Emma Laird: 10 Facts About the Rising Star of 'The Brutalist'

The 82nd Annual Golden Globes is incredibly rich in nominations this year. One of the strongest moving picture that made it into 7 categories is The Brutalist by Brady Corbet.

The cast features incredible talents like Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, and Guy Pearce.

However, we would like to draw your attention to the Scottish-born actress Emma Laird who plays Audrey in The Brutalist. Here are 10 surprising fats about the actress:

1. Emma has been working as a model promoting cruelty-free fashion. She has also been vocal about her commitment to a plant-based diet, emphasizing its benefits not just for personal health but also for animal welfare and environmental sustainability.

3. Laird’s drama teacher once told her she was destined to fail, which didn’t deter her from later pursuing acting and proving them wrong.

4. Emma Laird landed her role in The Brutalist after director Brady Corbet accidentally trapped her hand in a cupboard door during the filming of The Crowded Room. To make up for the mishap, he cast her in his next film.

5. Despite a relatively short acting career, Laird has played a variety of characters, including the smooth-talking escort Iris in Mayor of Kingstown, the refugee Desdemona in A Haunting in Venice, and the icy, cruel Audrey Harris in The Brutalist.

6. Laird was discovered by the agency Models 1 at the Leeds Festival when she was 16. However, she didn’t enjoy modeling and quickly transitioned to acting.

7. Before acting, Laird was deeply interested in music, writing songs and lyrics as a child, though she admits they weren’t great.

8. In 2020, Laird considered giving up on acting after a series of unsuccessful auditions, including one for the Gossip Girl reboot, and the looming expiration of her U.S. visa. She even contemplated returning to England to become a driver.

9. After returning to England, her career unexpectedly took off. She secured new representation, and offers began pouring in, starting with a role in Mayor of Kingstown, her first time on a professional set.

10. Interestingly, she finds an American accent easier than the standard London accent, which she has sometimes struggled with during auditions in the U.K.

The film’s release is scheduled for December 20th.

See the list of all nominations for The Brutalist

• BEST MOTION PICTURE – DRAMA
• BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A MOTION PICTURE (Adrien Brody)
• BEST PERFORMANCE BY A FEMALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (Felicity Jones)
• BEST PERFORMANCE BY A MALE ACTOR IN A SUPPORTING ROLE (Guy Pearce)
• BEST DIRECTOR (Brady Cobert)
• BEST SCREENPLAY – MOTION PICTURE (Mona Fastvold, Brady Cobert)
• BEST ORIGINAL SCORE – MOTION PICTURE (Daniel Blumberg)