Brit Marling is a writer, director, actor and producer.
Marling made her directorial debut with FX’s A Murder at the End of the World, a limited series that she created with Zal Batmanglij, wrote and stars in alongside Emma Corrin, Harris Dickinson and Clive Owen. Marling also wrote and starred in the popular and critically acclaimed Netflix series The OA. The mind-bending metaphysical thriller, which she created with Batmanglij, also stars Kingsley Ben-Adir, Jason Issacs and Emory Cohen.
In 2011, Marling made an indelible mark at the Sundance Film Festival as the first female multi-hyphenate to have two films premiere side by side. Marlingʼs first feature length narrative film, Another Earth, premiered at Sundance in the U.S. Dramatic Competition category. Directed by Mike Cahill, she starred in, wrote and produced the film, which follows an ambitious young student ‘Rhoda Williams’ (Marling). On the night of the worldʼs discovery of a new planet, her life crosses paths with an accomplished composer, ‘John Burroughs’ (William Mapother) in a tragic accident. Stripped of their former lives and hopes, the two begin an unlikely love affair and contemplate possibilities for a new existence together. But as cosmic events unfold, the secret that brought them together threatens to tear them apart. Her second feature length film, Sound of My Voice, premiered at Sundance in the Next category. Directed by Zal Batmanglij, she starred in, wrote and produced the film which tells the story of a young couple who infiltrate a cult led by ‘Maggie’ (Marling). The couple soon finds themselves falling under ‘Maggie’s’ spell, testing their relationship and their sense of reality. Fox Searchlight acquired both films following the festival premieres, and released them in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Marling was nominated for Independent Spirit Awards for both films in the categories of Best First Feature (alongside Cahill, Hunter Gray and Nicholas Shumacher) and Best First Screenplay (alongside Cahill) for Another Earth and for Best Supporting Female and Best First Feature (alongside Batmanglij, Hans C. Ritter and Shelley Surpin) for Sound of My Voice.
Her film credits include Nichol as Jarecki’s financial thriller Arbitrage, starring opposite Richard Gere, Susan Sarandon and Laetitia Casta; Robert Redford’s The Company You Keep, co-starring alongside Redford, Shia LaBeouf, and Stanley Tucci; Daniel Barber’s The Keeping Room opposite Hailee Steinfeld, Muna Otaru and Sam Worthington; AJ Edwards’ The Better Angels opposite Diane Kruger and Jason Clarke; Mike Cahill’s I Origins, opposite Michael Pitt; as well as Zal Batmanglij’s The East with Elliot Page and Alexander Skarsgard, which she also wrote and produced.
Marling’s additional television credits include UK series Babylon, created by Danny Boyle, written by Jesse Armstrong and Sam Bain. Marling portrayed Liz Garvey, an American visionary from the world of new media, who enters the London police force’s PR department which is struggling to keep up in an age of rolling news, smart phones and a news-breaking, information-hungry public.
Her introduction to filmmaking was during her college years at Georgetown University, as she began writing and starring in projects that her friends were working on. This led her to move to Havana, Cuba to direct the documentary Boxers and Ballerinas, which followed young artists and athletes living in the communist country. Marling graduated as valedictorian of her class at Georgetown University with a degree in Economics and Art.