Hera Hilmar
Hera talks to MTV about Mortal Engines in 2018
Born
Hera Hilmarsdóttir[1]

(1988-12-27) 27 December 1988 (age 35)
Reykjavík, Iceland
OccupationActress
Years active1995–1998, 2006–2022

Hera Hilmarsdóttir[1] (born 27 December 1988),[2] known professionally as Hera Hilmar, is an Icelandic actress. She has been active in the film industry since 1995.

Personal life

Hera is the daughter of the film director Hilmar Oddsson and the actress Thorey Sigthorsdottir (Þórey Sigþórsdóttir).[2][3][4] Her grandfather was the playwright and theater director Oddur Björnsson.

She graduated from the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in 2011.[5]

Career

Hera was nominated for an Edda as Actress of the Year in a leading role in 2007 for her role in The Quiet Storm. She joined Da Vinci's Demons in 2013 as Vanessa Moschella, an outspoken Florentine barmaid and occasional model for Leonardo.

Later she won the same award (Edda) twice, first in 2015 for her role as Eik in Life in a Fishbowl, and then in 2017 for her role as Anna in The Oath.[6] She was also chosen as one of Europe's Shooting Stars at the Berlin International Film Festival in 2015, as well as winning a ‘special mention’ at the Zurich Film Festival for her role in Life in a Fishbowl.

In 2015, Hera explored Turkey to prepare for production of the period drama film The Ottoman Lieutenant, in which she played Lillie Rowe, a 20-year-old nurse from a prominent Philadelphia family. While there, she remarked the landscape around the filming location is breathtaking.[7] Around the same time, Hera played Tanja, a Serbian agent disguised as a housemaid alongside Ben Kingsley in Brad Silberling's film, An Ordinary Man, which was later screened in 2017 before being released direct-to-video in June 2018.[8]

In 2016, Hera starred in The Ashram, which would be released two years later.[9]

In February 2017, less than two months after her 28th birthday, Hera was doing a play in Iceland when she heard about Peter Jackson’s film, Mortal Engines, based on the novel of the same name by Philip Reeve. Writer Philippa Boyens described her audition via Skype was "flawless", and she was cast thereafter.[10][11][12] Her character, Hester Shaw, is different than in the novel, as she is aged up a bit, and is made a protagonist.[13] Upon release in December 2018, she recounted reading the source material and going through the action that the complexly crafted world demanded. She tried to understand more during filming, which took place between April and July 2017.[14][10][15]

In June 2018, Hera was cast in Matt Weiner's anthology series The Romanoffs.[16] On October 18, 2018, it was reported that she joined the Apple TV+ series See, alongside Christian Camargo.[17] She plays Maghra, the wife of Baba Voss, a character played by Jason Momoa. This television series and Driving Mum were Hera's last roles before the 2023 Hollywood labor disputes that brought Hollywood into a standstill.

During the pandemic, Hera was collaborating with The Icelandic Film Centre for the 2020 short films Last Dance and Óskin, or “The Wish”. She also starred as the leading role “Helga” in Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir’s feature film adaptation of Svar við bréfi Helgu, or A Letter from Helga. In addition, she provided a narration for the video revealing the new national Icelandic football team crest.[18]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Director Notes
1995 Tears of Stone Un­known Hilmar Oddsson
(her father) 		Film début; As Hera Hilmarsdóttir
1998 No Trace [is] Child As Hera Hilmarsdóttir
2006 An Ordinary Day Un­known Short film; As Hera Hilmarsdóttir
2007 The Quiet Storm Disa Guðný Halldórsdóttir As Hera Hilmarsdóttir; Role shared with Þórey Sigþórsdóttir [is]
(her mother)

Nominated – Edda Award for Best Leading Actress

2008 Two Birds Lára Rúnar Rúnarsson Short film; As Hera Hilmarsdóttir
2010 Undercurrent Un­known Árni Ólafur Ásgeirsson As Hera Hilmarsdóttir;
Also Production Assistant
2012 Anna Karenina Varya Chirkova Joe Wright English language début
2013 We Are the Freaks Iona Justin Edgar
The Fifth Estate WikiLeaks Staffer #2 Bill Condon
2014 Life in a Fishbowl Eik Baldvin Zophoníasson Edda Award for
Best Leading Actress

