Dakota Blue Richards
Encyclopedia
Dakota Blue Richards is an English actress. Her debut was in the film The Golden Compass, as the lead character Lyra Belacqua
.
She was also cast as the lead of another two movies, Dustbin Baby
and The Secret of Moonacre
, the latter of which was released February 2009.
She also played the character Franky Fitzgerald in the third Generation of the BAFTA winning, E4 television series Skins
.
, London, the daughter of Ruby Richards, a social worker. She was named Dakota Blue because her mother wanted a combination of a place-name and a colour. Dakota was inspired by the Sioux
tribe, members of whom her mother had become friends with during a year in America; her mother also liked the fact that it was unusual as a name. Blue was Dakota's father's nickname, and her mother thought it went well with Dakota.
The family moved to Brighton shortly after Dakota was born, where she attended St.Peter's Infant School, St Andrew's Primary School, and later attended Blatchington Mill School. On school days she took drama classes and often missed school to go to auditions. She was not an active participant in class assemblies and school plays, and she missed out on the part of Mary in the nativity play.
At 11 she moved onto the nearby K-BIS Theatre School. She had always enjoyed acting, but considered it "just a fun little hobby thing" and "never really thought [she]'d get into doing it professionally". She attended Newlands School in Seaford from Year 8 up to Year 11. She now attends Brighton College
sixth form.
in The Golden Compass.
When she was nine years old, Richards had the His Dark Materials
books read to her by her mother after a friend encouraged her to read them and lent them the trilogy. She immediately loved Lyra, feeling that she could "be her". After she saw the stage adaption at the National Theatre, she says she "just wanted to be Lyra". Richards found out about the auditions for the film from a family friend, who saw an item on CBBC
's Newsround
. She was desperate to go but had to convince her mother. Her mother agreed to take her, but only if it wasn't raining and on the condition that she wouldn't be too upset if she wasn't chosen. Richards attributes her success at the audition to her mother's suggestion of not brushing her hair that day, so that she would look "wild", like Lyra. She was given a callback to the London casting office, along with 60 other girls, followed by a second recall and a screen test.
Philip Pullman, author of the books, said that, "As soon as I saw Dakota's screen test, I realised that the search was over." He also described her as "marvelous" and "a very good actress". Chris Weitz
, the director, added that Richards "made what should have been an extremely difficult decision quite easy" and that he "was surprised that any young girl, especially one without training, could light up the screen as she does." Richards received the call from the director to tell her she had got the part after a bad day at school. Trying to put him on speaker phone, her mother accidentally hung up on him instead and he had to call back to give her the news. Although excited to have the part, Richards hardly believed it was happening until she was called for her costume fittings.
Filming began on September 4, 2006. Because Lyra appears in almost every scene, Richards was required on set for 98 out of the 100 days they spent shooting. She received private tutoring from two individual tutors on set between takes; she commented that it was "harder to engage with the school work" because of the way it was constantly interrupted by filming; though she also noted, "I think I actually improved academically from being privately tutored." At weekends she went home to Brighton and caught up with her friends,. She noted at the time that, on set, "being the only child for long periods can get lonely". Initially she was nervous of her famous co-stars but found them to be "nice".
The movie was released worldwide in December 2007. Richards' portrayal in the film was well-received by critics, although the degree to which critics praised her varied widely. Her performance was variously described as "efficient", "a decent job", "nicely played" and "enchanting"; one review called her "terrific casting", but others noted that her "Artful Dodger-ish 'urchin' accent [...] comes and goes a bit" and that she "struggles with lumpy dialogue". Pulitzer Prize
-winning critic Roger Ebert
was more effusive, calling Richards "a delightful find" who was "pretty, plucky, forceful, self-possessed, charismatic, and just about plausible as the mistress of an armoured bear and the protector of Dust."
, her second book-to-film adaption, in which she would play Maria Merryweather from the book 'The Little White Horse'. Principal photography took place between early October and late November 2007. The film was released February 2009.
In December 2008, Richards played April Johnson in Dustbin Baby
, the BBC
dramatisation of the Jacqueline Wilson
novel of the same name
. She said that April was a difficult character to play, as "she is a really different person to me. On the one hand, she does go through normal things that I can relate to, such as fighting with your parents or getting presents you don't like; but on the other, she has had such a hard life."
Richards has also been announced as appearing in a psychological thriller, Lovely to the Last and also in a film called Rain. Richards mentioned to The Times
newspaper how proud she was of herself for working very hard to keep herself active within show business.
, which premiered on 27 January 2011. As a member of the third generation of its young cast, which was first revealed on 5 August 2010, Richards said It's "crazy to be part of this Skins phenomenon, it's as much a lifestyle choice as anything because of the attention that comes with it."
Lyra Belacqua
Lyra Belacqua , also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own...
.
