Mirren Mack

Scottish actress (born 1997)

Mirren Mack

Born|  (1997-12-08) 8 December 1997 (age 27)[1]

Stirling, Scotland, United Kingdom

Education| Guildhall School of Music and Drama (BA)
Occupation| Actress
Years active| 2016–present
Television| Sex Education
The Nest

Mirren Mack (born 8 December 1997) is a Scottish actress, known for portraying Kaya on the BBC drama The Nest, Florence in Sex Education, Queenie in the National Theatre’s 2022 production of Small Island, and Merwyn in the Netflix miniseries The Witcher: Blood Origin.

## Early life

[edit]

Mack was born in Stirling, Scotland.[2] From a young age, she was exposed to the entertainment industry, with her father, Billy, being an actor and her mother, Callan, being a drama tutor.[2] Her younger sister, Molly, is also an actress.[3] With sister Molly, she danced at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.[3] Mack went to Riverside Primary school and then Wallace High School in Stirling,[4] In year five at High School, Mack attended the Dance School of Scotland's Musical Theatre.[1] In 2016, she received the Dewar Arts Award for outstanding Scottish talent in the arts,[2] enabling her the opportunity to audition for a place at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama,[2] where she studied a Bachelor of Arts in Acting.[5][6]

## Career

[edit]

### Theatre

[edit]

Mack made her professional acting debut in a stage production of Bat Boy as Mayor Maggie,[7] at the Citizen's Theatre, for which she won the Musical Theatre Award and the drama award for her year.[2]

Stage performances have included the play Wound by Philip Ridley in 2020.[8] In 2022, as Ophelia in the Bristol Old Vic's adaption of Shakespeare's Hamlet.[9] and the same year as Queenie in Small Island at the Royal National Theatre in London.[8]

### Film and television

[edit]

In 2019, Mack made her television debut in three episodes of the Netflix series Sex Education as Florence.[10][11] In 2020, Mack was cast in her first leading role as Kaya on the BBC drama series The Nest alongside Martin Compston and Sophie Rundle. [12] Mack came out of Covid lockdown to appear in the seventh series of Portrait Artist of the Year on Sky Arts.[13]

Mack began filming of the Netflix miniseries The Witcher: Blood Origin in August 2021,[14] set in a time 1,200 years before The Witcher, and appeared in a main role as Princess Merwyn in a cast that includes Lenny Henry, Laurence O'Fuarain and Michelle Yeoh.[15] The series was released on Netflix on 25 December 2022.[16]

In 2024, she appeared as Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham in three episodes of the Sky Atlantic period drama Mary & George.[17]

## Filmography

[edit]

### Film

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2021  | Ladybaby | Rose  | Short film
Mudlarks | Ansel  | Short film directed by Dominic Gilday[18][19][20]
2022  | Blood Rites | Rose  | Short film
The Painter & The Poet | Gemma  | Short film
TBA  | Hedda | TBA | Filming

### Television

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

2020  | Sex Education | Florence  | Recurring role; 3 episodes
The Nest | Kaya  | Main role; all 5 episodes
Portrait Artist of the Year | Herself  | 7th series
2021  | Dalgliesh | Maggie  | Episodes 3 and 4
2022  | The Witcher: Blood Origin | Merwyn  | Miniseries
2023  | The Doll Factory | Rose Whittle  | Main role
2024  | Mary & George | Katherine Villiers, Duchess of Buckingham | 3 episodes
TBA  | Miss Austen | Dinah  | In-production[21]

### Stage

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Director/writer/venue

|
|
|

2016  | Bat Boy  | Mayor Maggie  | Graham Dickie
2017  | The Seagull | Arkadina  | Wyn Jones
The Relapse | Amanda  | Jonathan Humphreys
Talk to the Dog | Girl  | Ellis Howard
Orphans | Helen  | Brodie Ross[6]
2018  | Twelfth Night | Viola  | Niamh Cusack[6]
The Bachai | Agave  | Patsy Rodenburg[6]
Phaedra's Love | Phaedra  | Wyn Jones[6]
Oklahoma! | Ado Annie  | Christian Burgess[6]
Mercury Fur | Naz  | John Haidar[6]
2019  | Orestes | Electra  | Charlotte Gwinner[6]
Merrily We Roll Along | Joanne  | Martin Connor[6]
2022  | Small Island | Queenie  | Rufus Norris[8]

