| Crystal Clarke | |
| Birth Date: | 1993/1994 |
| Birth Place: | New Jersey, U.S. |
| Nationality: | American |
| Alma Mater: | Royal Conservatoire |
| Occupation: | Actress |
| Years Active: | 2013–present |
Crystal Clarke (born)[1] is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Tina Argyll in the BBC and Amazon Prime miniseries Ordeal by Innocence (2018) and Georgiana Lambe in the ITV and PBS adaptation of the Jane Austen novel Sanditon (2019–).[2] [3]
Clarke was born and raised in Essex County, New Jersey, to Caribbean parents; her mother is from Trinidad and her father was from Guyana.[4] [5] She has one older brother.[6] Clarke attended Newark Arts High School, graduating in 2011.[7] She also spent part of her childhood in Tennessee.[8] Clarke made the decision to leave the United States to pursue acting because she felt her race and class put her at a disadvantage.[9] Clarke moved to Glasgow to attend the Royal Conservatoire and graduated in 2014.
Clarke made her West End theatre debut as Hester Worsley in Dominic Dromgoole's revival of A Woman of No Importance. She had roles in the Force Awakens, and Last Jedi installments of Star Wars. She, Lupita Nyong'o and Maisie Richardson-Sellers were the first three black actresses to appear in a Star Wars film in the former.[10] She also appeared in the 2019 Black Mirror episode "Smithereens"[11] and the Channel 5 film Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar.[12] *
Clarke played Tina Argyll in the 2018 mini-series adaptation of Agatha Christie's Ordeal by Innocence.[13] In 2019, she began starring as Miss Georgiana Lambe in the ITV and Masterpiece adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sanditon. Lambe is the only black character written by Austen. In 2022, she played Magali in The King's Daughter. The same year, she appeared in Sam Mendes' Empire of Light.[12] In 2023, she played Amber (Ruby) Bradfield in Blindspot, a four-part UK series.
| Denotes works that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Woman in Gold | Cashier | |
| Ensign Goode | |||
| 2016 | Assassin's Creed | Samia | |
| 2017 | Resistance Transport Pilot | ||
| 2021 | The Electrical Life of Louis Wain | Alicia Simmonds | |
| 2022 | The King's Daughter | Magali | |
| Empire of Light | Ruby | ||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Ordeal by Innocence | Tina Argyll | Miniseries |
| 2019 | Black Mirror | Tipi | Episode: "Smithereens" |
| Agatha and the Curse of Ishtar | Pearl Theroux | Television film | |
| 2019–present | Sanditon | Miss Georgiana Lambe | Main role |
| 2020 | Roadkill | Nadia Baker | 2 episodes |
| 2023 | Blindspot | Amber Bradfield | Main role |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | The Gamblers | Krugel | Tour |
| 2017 | A Woman of No Importance | Hester Worsley | Vaudeville Theatre, London |