Prior to her role in
Jane Eyre, Wilson had one professional screen credit, in
Suburban Shootout, a situation comedy she appeared in with
Tom Hiddleston. and
Stephen Poliakoff's
BBC television drama
Capturing Mary as the young Mary. Wilson appeared in
Gorky's
Philistines in 2007, playing Tanya, at the
Royal National Theatre from May until August. In June, she presented the 2007 Lilian Baylis Awards. Other projects in 2007 included a guest appearance in the sitcom
Freezing as Alison Fennel (
BBC2, 21 February 2008); narration of the documentary
The Polish Ambulance Murders (
BBC4, 5 February 2008); and the portrayal of a mentally ill doctor in the dramatised documentary
The Doctor Who Hears Voices (
Channel 4, 21 April 2008). From 23 July to 3 October 2009, she appeared as
Stella Kowalski in the
Donmar Warehouse revival of
A Streetcar Named Desire. On 15 November 2009
AMC Television and
ITV premiered the 2009 TV
miniseries remake of
The Prisoner, in which Wilson played the Village doctor, "No. 313". She played "Queenie" in an adaptation of
Andrea Levy's
Small Island, which aired on
BBC1 in December 2009 and also aired in the United States on
PBS in 2010. From 2010, she appeared in the British psychological police drama
Luther as Alice Morgan, a research scientist and highly intelligent individual described by Luther as a
narcissist. While Wilson could not appear in
series four of
Luther due to filming clashing with
The Affair, she returned for
series five.
The Affair FYC Screening and Panel in 2015 In 2014, Wilson began starring as Alison Bailey in the drama television series
The Affair, created by
Sarah Treem and
Hagai Levi. She won the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in January 2015 for her performance in the series' first season. She departed the series in 2018 after four seasons. It was reported in December 2019 that Wilson's departure was due to "frustrations with the nudity required of her, friction with Treem over the direction of her character, and what she ultimately felt was a 'hostile work environment. Wilson made her
Broadway debut in
Constellations, a play written by
Nick Payne, at the
Samuel J. Friedman Theatre. She starred alongside
Jake Gyllenhaal throughout the play's run from 12 January to 14 March 2015. She received a
Tony Award nomination for
Best Actress in a Play for her performance. Her film
I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, directed by
Oz Perkins, premiered at the
2016 Toronto International Film Festival. From December 2016 to February 2017, Wilson starred in the title role of
Hedda Gabler in a new version by
Patrick Marber at the
Royal National Theatre. The production, and Wilson's performance in particular, received critical acclaim. In November 2018, Wilson starred as the title character Alison Wilson—her real-life grandmother—in the BBC drama
Mrs Wilson. Alison Wilson was the third of four wives of former MI6 officer and novelist
Alexander Wilson. They were married for 22 years. After his death in 1963, Alison discovered another wife of her husband, with whom she eventually collaborated on the funeral. In order not to create extra shock for his children, the other wife and her children attended the funeral as "distant relatives". Alison died in 2005 without knowing he had had two further wives. Wilson was also the
executive producer for the series. In October 2020, Wilson won the
BAFTA Cymru Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Marisa Coulter in
His Dark Materials. In 2024 Wilson starred as the
BBC journalist
Emily Maitlis in the series
A Very Royal Scandal. == Other activities ==