# Antonia Campbell-Hughes

Antonia Campbell-Hughes an Actor/ Filmmaker from Northern Ireland. She is best known for playing Natascha Kampusch in 3096 Days, and in Dangerous Liaisons, most recently she can be seen as ‘George’ in hit Netflix Series ‘Black Doves'. Antonia also made a recent mark in the title role in Cordelia. (Roger Ebert review). (The New York Times critics pick). The Cordelia Poster release featuring Campbell-Hughes and costar Johnny Flynn caused an Internet stir, written and explained by Antonia in Grazia magazine. A bold shout on gender narrative in film. (Grazia Daily).
This year (2025), Antonia Campbell-Hughes is set to write and direct the upcoming film Diamond Sh*tter, produced by London and Dublin-based Sleeper Films. This marks her second feature as a filmmaker, following the success of her directorial debut It Is In Us All, which premiered to critical acclaim at the 2022 South by Southwest (SXSW) festival. In addition to her work behind the camera, Campbell-Hughes will also take on a supporting role in Diamond Sh*tter.
She first gained notability through fashion while in her teens. Being photographed by famed photographers David Bailey for GQ, Rankin, Alex Prager, Perry Ogden, Felix Larher, Lele Saveri. Modelling and Muse for Paris Fashion House Devastee. After an early career in comedy, she moved on to more serious acting roles, alongside writing for the screen. Her debut feature film as director, the thriller It Is In Us All

## Early life and education

Antonia Campbell-Hughes was born in Derry, Northern Ireland, living there until the age of two. Until the age of 16 she moved between the United States, Switzerland, Germany, and England. After experimenting with short film, she went to art school in Dublin and during that time, as a teenager, she started her own fashion label. Her clothing line would sell internationally under her own name, and a diffusion line for high street store Topshop.

## Screen Career
### Television

Her first role was in Jack Dee's sitcom Lead Balloon, often names the British Curb Your Enthusiasm.(Ref)., which ran for four series, where she played his daughter. Singled out as a cast favourite, The Guardian’s Sam Wollaston.
Her early career was mostly in comedy. BBC Delta Forever with Daniel Kaluuya, with further roles in a variety of comedy shows on British television, alongside Jennifer Saunders, n The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle, and Alex Macqueen, in Sharon Horgan and Stephen Mangan's series Free Agents, among others. In 2009, she created her own show, Bluebell Welch, for MTV, where she played an overzealous,[4] obsessive MTV presenter.[5]
Alongside her comedy projects, she performed smaller, serious roles in popular UK TV series such as Silent Witness, Blackbeard and Spooks.
She was co-lead in an episode of Channel 4's anthology series Coming Up. Alongside a film career, she took on occasional TV roles, in series such as Lewis, Dolls & Em and London Spy. In 2016 she was a series regular on My Mother and Other Strangers on BBC. She played Marie-Antoniette in the 2022 STARZ series adaptation of Dangerous Liaisons. (Trailer).

### Film

2009, Antonia’s supporting role in Jane Campion Palme D’Or, BAFTA and Oscar nominated feature Bright Star saw her win rave reviews for her performance alongside Ben Whishaw and Abbie Cornish. (Variety). Premier attended by Jane Campion as guest and supporter of Antonia.
Antonia Campbell - Hughes shortly after broke out as a young actor to watch, with her singular lead in Rebecca Daly's The Other Side of Sleep, premiering at Cannes 2011 Quinzaine Des Cineastes.
Starring role in as Alice in the 2011 indie drama Lotus Eaters, premiering at Tribeca Film Festival. Lotus Eaters received praise from Vanity Fair magazine.
Starring with Suzie Bick in Bella Freud’s 2011 campaign short film SUBMISSION directed by Martina Amati. (Bella Freud). Released in association with British Vogue.
Fashion magazine interviews focusing on the unique singularity of Antonia as a dramatic performer (Wonderland). (Hunger Magazine). (WWD).
Antonia was selected as one of 8 Screen Stars of Tomorrow in Screen International. This was followed by the lead role in the 2012 film Kelly + Victor which won the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut by a British Writer, Director or Producer that year. The following year she played Natascha Kampusch in 3096 Days.