She was also cast as the lead of another two movies, Dustbin Baby
Dustbin Baby (film)
Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet...
and The Secret of Moonacre
The Secret of Moonacre
The Secret of Moonacre is a film adaptation of the novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. The film, which started filming on 1 October 2007, was released in the UK February 2009 by Warner Bros. The film will be distributed to select theatres in the United States on August 12, 2010...
, the latter of which was released February 2009.
She also played the character Franky Fitzgerald in the third Generation of the BAFTA winning, E4 television series Skins
Skins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
.
Early life
Dakota Blue Richards was born in South KensingtonSouth Kensington
South Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in London. It is a built-up area located 2.4 miles west south-west of Charing Cross....
, London, the daughter of Ruby Richards, a social worker. She was named Dakota Blue because her mother wanted a combination of a place-name and a colour. Dakota was inspired by the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
tribe, members of whom her mother had become friends with during a year in America; her mother also liked the fact that it was unusual as a name. Blue was Dakota's father's nickname, and her mother thought it went well with Dakota.
The family moved to Brighton shortly after Dakota was born, where she attended St.Peter's Infant School, St Andrew's Primary School, and later attended Blatchington Mill School. On school days she took drama classes and often missed school to go to auditions. She was not an active participant in class assemblies and school plays, and she missed out on the part of Mary in the nativity play.
At 11 she moved onto the nearby K-BIS Theatre School. She had always enjoyed acting, but considered it "just a fun little hobby thing" and "never really thought [she]'d get into doing it professionally". She attended Newlands School in Seaford from Year 8 up to Year 11. She now attends Brighton College
Brighton College
Brighton College is an institution divided between a Senior School known simply as Brighton College, the Prep School and the Pre-Prep School. All of these schools are co-educational independent schools in Brighton, England, sited immediately next to each another. The Senior School caters for...
sixth form.
The Golden Compass
In June 2006, it was announced that Richards had been cast in the lead role of Lyra BelacquaLyra Belacqua
Lyra Belacqua , also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own...
in The Golden Compass.
When she was nine years old, Richards had the His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials
His Dark Materials is a trilogy of fantasy novels by Philip Pullman comprising Northern Lights , The Subtle Knife , and The Amber Spyglass...
books read to her by her mother after a friend encouraged her to read them and lent them the trilogy. She immediately loved Lyra, feeling that she could "be her". After she saw the stage adaption at the National Theatre, she says she "just wanted to be Lyra". Richards found out about the auditions for the film from a family friend, who saw an item on CBBC
CBBC
CBBC is one of two brand names used for the BBC's children's television strands. Between 1985 and 2002, CBBC was the name given to all the BBC's programmes on TV for children aged under 14...
's Newsround
Newsround
Newsround is a BBC children's news programme, which has run continuously since 4 April 1972, and was one of the world's first television news magazines aimed specifically at children...
. She was desperate to go but had to convince her mother. Her mother agreed to take her, but only if it wasn't raining and on the condition that she wouldn't be too upset if she wasn't chosen. Richards attributes her success at the audition to her mother's suggestion of not brushing her hair that day, so that she would look "wild", like Lyra. She was given a callback to the London casting office, along with 60 other girls, followed by a second recall and a screen test.
Philip Pullman, author of the books, said that, "As soon as I saw Dakota's screen test, I realised that the search was over." He also described her as "marvelous" and "a very good actress". Chris Weitz
Chris Weitz
Christopher John "Chris" Weitz is an American producer, writer, director and actor. He is best known for his work with his brother, Paul Weitz, on the comedy films American Pie and About a Boy, as well as directing the film adaptation of the novel The Golden Compass and the film adaptation of New...
, the director, added that Richards "made what should have been an extremely difficult decision quite easy" and that he "was surprised that any young girl, especially one without training, could light up the screen as she does." Richards received the call from the director to tell her she had got the part after a bad day at school. Trying to put him on speaker phone, her mother accidentally hung up on him instead and he had to call back to give her the news. Although excited to have the part, Richards hardly believed it was happening until she was called for her costume fittings.
Filming began on September 4, 2006. Because Lyra appears in almost every scene, Richards was required on set for 98 out of the 100 days they spent shooting. She received private tutoring from two individual tutors on set between takes; she commented that it was "harder to engage with the school work" because of the way it was constantly interrupted by filming; though she also noted, "I think I actually improved academically from being privately tutored." At weekends she went home to Brighton and caught up with her friends,. She noted at the time that, on set, "being the only child for long periods can get lonely". Initially she was nervous of her famous co-stars but found them to be "nice".
The movie was released worldwide in December 2007. Richards' portrayal in the film was well-received by critics, although the degree to which critics praised her varied widely. Her performance was variously described as "efficient", "a decent job", "nicely played" and "enchanting"; one review called her "terrific casting", but others noted that her "Artful Dodger-ish 'urchin' accent [...] comes and goes a bit" and that she "struggles with lumpy dialogue". Pulitzer Prize
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize is a U.S. award for achievements in newspaper and online journalism, literature and musical composition. It was established by American publisher Joseph Pulitzer and is administered by Columbia University in New York City...
