Who is Eva Birthistle? The Last Kingdom actress who plays Hild and star of Ashes to Ashes
IRISH actress Eva Birthistle has no trouble putting on an English accent as she vows to slay Vikings in BBC Two’s The Last Kingdom.
But disguising her own voice is just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the skills that this award winning star has up her sleeve.
The Irish beauty has appeared on screens big and small and has worked with some of Britain’s finest acting talent.
Here is all you need to know about Eva Birthistle…
Who is Eva Birthistle and where is she from?
Eva Birthistle is an Irish actress who was born in Bray, County Wicklow, on 1 January 1974.
The star was raised in the Republic of Ireland until she moved to Derry in Northern Ireland when she was 14.
She got to grips with acting by studying at The Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin as a teenager – before going on to bag a wide variety of top roles.
Who does Eva Birthistle play in The Last Kingdom?
Eva Birthistle plays the character Hild in the BBC’s sword swinging drama The Last Kingdom.
Hild is a nun who had been raped and prostituted at the hands of the Viking Danes – but is rescued towards the end of series 1 by show hero Uhtred of Beddanburg.
She vows to aid King Alfred in defending his kingdom from the Viking invasion – and at the end of the first series is seen riding off to fight in blood feuds along with Uhtred.
What other TV has Eva Birthistle appeared in?
Eva Birthistle has a rich CV of top TV roles since making her debut in 1997 with a role on Irish drama Glenroe.
She has held roles on the Robson Green and Sarah Parish 2003 legal drama Trust on the BBC, a guest role on Silent Witness, a recurring role on political drama The State Within, and appeared alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in The Last Enemy.
More prominently, she starred as Detective Superintendent Sarah Cavendish on cold case crime show Waking the Dead in 2011 and as Captain Kate Marshall on action drama Strike Back between 2010 and 2011.
She also had a powerful role as Sarah Bailey in controversial mini-series Amber (about a grieving family whose teenage daughter disappears) – and also had a role in award winning show Ashes to Ashes back in 2009.
Has Eva Birthistle been in any movies?
One of Eva Birthistle’s stand out performances was in the award winning Ken Loach directed 2003 romantic drama Ae Fond Kiss (about a catholic woman and a muslim Scottish Palkistani falling in love in Glasgow) – for which Eva bagged Irish Film and Television, British Independent Film and London Critics Circle awards for best actress.
She starred opposite Colin Farrell in the 1997 Irish film Drinking Crude, acted opposite Mia Farrow in the 1998 TV movie Miracle at Midnight.
In 2015 she appeared in the Oscar nominated romantic drama Brooklyn and has also shown up in horror movie The Children in 2008.
Is Eva Birthistle married and does she have any children?
Eva and her boyfriend Ross (an acupuncturist) have one son named Jesse.
The pair welcomed their bundle of joy in 2014 – with Eva revealing she “nearly punched” her partner during childbirth when he suggested giving her acupressure while she was in labour.
The family live together in London.
Eva Birthistle was previously married to musician Raife Buchell, tying the knot on 31 December 2006.
Does Eva Birthistle use Twitter and Instagram?
Eva Birthistle is in active duty on social media – with both a Twitter and Instagram account.
She can be found tweeting under the handle @EBirthistle where she covers a broad range of topics.
She can also be found on Instagram under @evabirthistle – but she is yet to upload any content.