Marli Siu (born 11 March 1993) is a Scottish actress. Her films include Anna and the Apocalypse (2017), Our Ladies (2019), and Run (2019), the latter of which won her a Scottish BAFTA.
Marli Siu | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1993-03-11) 11 March 1993 (age 29) |
| Alma mater | Edinburgh Napier University |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 2015–present |
On television, Siu is known for her roles in the sci-fi series Alex Rider (2020–) and the BBC drama Everything I Know About Love (2022). She also appeared in the CBBC web series Dixi (2017).
Siu lived on Lamma Island in Hong Kong until she was four years old, before moving to and growing up in Forres in Moray, north-east Scotland. She attended Forres Academy. Her mother is Scottish from Edinburgh and her father was Chinese. She has four sisters.[1][2]
Siu attended a youth theatre group in Elgin and joined the National Youth Theatre. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Acting and English Literature from the Edinburgh Napier University.[3][4][5]
In 2015, Siu appeared in the short film Scoring, by Screen Academy Scotland, for which she was nominated for the ‘Under 25: Fresh Blood Award’ at the Underwire Film Festival. Her theatre credits include Dead Letter Office, Some Company, (co-writer); Much Ado About Nothing, Dundee Repertory Theatre (Ian Charleson Awards commendation) and The Ocean at the End of the Lane, The Royal National Theatre.[3]
Siu moved to London in 2017, where she played Echo for 38 episodes of the CBBC web series Dixi.[6] Her first major movie role came in 2017, when she played Lisa in John McPhail's zombie musical Anna and the Apocalypse, performing the song "It's That Time of Year". The film premiered at the Fantastic Fest in Austin, Texas and was released in the UK for Christmas 2018. In 2019, Siu starred in the film Run, which premiered at the 2019 Tribeca Film Festival on 26 April in New York City.[7][3][8] Later that year Siu starred in two films selected to be screened at the 2019 London Film Festival, Run and Our Ladies both due for an upcoming cinema release.
In 2020, Siu starred as Kyra, a student from Point Blanc, in the IMDb television teen spy series Alex Rider. Kyra teams up with Alex (Otto Farrant) and plays an important role in his attempted escape from incarceration.[9]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Scoring | Katja | Short film |
| 2017 | Anna and the Apocalypse | Lisa | |
| 2019 | Run | Kelly | |
| 2019 | Our Ladies[10] | Kylah | |
| TBA | Apartment 7A | Annie Leung | |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Still Game | Sally | 1 episode |
| 2019 | Grantchester | Karla Read | 1 episode |
| 2020–2021 | Alex Rider | Kyra Vashenko-Chao | 10 episodes |
| 2021 | The Irregulars | Susan Shipley | Episode: "Chapter One: An Unkindness in London" |
| 2022 | Everything I Know About Love | Nell | 7 Episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Dixi | Echo | 38 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Misalliance | Hytapia | Orange Tree Theatre, Richmond |
| 2016 | Much Ado About Nothing | Hero | Dundee Repertory Theatre, Dundee |
| 2019–2020 | The Ocean at the End of the Lane | Lettie Hempstock | Royal National Theatre, London |
Siu was named as one of the 15th Screen International's Stars of Tomorrow 2018 an annual talent showcase that spotlights up-and-coming British and Irish actors, writers, directors and producers from the UK and Ireland.[11][7]
| Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Underwire Film Festival | Best Under 25 Award | Scoring | Nominated | [12] |
| 2016 | Ian Charleson Awards | Best classical stage performances in Britain by actors under age 30 | Much Ado About Nothing | Nominated | [13] |
| 2018 | Toronto After Dark Film Festival | Best Ensemble Cast | Anna and the Apocalypse | Won | [14] |
| 2019 | Fangoria Chainsaw Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2021 | British Academy Scotland Awards | Actress – Film | Run | Won | [15] |