Ella Purnell is a rising star in Hollywood with an impressive number of successful new projects in recent years, but she is no newcomer to acting and has an impressive body of work to her name. Purnell may have become famous for roles in which she flawlessly played a typical American girl in shows such as Stand out And Yellow Jacketsbut the actress is originally from the UK, and that’s where she began her acting career. When Purnell was younger, she performed in the West End before landing bigger roles on TV and in the movies that took her career to new heights.

Her debut role in never let Me Go saw her play a significant role at just 12 years old. From there, she went from strength to strength, playing younger versions of well-known characters until she reached an age and level where she could easily headline an entire show. Now she has taken on incredible roles that have put her firmly in the spotlight, and many more projects are in the works.

Stand out

Many people will have discovered Purnell in Stand out on Prime Video, where she plays the optimistic but sometimes naive Lucy MacLean. The series is based on a popular video game franchise and Purnell is instrumental in the show’s success, creating a compelling character who evolves from an impressionable young woman to a tough, independent survivor. The series also quickly became the second most-watched show on Prime Video within two weeks of its release (via diversity), which probably helped get the green light for the upcoming second season.

Purnell shows impressive range in the role of Lucy, as the character undergoes tremendous development in a short space of time. Although the time span is short, Purnell’s performance offers a believable and compelling journey for the character. As she experiences insane optimism, fear and disgust, abject horror and astonishing courage, Purnell ensures that every side of Lucy feels authentic and relatable.

Yellow Jackets

Purnell also starred in the current Showtime hit, Yellow Jackets. This dark and gritty thriller follows a high school girls’ football team at two different stages in their lives. When the girls, their coach and several others travel to a football game, their plane crashes horribly and they are stranded in the middle of nowhere. As the months pass, they must resort to unthinkable means to survive. In the present, they struggle to put their past behind them while reintegrating into normal life.

Purnell plays Jackie, a typical high school student who is popular, has an adoring boyfriend and lovely friends. However, when she is stranded in the wilderness with her best friend, she learns the truth about her boyfriend’s infidelity. Purnell elevates this role beyond that of a spurned teenager, giving the character layers that are slowly revealed over the course of the series. Unfortunately, Purnell’s presence is less felt in the second season, but that doesn’t diminish the impact she has whenever she appears.

Star Trek: Prodigy

In addition to the live-action roles for which Purnell is best known, she has also launched a successful career as a voice actress. Star Trek: Prodigy is the first Star Trek project designed specifically for a younger audience, featuring a crew of teenage explorers who come across an old Starfleet ship and learn to work together to form a functioning crew. The animated series is clearly connected to the larger Star Trek universe, but it also focuses more on fun and adventure with heroes that reflect that.

Purnell plays Gwyndala, who contradictorily resembles the characters in traditional Star Trek She is headstrong, orderly, and ensures that missions are carried out successfully and efficiently. Purnell gives the character a stubborn, intelligent, and headstrong nature. While she tends to stick to a plan and stand out from the crew, she also softens over time and begins to feel at home among the crew of the USS Protostar.

never let Me Go

Purnell’s debut role came as a small child, when she played the role of young Ruth in never let Me Go. This dystopian story is based on the award-winning novel of the same name by Kazuo Ishiguro. In a parallel reality, clones are so advanced that they are bred en masse to harvest their vital organs for real humans, extending their lifespans well over 100 years. The film centers on the stories of three of these young people and their desperate quest to be seen as more than just an experiment.

Purnell plays the younger version of Ruth, a character whose older counterpart is played by Keira Knightley. The first part of the film focuses on the lives of these clones as children, with Purnell playing a major role. Although this is her first credited performance on screen, she delivers a performance that seems qualitatively beyond her years.

The Island of the Special Children

Purnell continued her creative journey as an actress, appearing in smaller productions in the UK for several years before moving on to larger roles in the US. In 2016, she appeared in The Island of the Special Children alongside Asa Butterfield and Eva Green. The film is about a group of fantastic children who have special gifts but have to hide in time loops to avoid being caught or killed by threatening creatures called Hollows.