## Awards and nominations

[edit]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Work  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

2016  | Dewar Arts Award  | Outstanding Scottish Talent in the Arts | Won  | [2]
2020  | BAFTA Scotland Award  | Best Actress - Television | The Nest | Nominated  | [22][23]
2021  | British Short Film Awards  | Best Actress  | Mudlarks | Nominated  | [20][19]
Best Acting Ensemble (shared with Naomi Preston-Low and Dominic Gilday)  | Won  | [18][19]
Lift-Off Global Network, London  | Won  | [22][24]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b "Mirren Mack, rising star of BBC's The Nest, interview". The Scotsman. 21 March 2020. Retrieved 20 April 2020.
2. ^ a b c d e f "Mirren Mack". Dewar Awards. 2016. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
3. ^ a b "The Nest: Mirren Mack on her breakout role as Kaya". Herald Scotland. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
4. ^ "Mirren Mack – Tolbooth Talk: Released – 18th June 2020". stirlingevents.org. 18 June 2020.
5. ^ "Mirren Mack: how eight-hour bus trips put Nest star on road to success". The Guardian. 5 April 2020.
6. ^ a b c d e f g h i "GSMD Graduates 2018-2019 - Mirren Mack". Guildhall School of Music & Drama. 2019. Archived from the original on 17 April 2021.
7. ^ "Mirren Mack". Independent Talent. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
8. ^ a b c "Mirren Mack by 1883 film - With her performance in The Witcher Blood Origin, Mirren Mack proves she has franchise level talent". 1883magazine.com. 2022.
9. ^ "Billy Howle Joined By Niamh Cusack and Mirren Mack in Hamlet at Bristol Old Vic; Full Cast Announced". Broadway World.
10. ^ "Guildhall School announces the Gold Medal Winners for Acting and Production Arts 2019". Guildhall School. 16 July 2019. Archived from the original on 20 February 2022.
11. ^ "Sex Education star hints at season three of hit Netflix show". Gloucestershire Live. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
12. ^ "Meet the cast of BBC One's The Nest". Radio Times. 12 April 2020. Retrieved 13 April 2020.
13. ^ "Mirren Mack reveals why Portrait Artist of the Year was more nerve-racking than being on stage". Radio Times. 21 October 2020.
14. ^ "'The Witcher: Blood Origin': Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack, Nathaniel Curtis, Dylan Moran Among Cast To Join Netflix Prequel Series; Filming Underway In UK". Deadline Hollywood. 16 August 2021.
15. ^ "The Witcher prequel Blood Origin reveals new cast members". redanianintelligence.com. 16 August 2021.
16. ^ "The Witcher: Blood Origin Creator Previews the Magical Spin-Off". netflix.com. 25 September 2022.
17. ^ Sarah Bendall; Megan Shaw (18 March 2024). "Intimacy, 'secret service' and social climbing: meet the real Villiers women behind Mary & George". theconversation.com.
18. ^ a b "British Short Film Awards 2021 - Winners". thebritishshortfilmawards.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
19. ^ a b c "Mudlarks- Set Stills Photography". lashmarcreative.com. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
20. ^ a b "British Short Film Awards 2021 - Nominees". thebritishshortfilmawards.co.uk. Retrieved 16 December 2021.
21. ^ Rice, Lynette (7 December 2023). "'Miss Austen': Keeley Hawes & Rose Leslie Join TV Adaptation For Masterpiece". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
22. ^ a b "Mirren Mack Awards". imdb.com (Index source only). Retrieved 10 February 2022.
23. ^ "British Academy Scotland Awards 2020: Winners Announced". bafta.org. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
24. ^ "Lift-Off Season Awards 2021". liftoff.network. Retrieved 29 December 2021.

## External links

[edit]

* Mirren Mack at IMDb
* Mirren Mack – Sterling Events Tolbooth Talk, 18 June 2020

Authority control databases

International|

* VIAF

National|

* United States

*[TBA]: To be announced