Natalia Tena mini-bio: Natalia Gastain Tena was born in November 1984, to Spanish parents Jesus, a carpenter, and Maria, a secretary to the United Nations. It is not clear whether she was born in England or Spain but is deeply rooted to her Spanish heritage and learned to speak perfect Spanish (Basoue) as well as English (London). At an early age it was clear she was drawn to the arts, taking up piano, violin, and accordian as well as having a fascination for painting and the circus.
It is fitting that she was enrolled at a very prestigious boarding school for the arts, Bedales in Hampshire. Bedales has also seen the likes of Minnie Driver and Daniel Day-Lewis. Even at such a liberal school with no real dress code and informal direction towards the teachers, Natalia seemed to get in trouble, whether from smoking or not doing her school work. She was, however, very smart, and managed to pass with high marks, without studying! kids who never studied but managed to ace tests. At Bedales she also took up field hockey and a variety of arts, including french and acting. She did school productions, one of which she stole the stage as a detective, when the opening day seemed to be looking stale. It was her rambunctious behavior, however, that helped her land her first movie role. Instead of getting in trouble for smoking on campus (one of Nat's claimed favorite activities) a teacher caught her decided she would be perfect for a role in the then upcoming British film, About a Boy. This was the role of Ellie, a snotty and rebellious punky school girl. She encouraged Nat to audition, and Natalia found herself queued up with girls much younger than her, hoping to join the likes of the would be co-star Hugh Grant. So in a similar sort of fashion of Harry Potter breaking the rules of wand riding and ending up on the Quidditch team, Natalia found herself whisked into the acting world, at her first movie role at sixteen.
Natalia didn't necessarilly go for "anything" to jump into the spotlight, but rather stuck with roles she could relate to, proving herself a triple threat, and applying it in a variety of mediums including telivision shows, British theatre plays, and roles for the independent screen. But even though she wasn't starring in anything Julia Roberts-esque, nothing was stopping the press from recognizing her talent: According to Times Online, "Natalia Tena has grown into an actress with a formidable stage and screen presence. Untrained but admired for her untamed energy and larger-than-life temperament thanks, perhaps, to her Spanish heritage Tena's big break came when Nancy Meckler cast her in the play Gone to Earth, which toured the UK last year. Tena's performance as a child of nature had critics raving."
But it was with Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, that she has garnered the attention out of Europe and to fans worldwide. The Harry Potter movies are known for making unknowns stars, and this is no exception for Natalia when she won, thanks to tripping into a table and complaining about an ex-finace, the part of Nymphadora Tonks, one of the new characters in Warner Brothers Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. But the jump to such a huge picture has not phased Natalia, who beleives that the media is "bullsh*t", as she blatantly puts it. She has stayed true to herself, and after filming Harry Potter went back to filming low budget films with friends from her high school years. She would like to do a film in her native of Spanish in the future, and there is no doubt there is a bright future in her midst.
robrowboskiposted 431 days ago
