Tamzin Claire Merchant[1] (born 4 March 1987)[2] is a British actress, best known for her roles as Georgiana Darcy in the film Pride & Prejudice (2005), as Catherine Howard in the Showtime series The Tudors (2009–2010) and as Anne Hale in the WGN America series Salem (2014–2017). She wrote the 2021 children's book The Hatmakers.[3]
Merchant was educated at Windlesham House School and Brighton College,[4][5] although she has also lived in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.[4] After twice deferring university places to concentrate on her acting career, she eventually studied English and Drama with Education at Homerton College, Cambridge.[5]
Merchant's early credits include Margo Durrell in the 2005 BBC television film My Family and Other Animals and Georgiana Darcy in the 2005 film Pride and Prejudice. In 2006 she appeared in two more BBC dramas, as Sara Fox, the daughter of Alan Davies and Michelle Gomez, in the comedy The Good Housekeeping Guide, and as Probationer Eastwood in the historical drama Casualty 1906.
In 2007, while studying at the University of Cambridge, she performed in an audio production of Lady Windermere's Fan as Lady Agatha, while in 2008 she appeared in the ensemble drama Radio Cape Cod in which she plays a summer theatre camper.
She appears in the music video for Jamie T's "If You've Got The Money" and in Belle and Sebastian's "Nobody's Empire".
She was cast in the third season (2009) of The Tudors, playing Catherine Howard, the fifth wife of Henry VIII. She debuted in the part in the third-season finale and features heavily in several episodes of the fourth (and final) season.
Merchant played Daenerys Targaryen in the unaired pilot of the HBO series Game of Thrones, based on George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series of fantasy novels. The pilot was poorly received, and as a result the first episode was completely remade. Merchant was replaced in her role as Daenerys by Emilia Clarke.[6]
She played Miranda in the DCI Banks episodes "Playing with Fire - Part 1" and "Playing with Fire - Part 2". In early 2012, Merchant played the 17-year-old Rosa Bud in the BBC adaptation of Charles Dickens' The Mystery of Edwin Drood, written by Gwyneth Hughes.
Merchant was a series regular for 3 seasons of Salem on WGN America from 2014 to 2017.[7]
In 2019 Merchant was cast as a series regular on the Amazon Prime series Carnival Row.[8] The series premiered on 30 August and was renewed for a second season.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Pride & Prejudice | Georgiana Darcy | |
| 2008 | Radio Cape Cod | Anna | |
| 2009 | Princess Kaiulani | Alice Davies | |
| 2011 | Jane Eyre | Mary Rivers | |
| Red Faction: Origins | Lyra Mason | ||
| 2012 | Second Wind | Anna | |
| 2014 | Copenhagen | Sandra | |
| 2015 | Dragonheart 3: The Sorcerer's Curse | Rhonu | Direct-to-video film |
| The Messenger | Sarah | ||
| 2016 | The Dancer | Kate | |
| 2017 | Dragonheart: Battle for the Heartfire | Queen Rhonu | Direct-to-video film |
| 2020 | Running Naked | Sara | |
| 2022 | A Midsummer Night's Dream | Helena | |
| James and Lucia | Helen Fleischmann-Joyce |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | My Family and Other Animals | Margo Durrell | Television film |
| 2006 | The Good Housekeeping Guide | Sara Fox | |
| Casualty 1906 | Probationer Eastwood | ||
| 2008 | Bonekickers | Helena | Episode: "Army of God" |
| 2009–2010 | The Tudors | Catherine Howard | Main role (seasons 3–4), 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Red_Faction: Origins | Lyra | Television film |
| DCI Banks | Miranda Aspern | Episodes: "Playing with Fire - Part 1", "Playing with Fire - Part 2" | |
| 2012 | The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Rosa Bud | Television film (2 parts) |
| 2013 | Murder on the Home Front | Molly Cooper | Television film |
| 2014–2017 | Salem | Anne Hale | Main role Nominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best TV Supporting Actress (2017)[10] |
| 2017 | Supergirl | Lyra Strayd | Recurring role, 5 episodes |
| 2019 | Thanks for the Memories | Joyce Conway | 2 episodes (the entire film) |
| 2019–2023 | Carnival Row | Imogen Spurnrose | Main role[11] |
| 2023 | Tom Jones | Aunt Harriet | 4 episodes |
| Year | Title | Artist |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | "If You Got the Money" | Jamie T |
| 2007 | "Song 4 Mutya (Out of Control)" | Groove Armada feat Mutya Buena |
| 2014 | "Nobody's Empire" | Belle and Sebastian |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Hay Fever | Jackie | Queens' College, Cambridge |
| 2008 | Dahling You Were Marvellous | Sister 3, Hanger-on | ADC Theatre |
| 2009 | Breakfast at Night | Chorus | ADC Theatre |
| 2009 | The 24hr Plays | Group 1 Producer | ADC Theatre |
| 2010 | Cigarettes and Chocolate | Gemma | ADC Theatre |
