Natalia Gastiain Tena
(born 1 November 1984) is a British actress and musician. She is known for playing
Nymphadora Tonks
The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organisation in the ''Harry Potter'' series of fiction books written by J. K. Rowling. Founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, the Order lends its name to the ...
in the
''Harry Potter'' film series (2007-2011), and the
wildling Osha
OSHA or Osha may refer to:
Work
* Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency of the United States that regulates workplace safety and health
* Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States) of 1970, a federal law in the Un ...
in the
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
series ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'' (2011-2013; 2016).
Tena is the lead singer and
accordion
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a reed ...
ist of Molotov Jukebox. The band released their debut album ''Carnival Flower'' (2014), in Spring 2014, featuring their single "Neon Lights". Their second studio album, ''Tropical Gypsy'' (2016), was released on 15 April 2016 and was preceded by its lead single, "Pineapple Girl". It was promoted on the band's Tropical Gypsy Tour in April and May 2016.
Early life
Natalia Gastiain Tena was born in London, the daughter of
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
parents, María Tena, a secretary, and Jesús Andrew Gastiain, a carpenter. Her family is of
Extremaduran and
Basque
Basque may refer to:
* Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France
* Basque language, their language
Places
* Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France
* Basque Country (autonomous co ...
origin, and she was raised in the United Kingdom.
Tena is fluent in English and
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...
. She studied at the boarding school
Bedales
Bedales School is a co-educational, boarding and day independent school in the village of Steep, near the market town of Petersfield in Hampshire, England. It was founded in 1893 by John Haden Badley in reaction to the limitations of conventi ...
.
Tena was taught the piano by her mother at five years old, influenced by
Chuck Berry
Charles Edward Anderson Berry (October 18, 1926 – March 18, 2017) was an American singer, songwriter and guitarist who pioneered rock and roll. Nicknamed the " Father of Rock and Roll", he refined and developed rhythm and blues into th ...
's music.
Afterwards, at 18, Tena moved back to London and busked on the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
.
While working with a theatre group called
KneeHigh, where they were allowed to pick an instrument to play, Tena decided to learn the accordion.
Career
![Nat Tena gig](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f5/Nat_Tena_gig.jpg)
Tena made her professional debut as Ellie in ''
About a Boy'' (2002), and began acting full-time in 2003. She has played lead roles in stage adaptations of ''
Gone to Earth'' in 2004, and ''
Nights at the Circus
''Nights at the Circus'' is a novel by British writer Angela Carter, first published in 1984 and the winner of the 1984 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for fiction. The novel focuses on the life and exploits of Sophie Fevvers, a woman who is ...
'' in 2006.
In 2007, Tena appeared in
the film adaptation of ''Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' playing the character
Nymphadora Tonks
The Order of the Phoenix is a secret organisation in the ''Harry Potter'' series of fiction books written by J. K. Rowling. Founded by Albus Dumbledore to fight Lord Voldemort and his followers, the Death Eaters, the Order lends its name to the ...
. Tena reprised this role in its sequels ''
Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling and the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series. Set during Harry Potter's sixth year at Hogwarts, the novel explores th ...
,'' in 2009, ''
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1
''Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1'' is a 2010 fantasy film directed by David Yates from a screenplay by Steve Kloves. The film is the first of two cinematic parts based on the 2007 novel '' Harry Potter and the Deathly Hall ...
'' in 2010 and ''
Part 2'' in 2011.
She hosted a behind-the-scenes featurette entitled "Trailing Tonks" for the subsequent DVD and Blu-ray release, and is credited as producer and director of the featurette, in which she also performs an original Christmas-themed blues song on guitar, which she composed while working as a
busker on the
London Underground
The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...
.
In 2011, she played a lead role in the Scottish Film ''
You Instead
''You Instead'' (alternate U.S. title ''Tonight You're Mine'') is a 2011 British "Rock 'n' roll romantic comedy" written by Thomas Leveritt and directed by David Mackenzie. The film stars Luke Treadaway, Natalia Tena, Gavin Mitchell and Alas ...
''. She also appeared as
Osha
OSHA or Osha may refer to:
Work
* Occupational Safety and Health Administration, a federal agency of the United States that regulates workplace safety and health
* Occupational Safety and Health Act (United States) of 1970, a federal law in the Un ...
in
HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...
's ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
''. In March 2013, she starred in the official music video for
Lapalux
Stuart Howard, better known by his stage name Lapalux (short for "Lap of Luxury"), is an English record producer from Essex. He is known for his experimental use of texture and wonky, off-kilter beats. He has released three LPs to date and has r ...
's single "Without You (ft. Kerry Leatham)".
In 2014, Tena co-starred as a mentally ill woman in the ''
Black Mirror
''Black Mirror'' is a British anthology television series created by Charlie Brooker. Individual episodes explore a diversity of genres, but most are set in near-future dystopias with science fiction technology—a type of speculative fictio ...
'' Christmas episode "
White Christmas".
In 2015, she starred as the lead, Jennifer Preston, in the British mini-series ''
Residue
Residue may refer to:
Chemistry and biology
* An amino acid, within a peptide chain
* Crop residue, materials left after agricultural processes
* Pesticide residue, refers to the pesticides that may remain on or in food after they are applied ...
''. In 2017, Tena was cast as Sara Morten in the CBS drama ''
Wisdom of the Crowd
The wisdom of the crowd is the collective opinion of a diverse independent group of individuals rather than that of a single expert. This process, while not new to the Information Age, has been pushed into the mainstream spotlight by social infor ...
''.
In April 2018, it was announced that Tena was cast in the series regular role of Lana Pierce on the
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel unive ...
series ''
Origin
Origin(s) or The Origin may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Comics and manga
* Origin (comics), ''Origin'' (comics), a Wolverine comic book mini-series published by Marvel Comics in 2002
* The Origin (Buffy comic), ''The Origin'' (Bu ...
''.
Personal life
Tena is close friends with fellow ''
Game of Thrones
''Game of Thrones'' is an American fantasy drama television series created by David Benioff and D. B. Weiss for HBO. It is an adaptation of ''A Song of Ice and Fire'', a series of fantasy novels by George R. R. Martin, the first ...
'' actress
Oona Chaplin
Oona Castilla Chaplin (; born 4 June 1986) is a Spanish-Swiss actress. Her roles include Talisa Maegyr in the HBO TV series ''Game of Thrones'', Kitty Trevelyan in the BBC drama '' The Crimson Field'', and Zilpha Geary in the series ''Taboo' ...
.
Filmography
Film
Television
Stage
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tena, Natalia
1984 births
21st-century accordionists
21st-century English actresses
Actresses from London
English accordionists
English film actresses
English Shakespearean actresses
British people of Basque descent
British people of Spanish descent
English stage actresses
English television actresses
Living people
People educated at Bedales School
Place of birth missing (living people)
Royal Shakespeare Company members