## Awards

* 2012: Shooting Stars Award at the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival, annual acting award for up-and-coming actors by European Film Promotion
* 2022: It Is In Us All, winner, Extraordinary Cinematic Vision award at the SXSW Film Festival
* 2022: It Is In Us All, nominated - SXSW Grand Jury Award, Narrative Feature and two British Independent Film Awards
Antonia received the Berlinale Shooting Star award “The ten most promising young actors of Europe 2012” alongside Riz Ahmed, and Bill Skarsgard.
Featuring in the highly anticipated and controversial Ridley Scott directed pilot for Showtime, The Vatican - Antonia Campbell-Hughes as Violetta, with actors Rebecca Ferguson and Kyle Chandler. (The Wrap).
Other notable roles followed in movies like Les Cowboys from French multiple award winning auteur Thomas Bidegain French multiple award winning auteur Thomas Bidegain, The Canal Ivan Kavanagh genre thriller- Antonia leads opposite Rupert Evans. Premiering in Tribeca Film Festival 2014. 2017 Red Bull Franchise Sci-fi Fantasy film series Mindgamers. Antonia is Agnes, alongside actors Tom Payne and Sam Neil.
2015 Black Comedy ‘Swansong’, Antonia Leads opposite Eva Birthistle. Premiering at London’s Raindance Film Festival. (Glass Magazine). (Trash Bash).
Numerous Independent film roles, while embarking on her first time behind the camera with short film Q4L(quest for love) starring Kerry Condon, funded by Screen Ireland. A stand-out first piece of work playing successfully at Galway and Newport Beach film festivals, quoted by Jane Campion as “painful and elegant’.
Returning in 2019 to work with repeat collaborator director Ivan Kavanagh in revisionist Western Never Grow Old, as Maria Pike.
She co-starred opposite Jim Sturgess in the 2022 David Lynch production The Other Me, written and directed by Georgian Giga Agladze.
Campbell-Hughes was Edinburgh International Film Festival Jury alongside David Hayman of the Michael Powell Award. (Photo).
Between acting work, Antonia wrote and directed her second short film Acre Fall Between as part of the Uncertain Kingdom series, with BFI and Curzon Films. (The Times).
In 2022, she released her directorial debut It Is In Us All, a thriller starring Cosmo Jarvis that she wrote and in which she plays a supporting role. The film won the Extraordinary Cinematic Vision award at the SXSW Film Festival and was nominated for the SXSW Grand Jury Award, Narrative Feature.[8] It was nominated for a pair of British Independent Film Awards, Irish Film and Television Award, and was selected for a range of International Film Festivals.
Further to It's In Us All world premier at SXSW, played in competition at EIFF. (Edinburgh International Film Festival).
Critical reaction marked Antonia firmly as an Auteur Filmmaker to be watched. Receiving Grade A in COLLIDER. Maggie Lovitt -“Campbell-Hughes displays her keen eye for composition, a deep understanding of the soul of humanity, and secures herself as a director to keep an eye on.”
SIGHT & SOUND Nikki Baughan said "Antonia Campbell-Hughes’ atmospheric Ireland-set debut features sterling performances from Cosmo Jarvis and Campbell-Hughes herself.” "Her visual confidence and eye for emotive detail mark her out as an exciting filmmaking talent".
DEADLINE Damon Wise said "Directed by Irish-born actress Antonia Campbell-Hughes, It Is In Us All, which had its world premiere in the Narrative Feature lineup at SXSW, is one of the strangest yet: a gore-free body horror that manages to be completely unnerving without conforming to any of the usual expectations that come with the territory. A very rough comparison would be David Cronenberg’s 1996 psychodrama Crash.”
CINEUROPA Marta Balaga said "“Campbell-Hughes delivers a film about the kind of loneliness that feels contagious, surrounding Hamish with empty rooms and wide-open spaces where he still can’t breathe. It could be one of those tales in Haruki Murakami’s Men Without Women”.
FILMTHREAT, Bobby LePire. 9.5/10 review: "Campbell-Hughes ably plays audiences like a harp. The plot often lulls those watching into a false sense of complacencybefore upending the expected resolution. In this way, the filmmaker keeps the narrative fresh and unpredictable through the bitter end."
