dunlop | [14] | |
| TBA | Joy | Jean Purdy | Post-production | [15] |
| Fackham Hall | In Production | [16] | ||
| I, Object | Filming | [17] | ||
| Self-Portrait | Lu Rile | Pre-Production | [18] |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Consent: The Louise Nicholas Story | Young Louise | Television film | |
| 2015–2020 | Shortland Street | Pixie Hannah | Recurring role | |
| 2015 | End of Term | Annabel | 1 episode | |
| 2016 | Bright Summer Night | Petra Quince | 4 episodes | |
| 2016 | Jean | Young Jean | Television film | |
| 2017 | The Cul De Sac | Willa | 3 episodes | |
| 2016 | Lucy Lewis Can't Lose | Lucy Lewis | Lead role | |
| 2022 | Life After Life | Ursula Todd | Miniseries | [19] |
| 2023 | Totally Completely Fine | Vivian Cunningham | Lead role | |
| 2023 | Pantheon | MIST (voice) | Main role; season 2 | |
| TBA | Gossamer | TBA | Filming; voice role |
Awards and nominations
References
External links
