Born in the United Kingdom in 1982, she was the daughter of opera singer Maria Ewing and Sir Peter Hall, founder of the Royal Shakespeare Company and one of his country’s leading theatrical figures. The couple separated when she was five. Hall spent a good portion of her childhood watching her mother from the wings of the Royal Opera House performing in productions directed by her father, and made her own acting debut at the age of eight in her father’s TV adaptation of the novel “The Camomile Lawn” in 1992. More minor television appearances followed, but she cut her career shot in 1993 to attend to her studies. She attended the exclusive girls’ school Rodean Hall on an art scholarship before moving on to Cambridge University. There, she pursued a degree in English literature while amassing considerable experience in school productions and even starting her own theater company. After two years at Cambridge, she dropped out in 2002 to pursue her acting career in earnest.
Her professional stage debut came that same year in her father’s production of “Mrs. Warren’s Profession,” which earned her rave reviews and the Ian Charleson Award, which recognized performances in classical roles by actors under 30. A second Charleson Award nomination came the following year in Shakespeare’s “As You Like It,” again under the direction of her father. She accompanied the production on a worldwide tour in 2005 before returning to feature films with “Starter for 10” (2006). A comedy set in England circa 1985, Hall starred as an irreverent college student who falls for James McEvoy’s trivia enthusiast. A modest success in the UK, it was the first of her film efforts to be seen by an American audience.
A turn as the doomed heroine of a BBC adaptation of Jean Rhys’ “Wide Sargasso Sea” preceded her first Hollywood effort in “The Prestige.” Cast as the wife of a magician (Christian Bale) locked in a decades-long battle of wills with a rival (Hugh Jackman), Hall brought great depth to the supporting role, which found her working alongside such screen stars as Scarlett Johansson, Michael Caine, Andy Serkis and David Bowie. She then returned to England for the TV production “Joe’s Palace” before making a lifelong dream come true with her next project.
An unabashed fan of Woody Allen and who claimed that “Manhattan” was her favorite film of all time, Hall called on the director to give her a part during an interview for “Starter for 10.” Allen, who was working in London at the time, summoned her shortly thereafter and cast her as one of the leads in his 2008 film “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.” Hall was reunited with her “Prestige” co-star Scarlett Johansson as the more thoughtful of two American tourists who are seduced by Bardem’s earthy artist, only to discover that his hot-tempered ex-wife (Penelope Cruz) was still very much in the picture. The critical acclaim that preceded the film’s release laid the groundwork for a great deal of focus on Hall in subsequent months, thanks to her participation in such high-profile projects as Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon” (2008). Hall continued making a name for herself with her first-ever Golden Globe nomination, earning a nod for Best Performance by an Actress for “Vicky Cristina Barcelona.”