LOUDER THAN WAR, Tim Cooper: "A tragic accident forces a repressed Englishman to delve into his forgotten family history in Ireland in It Is In Us All, debut director Antonia Campbell- Hughes’s visually ravishing exploration of memory, manhood, identity and grief. Sometimes a film from which you were not expecting much just hits you right... there.”
FILM CRED, Andres Guzman: "“Some filmmakers are better at working with visuals, and others are better at working with actors — Campbell-Hughes is incredible at both.” "It Is In Us All is a film that struck me quickly and kept me captivated entirely during the film’s runtime and has stayed with me since I’ve seen it. Jarvis’ performance is layered and allows him to shine, as it’s genuinely his vehicle to take complete control of in every frame. Antonia Campbell-Hughes’ debut is an extraordinary film that I hope people pay attention to, just as I plan to watch her career continue."
FILM CARNAGE, 4.5, 9/10 review: It Is In Us All is led by another impressive powerhouse performance from Cosmo Jarvis. It’s a superb feature directorial debut from Antonia Campbell-Hughes, it’s absolutely atmospheric, compelling and unique. The overall visual and framing are clean, sharp and do sincere justice to the complexity of the story and performances. Even more of a feat given that Campbell-Hughes throws a huge amount of emotion into her performance also.”
GUARDIAN, Peter Bradshaw: "A forthright and fiercely intended drama..a brash young man visiting ireland comes apart in Antonia Campbell-Hughes’ promising debut feature.'
INDIE WIRE, Grade B+: "strikiningly atmostpheric."
EDITH BOWMAN,IT IS IN US ALL featured by EDITH BOWMAN with composer Tom Furse and filmmaker Antonia Campbell-Hughes.
2021 -Starring in Colum Eastwood’s Independent Feature Black Medicine, NI screen.
Campbell-Hughes was elected again by EFP European Film Promotion 2022 “European Filmmakers to watch”, adding to the award Antonia received in 2012 as an actor.
Sydney Film Festival & EFP’s names Antonia as 10 European women filmmakers to watch.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007 | Tonight Is Cancelled | Nesmir | |
| 2009 | Bright Star | Abigail O'Donaghue Brown | |
| 2009 | Once Upon a Time in Dublin | Marina | |
| 2010 | Five Day Shelter | Paula | |
| 2011 | The Task | |
| 2011 | Lotus Eaters | Alice | |
| 2011 | The Other Side of Sleep | Arlene Kelly | |
| 2011 | Albert Nobbs | Emmy | |
| 2012 | Storage 24 | Shelley | |
| 2012 | Kelly + Victor | Kelly | |
| 2013 | 3096 Days | Natascha Kampusch | |
| 2013 | Under the Skin | The Shadow Alien | |
| 2014 | The Canal | Claire | |
| 2015 | Les Cowboys | Emma | |
| 2015 | Swansong | Jamie | |
| 2015 | MindGamers | Agnes | |
| 2015 | Andron | Valerie | |
| 2015 | Fading Away | Leila | |
| 2015 | The Chameleon | Margaret | |
| 2016 | Split | Shelley | |
| 2018 | Black '47 | Brigid Ní Dhomhnaill | |
| 2018 | Paul, Apostle of Christ | Irenica | |
| 2018 | Zoo | Emily | |
| 2019 | She's Missing | Marina | |
| 2019 | Never Grow Old | Maria Pike | |
| 2019 | Rare Beasts | Cathy | |
| 2019 | Cordelia | Cordelia / Caroline | |
| 2020 | Zone 414 | Jaden | |
| 2022 | It Is In Us All | Cara Daly | Directorial debut |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2005 | Casualty | Avril Skinner | "Enough's Enough" |
| 2006 | Blackbeard | Louis Arrot | TV miniseries |
| 2006 | Silent Witness | Fenella Lee | "Schism: Parts 1 & 2" |
| 2006–2011 | Lead Balloon | Sam Spleen | Regular role |
| 2007 | Damage | Lauren Ward | TV film |
| 2007 | The Life and Times of Vivienne Vyle | Abigail Wilson | Regular role |
| 2007 | Coming Up | Carly | "Scapegoat" |
| 2008 | Delta Forever | Miranda | "Pilot" |
| 2009 | Free Agents | Lucy | "1.2" |
| 2009 | Not Safe for Work | Claire Campbell | TV film |
| 2009 | Bluebell Welch | Bluebell Welch | TV series |
| 2009 | Spooks | Nina Gevitsky | "8.3" |
| 2010 | Material Girl | Plum | "1.4" |
| 2010 | When Harvey Met Bob | Marsha Hunt | TV film |
| 2011 | Lewis | Chloe Brooks | "Old, Unhappy, Far Off Things" |
| 2013 | Doll & Em | Miranda | "Six" |
| 2013 | The Vatican | Violetta | TV film |
| 2014 | Butterfly | Teri | TV short |
| 2015 | London Spy | Magician | "I Know" |
| 2016 | My Mother and Other Strangers | Kettie Brady | Regular role |
| 2024 | Black Doves | George | 1 episode |