Rosie Day

Career

At the age of four, Day was spotted by a casting director and given her first role, playing Emma on the first season of the BBC drama series Hope and Glory, which aired in 1999. She featured as one of the Dudakov children in Maxim Gorky's Summerfolk at the Royal National Theatre the following year, and went on to build a strong reputation as a child actor in such series as Black Books, Family Affairs, Bernard's Watch, My Life as a Popat, and Harley Street. Though she did not train professionally, Day drew from her experiences working alongside adult co-stars, studying and imitating them.

In 2010, at age 16, Day played Naomi in the Anya Reiss play Spur of the Moment on the West End. She made her feature film debut in 2012, starring as sex-trafficking victim Angel in the horror film The Seasoning House. The role brought her critical acclaim, as well as a Best Actress win at the Screamfest Horror Film Festival. while also learning sign language. She later said that playing Angel had "certainly had an effect" on her. In 2013, Day was chosen as one of Screen Internationals "Stars of Tomorrow".

In 2015, Day co-starred as Sarah Jessica Parker's defiant teenage daughter in the romantic comedy All Roads Lead To Rome, citing Parker as "a huge influence" professionally. From there, she returned to the small screen for the recurring role of Mary Hawkins on the second season of the Starz historical drama, Outlander. Airing in 2016, Day was suggested for the part of Hawkins by Scottish actor Sam Heughan, with whom she had worked two years previously.

Day's performance in the 2017 drama Butterfly Kisses was well received, with the film going on to win a Crystal Bear at the 67th Berlin International Film Festival. Day appeared as Pam Tennison in the ITV miniseries Prime Suspect 1973 that same year, and began starring as Tina Pemberton in the Sky One comedy-drama series Living the Dream; a role she played until 2019.

In 2018, Day starred as Sierra, a troubled boarding school pupil, in the supernatural horror film Down a Dark Hall. Describing herself as a feminist, Day said that she was attracted to the project because of its female-centred approach. She then portrayed actress Jane Asher in a 2019 episode of Sky Arts' Urban Myths, and starred as the drug-addicted mother of a newborn in the 2020 psychological thriller film Baby, with Screen Daily describing her performance in the latter as "expressive" and "persuasive".

Day starred in the improvisational comedy film Real Love in 2021, as well as voicing the character of Meteion in the video game Final Fantasy XIV: Endwalker. Following guest roles on McDonald & Dodds and Call the Midwife that same year, Day appeared in the self-penned one-woman show, Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon, which—after previewing in 2020—ran from February to March 2022 at the Southwark Playhouse. Writing for WhatsOnStage.com, Alun Hood described her portrayal of Eileen in Armageddon as "impressive and unsettling", adding that it was imbued with "sparky, nihilistic wit". Next, Day co-starred as murder victim Kelly Flint in the vigilante thriller film Hard Home, which debuted on streaming platforms in 2024.

Other work

It was announced in March 2025 that Day's debut novel, Vipers, had been acquired by Serpent's Tail for release in 2027. It follows the publication of her non-fiction book, Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon, in 2021.

Filmography

Feature film

Television

Video game

Radio

Scripted podcast

As director

Theatre

References

References

1. ((newstem4)). "stem4 - Ambassadors".
2. (22 July 2021). "Rosie Day on 'Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon'". The Book of Man.
3. Leonsis, Elle. (2016-02-11). "Brit Takes: Rosie Day on Learning From Sarah Jessica Parker and Tackling Hollywood".
4. "Production of Summerfolk {{!}} Theatricalia".
5. Longman, Will. (2018-02-06). "Rosie Day interview - 'It's time to change and put women at the forefront'".
6. "Rosie Day to play Angel in The Seasoning House".
7. Watson, David. (2013-06-19). "The Seasoning House Review".
8. Taylor, Lauren. (2013-12-17). "[BD Review] ‘The Seasoning House’ Is Brilliantly Raw".
9. Young, Sage. (27 May 2016). "'Outlander's Mary Hawkins Scene Was Handled Well".
10. Corà, Angelica. (9 January 2019). "Interview with Rosie Day: on 'Living the Dream' and Rocking the Industry".
11. (25 June 2013). "Screen unveils 2013 UK Stars of Tomorrow".
12. Leeds, Sarene. (2016-06-26). "'Outlander' Actress Rosie Day on Mary Hawkins's Season-Long Transformation". [[The Wall Street Journal]].
13. Vineyard, Jessica. (30 April 2016). "Outlander's Rosie Day on Suffocating Corsets, Time Travel, and Rape Culture".
14. Bradshaw, Peter. (2017-02-11). "Butterfly Kisses review: confident London story of young love and old secrets". [[The Guardian]].
15. (18 February 2017). "Berlin: 'Butterfly Kisses' Wins Crystal Bear for Best Film in Generation Sidebar".
16. "Prime Suspect: Tennison - Full Cast & Crew".
17. "Living the Dream - Full Cast & Crew".
18. "Down a Dark Hall: Rosie Day Interview".
19. Ide, Wendy. (28 November 2020). "Reviews: 'Baby': Tallinn Review".
20. Richardson, Jay. (2 February 2021). "Russell Tovey & Sian Clifford star in new improvised film".
21. Bevan, Bella. (7 August 2020). "BWW Interview: Rosie Day Chats INSTRUCTIONS FOR A TEENAGE ARMAGEDDON at BarnFest, Cirencester".
22. Hood, Alun. (11 February 2022). "''Instructions for a Teenage Armageddon'' at Southwark Playhouse – review".
23. Massoto, Erick. (21 May 2024). "'Yellowjacket's Simone Kessell Turns a High-Tech House Against a Serial Killer in First 'Hard Home' Trailer [Exclusive]".
24. Tivnan, Tom. (13 March 2025). "Actor Rosie Day's 'beautiful and confronting' debut novel goes to Serpent's Tail".
25. (2013-10-24). "2013 Festival Winners".
26. Fleming, Mike Jr.. (2014-10-17). "Rosie Day Joins 'All Roads Lead To Rome'".
27. N'Duka, Amanda. (2016-10-14). "Noah Silver and Rosie Day Tread 'Down A Dark Hall'".
28. Lattila, Maria. (3 April 2024). "John Jencks’ Promenade begins filming in Brighton".
29. "Exclusive: Rosie Day joins 'Outlander' season 2".
30. (2017-05-23). "Philip Glenister and Lesley Sharp star in Sky 1 comedy Living the Dream".
31. (21 June 2019). "Rob Delaney pilots a 'dark comedy' for Channel 4".
32. "Rosie Day (visual voices guide)".