Purnell plays Emma Bloom, a girl with the gift of aerokinesis, meaning she is lighter than air and has the ability to manipulate air to do weird and wonderful things, like breathing underwater. The role was a big step in Purnell’s career, but it certainly wasn’t the focus of her character.

Army of the Dead

Army of the Dead came out on Netflix in 2021 and showed a side of Purnell that hadn’t been explored much up until then. The film is a zombie heist movie in which Dave Bautista plays a highly trained military veteran who is hired to do an impossible job in zombie-infested Las Vegas. Bautista plays Scott Ward, while Purnell plays his estranged daughter Kate. However, Kate has more in common with her father than she’d like to admit.

Kate is headstrong, brave and willing to do anything to protect those she loves. This leads her to join her father and his crew on their dangerous mission, where Purnell proves how capable she is as an action star in a dystopian wasteland. This likely prepared her for her role in Stand outas Kate Ward also bears remarkable resemblance to Lucy MacLean when she finds herself in the wasteland.

Arcane

Another animated series, Arcane, is aimed more at an adult audience, as it deals with more mature themes and contains quite a lot of violence. The series is set in the universe of the popular League of Legends video game. The show stars the incredibly talented Hailee Steinfeld as Vi, accompanied by the character’s sister, Jinx, voiced by Ella Purnell as her co-star.

The series has received critical acclaim since the first season premiered on Netflix in 2021. After a long hiatus, the second and final season of the series is set to release in November 2024 and will conclude the story of Vi and Jinx. Purnell once again proves her versatility and talent by playing a sadistic, sarcastic character whose soft core is buried under her trauma and tragic past. Purnell does an excellent job of creating an emotional performance with her voice alone.

Maleficent

Maleficent was released in 2014 and coincides with a time when villain origin stories were at their peak. While the film mainly stars Angelina Jolie in the title role, Ella Purnell had a role as a teenage version of Maleficent, which she was also credited with in the film. However, it might be difficult to spot the young actress in the film, as most of her scenes were reshot with younger actress Isobelle Molloy, as they wanted to make her younger for the backstory.

While this is a tragic loss for what could have been an early showcase of Purnell’s talent, she is still featured in one scene in the theatrical cut of the film. When Maleficent kisses Stefan as the sun sets behind them, Purnell is the character on screen. Although her appearance is brief, it is a notable role for the young actress, marking her transition from the British film scene to larger Hollywood productions.

Kick Ass 2

Kick Ass 2 is a film inspired by the popular graphic novel of the same name. The sequel was released in 2013 and was another notable step for Purnell as her career crossed over to the US. However, while Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Chloë Grace Moretz really shined, Purnell’s role was markedly different.

Purnell plays a character named Dolce, who is part of the popular group. When Moretz’s character moves into her school, the popular group welcomes her in hopes that she will join them. Dolce and the rest of the group show Mindy (Moretz) boys from boy bands that they have crushes on, and Mindy quickly gets swept up in her budding feelings. And of course, considering the adult nature of Kick in the assThere is a lot of swearing in the scene while the young people gossip about their crushes.

Sweet bitter

In 2018, Purnell landed her first leading role in a television series, a Starz original series. Sweet bitter follows Tess (Purnell), a young woman who moves to New York to start a new and exciting life. When she gets a job at a famous New York restaurant, she has the chance to make her dreams come true, but first she must figure out how to live and adjust to New York.

Purnell plays alongside Tom Sturridge, who would later become Dream in the popular Netflix series The SandmanAs Tess, she immerses herself in everything New York has to offer, but things are not always as simple and straightforward as they seem. The drama and intensity of this series was an excellent testing ground for Ella Purnell as she developed her talent and honed her skills for a leading role. Undoubtedly, the series shaped her career and brought her the success she enjoys today as her star continues to rise in Hollywood.