Shooting Stars Award at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival

Special Mention at the 11th Zurich Film Festival

Get Santa WPC Boyle Christopher Smith
2016 Alleycats Trix Ian Bonhôte
The Oath Anna Baltasar Kormákur Edda Award for
Best Leading Actress
2017 The Ottoman Lieutenant Lillie Rowe Joseph Ruben
An Ordinary Man Tanja Brad Silberling
Summer Children Un­known Guðrún Ragnarsdóttir [is]
2018 The Ashram Sophie Ben Rekhi
Mortal Engines Hester Shaw Christian Rivers Role shared with Poppy MacLeod
2020 The Wish Halla Inga Lísa Middleton Short film
Last Dance Woman Ása Helga Hjörleifsdóttir
2022 A Letter from Helga Helga
Driving Mum Bergdis Hilmar Oddsson

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Leaving Paulina 3 episodes
World Without End Margery
2013–2015 Da Vinci's Demons Vanessa Moschella 25 episodes
2018 The Romanoffs Ondine
2019–2022 See Maghra Kane

References

  1. ^ a b "Hera Hilmarsdóttir". Icelandic Film Centre. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b "Alltaf góðir vinir". mbl.is (in Icelandic). 22 June 2008.
  3. ^ "Registers Iceland". Archived from the original on 2014-07-09. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
  4. ^ Simon, Alissa (2015-05-21). "International Star You Should Know: 'Da Vinci's Demons' Actress Hera Hilmar". Variety. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  5. ^ "Bast No. 7". Archived from the original on 2014-10-24.
  6. ^ "Eddan – Íslensku kvikmynda- og sjónvarpsverðlaunin". 2007. Archived from the original on 2014-09-24. Retrieved 2014-09-19.
  7. ^ Sharon Edelson (3 March 2017). "Hera Hilmar's History Lesson". WWD. Retrieved 2021-04-07.
  8. ^ David Hourin (April 13, 2018). "Hera Hilmar on her "intimate and intense" role with Ben Kingsley in "An Ordinary Man"". CBS News. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  9. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy. "Sam Keeley, Melissa Leo & Kal Penn Join 'The Ashram' From 'The Lunchbox' Producer". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 19 November 2017.
  10. ^ a b Christina Radish (2018-12-13). "Hera Hilmar on 'Mortal Engines' and the Challenge of Bringing Hester Shaw to Life". Retrieved 2019-10-30.
  11. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (February 7, 2017). "Peter Jackson's 'Mortal Engines' Sets Hera Hilmar As Female Lead". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on 2017-06-15. Retrieved June 12, 2017.
  12. ^ Kroll, Justin (2017-02-07). "Newcomer Hera Hilmar Lands Female Lead in Peter Jackson's 'Mortal Engines'". Variety. Retrieved 2018-12-19.
  13. ^ Leadbeater, Alex (June 5, 2018). "The 7 Biggest Changes Mortal Engines Makes To The Book". Screen Rant. Retrieved 2019-10-29.
  14. ^ Bryan White (December 12, 2018). "'Mortal Engines' Star Hera Hilmar Says Filming Was Like "Being in an Amusement Park"". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 21 May 2021.
  15. ^ Brian Truitt (December 10, 2018). "'Mortal Engines' star Hera Hilmar wears her heroine's controversial scar proudly". USA Today. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  16. ^ Tartaglione, Nancy (June 26, 2018). "'Mortal Engines' Hera Hilmar Cast In Matt Weiner's 'The Romanoffs' At Amazon". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved June 26, 2018.
  17. ^ Petski, Denise (October 18, 2018). "Christian Camargo & Hera Hilmar Join Apple Series 'See' From Steven Knight & Francis Lawrence". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on October 19, 2018. Retrieved October 18, 2018.
  18. ^ Jelena Ćirić (July 2, 2020). "Iceland Reveals New National Football Crest in Dramatic Video". Iceland Review. Retrieved 21 May 2021.

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