-winning critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
was more effusive, calling Richards "a delightful find" who was "pretty, plucky, forceful, self-possessed, charismatic, and just about plausible as the mistress of an armoured bear and the protector of Dust."
Other roles
Before The Golden Compass was released, Richards had already been cast as the lead in another movie, The Secret of MoonacreThe Secret of Moonacre
The Secret of Moonacre is a film adaptation of the novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. The film, which started filming on 1 October 2007, was released in the UK February 2009 by Warner Bros. The film will be distributed to select theatres in the United States on August 12, 2010...
, her second book-to-film adaption, in which she would play Maria Merryweather from the book 'The Little White Horse'. Principal photography took place between early October and late November 2007. The film was released February 2009.
In December 2008, Richards played April Johnson in Dustbin Baby
Dustbin Baby (film)
Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet...
, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
dramatisation of the Jacqueline Wilson
Jacqueline Wilson
Dame Jacqueline Wilson, DBE, FRSL is an award-winning English author, known for her vast and diverse work in children's literature. Her novels have been adapted numerous times for television, and commonly deal with such challenging themes as adoption, divorce and mental illness...
novel of the same name
Dustbin Baby
Dustbin Baby is a children's novel by English author Jacqueline Wilson. The story focuses on April, a fourteen year old girl who was abandoned by her mother in a dustbin when she was only a few minutes old. After a blazing row with her foster mother, she goes in search of her past...
. She said that April was a difficult character to play, as "she is a really different person to me. On the one hand, she does go through normal things that I can relate to, such as fighting with your parents or getting presents you don't like; but on the other, she has had such a hard life."
Richards has also been announced as appearing in a psychological thriller, Lovely to the Last and also in a film called Rain. Richards mentioned to The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
newspaper how proud she was of herself for working very hard to keep herself active within show business.
Skins
Richards plays Franky Fitzgerald — a smart but timid and isolated teenage girl — in series five of E4's teen drama series SkinsSkins (TV series)
Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death...
, which premiered on 27 January 2011. As a member of the third generation of its young cast, which was first revealed on 5 August 2010, Richards said It's "crazy to be part of this Skins phenomenon, it's as much a lifestyle choice as anything because of the attention that comes with it."
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | The Golden Compass | Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua Lyra Belacqua , also known as Lyra Silvertongue, is the heroine of Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials trilogy. Lyra is a young girl who inhabits a universe parallel to our own... |
|
| 2008 | Dustbin Baby Dustbin Baby (film) Dustbin Baby is a BBC television film directed by Juliet May, based on Jacqueline Wilson's 2001 novel of the same name. It was first broadcast on BBC One on 21 December 2008. The film stars Dakota Blue Richards as April, a troubled teenager who was abandoned in a dustbin as an infant, and Juliet... |
April Johnson | |
| 2009 | The Secret of Moonacre The Secret of Moonacre The Secret of Moonacre is a film adaptation of the novel The Little White Horse by Elizabeth Goudge. The film, which started filming on 1 October 2007, was released in the UK February 2009 by Warner Bros. The film will be distributed to select theatres in the United States on August 12, 2010... |
Maria Merryweather | |
| 2009 | Five Miles Out | Cassey/Cass | |
| 2011–2012 | Skins Skins (TV series) Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death... |
Franky Fitzgerald | |
| TBA | Lovely to the Last | TBA |
Awards
| Year | Organisation | Award | Film/TV | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Broadcast Film Critics Association Broadcast Film Critics Association The Broadcast Film Critics Association is the largest film critics organization in the United States and Canada , representing approximately 250 television, radio and online critics.... |
Critics' Choice Award | The Golden Compass | |
| London Film Critics Circle London Film Critics Circle The London Film Critics' Circle is the name by which the Film Section of The Critics' Circle is known internationally.The word London was added because it was thought the term Critics' Circle Film Awards lacked meaning — for people in LA for example — and the Film Section wished its annual Awards... |
Breakthrough Award | |||
| 2008 | Young Artist Award Young Artist Award The Young Artist Award is an accolade bestowed by the Young Artist Foundation, a non-profit organization founded in 1978 to recognize and award excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young artists who may be physically and/or financially challenged.The Young Artist... s |
Best Performance in a Feature Film – Leading Young Actress | ||
| Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films | Saturn Award Saturn Award The Saturn Award is an award presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films to honor the top works in science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, television, and home video. The Saturn Awards were devised by Dr. Donald A. Reed in 1972, who felt that films within... |
|||
| 2011 | TVChoice Awards | Best Actress | Skins Skins (TV series) Skins is a BAFTA award-winning British teen drama that follows a group of teenagers in Bristol, South West England, through the two years of college. The controversial plot line explores issues such as dysfunctional families, mental illness , adolescent sexuality, substance abuse and death... |