Anita Briem

Born: May 29 1982
Where: Iceland

The former child actor first attracted attention when she played mountain guide Hannah in the action caper Journey To The Centre of the Earth.

The daughter of musical parents - her father was a drummer and her mother a backing vocalist - she began her acting career aged nine with the National Theatre of Iceland.

As a child actor, she performed in stage productions, TV shows and radio programmes in her native country before moving to London at the age of sixteen.

She appeared in a stage production of Lenin in Love and, three years later, was accepted by the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art.

During her course she won an award for stage fighting and went on to appear on the London stage in Mike Figgis' Catalogue of Misunderstanding at the National Theatre.

In 2004, she made er first TV appearance was in the British medical soap Doctors alongside Diane Keen and Christopher Timothy.

The following year, she made her feature debut in the grisly independent horror film La Monja (The Nun) and also had a small part in Doctor Who as well as a recurring role in the US crime drama The Evidence.

In 2006, she starred in the Icelandic film Cold Trail as well as playing Jane Seymour in the TV mini series The Tudors.

Director Eric Brevig subsequently cast her as Hannah opposite Brendan Fraser in the enmjoyable 2008 action romp Journey To The Centre of the Earth.