2000–2009 Garai's first professional acting role was in the 2000 BBC-
HBO TV film
The Last of the Blonde Bombshells, where she played
Judi Dench's character as a young woman. She then appeared in the BBC television series
Attachments (2000–2002). Her performance in
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights (2004) received mixed reviews. Later in 2004
Vanity Fair was released, in which she played Amelia Sedley. Co-starring
:Reese Witherspoon,
:Jim Broadbent and
:James Purefoy, the film was based on the 19th century novel by
:William Makepeace Thackeray and it was directed by
:Mira Nair. The film received mixed reviews. In 2005, Garai received another BIFA nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actress, for her performance as Siobhan in the independent film ''
Inside I'm Dancing. Garai was also nominated for the Prix Lumiere
award (the French equivalent of the Golden Globes), as Best Female Newcomer for Angel'', making her the first British actress to be nominated for the award. Also in 2007, she starred in the Oscar-nominated film
Atonement as the 18-year-old Briony Tallis. Co-starring
:Keira Knightley,
:James McAvoy,
:Vanessa Redgrave,
:Saoirse Ronan and
:Brenda Blethyn, the film went on to receive seven Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture. Garai earned a Best Actress nomination from the
Evening Standard British Film Awards for her performance. She also appeared in two
Royal Shakespeare Company productions: as
Cordelia in
King Lear and as Nina in
The Seagull, starring alongside
Ian McKellen,
Frances Barber,
Sylvester McCoy,
Jonathan Hyde and
William Gaunt. The run, which toured the world, went into residence in the
New London Theatre where it ended mid-January 2008. She received rave reviews, especially as Nina in
The Seagull:
The Independent called her a "woman on the edge of stardom", She reprised her role as Cordelia in a televised version of
King Lear. In 2008, she appeared in the feature film
The Other Man alongside
Liam Neeson,
Laura Linney and
Antonio Banderas. Garai next starred in
Stephen Poliakoff's
World War II thriller
Glorious 39, alongside
Julie Christie,
Jenny Agutter,
Bill Nighy,
Christopher Lee and
Eddie Redmayne. The film had its world premiere at the
Toronto International Film Festival. In 2009, she played the title role in a television adaptation of
Jane Austen's
Emma, a four-hour miniseries that premiered on BBC One in October 2009, co-starring
Jonny Lee Miller and
Sir Michael Gambon. Garai was nominated for a
Golden Globe for her performance.
Emma then appeared on American television as part of
PBS'
Masterpiece Classic anthology series, airing in most U.S. markets over three consecutive Sunday evenings during January and February 2010. In 2009,
The Sunday Times Magazine named her as one of Britain's rising stars alongside Matthew Goode, Andrea Riseborough, Hugh Dancy, Eddie Redmayne and others. In January of that year she travelled to the
Syrian-
Iraqi border to make a short film titled ''No Man's Land
for the UNHCR, highlighting the plight of 800 Palestinian refugees living in the Al-Tanaf refugee camp. Of her visit to the refugee camps Garai states, "My trip to a refugee camp in Syria destroyed any hope that the horrors of Iraq might end, or that we are doing enough to help its victims." Garai has been hailed by her Glorious 39'' director Stephen Poliakoff as "the next Kate Winslet" and someone who will "dominate British cinema" in the future.
2010–2020 In 2011, Garai starred in the four-part BBC drama
The Crimson Petal and the White based on
the novel by
Michel Faber. She was nominated for Best Actress at the 2012 BAFTA awards for the role. In 2011 she played Bel Rowley in the TV drama
The Hour leading with
Dominic West and
Ben Whishaw for which she was Golden Globe nominated. Later that year she played the lead role of Becky in the stage play
The Village Bike at the Royal Court for which she was critically lauded. Garai starred alongside actress
Anne Hathaway and
Jim Sturgess in
Lone Scherfig's
One Day. She also played the part of a drug addicted single mother in the independent British film
Junkhearts with
Eddie Marsan and
Tom Sturridge. She reprised her role as Bel Rowley in the second season of
The Hour, which ran from 14 November to 13 December 2012. In 2013 she appeared in the sci-fi film
The Last Days on Mars. In 2015 she played Isabella in
Measure for Measure at the
Young Vic, with her performance described as 'astonishing', 'wonderfully impassioned' and 'thrilling'. That same year she had a supporting role in
Suffragette written by
The Hour scribe
Abi Morgan, and a leading role in the 90-minute drama ''
Churchill's Secret'' opposite
Michael Gambon and
Lindsay Duncan for ITV. Garai's recent radio drama work for
BBC Radio 4 includes
The Stone Tape adapted by Peter Strickland, and the lead in two of the conspiracy thriller series
Tracks by Matthew Broughton in 2016 and 2019. In 2017, she appeared in the
Channel 4 miniseries
Born to Kill as Jenny, the mother of a seemingly ordinary 16-year-old schoolboy who appears to have psychopathic tendencies. From June to September 2017 she appeared as
Sarah Churchill in the London premiere of
Helen Edmundson's
Queen Anne. Garai appeared as Marin Brandt in
BBC One's
adaptation of the period thriller novel
The Miniaturist. Garai starred in Ella Hickson's play
The Writer at the Almeida Theatre in London from 14 April to 26 May 2018. In 2020 she portrayed Eleonor Marx in the movie
Miss Marx by Susanna Nicchiarelli.
2021–present In 2023, Garai wrote a screenplay called
Monstrous Beauty. She plans to direct this film, which will star
Bella Ramsey,
Ruth Negga, and
Dominic West. Also in 2023, she played Juno Fish in the BBC thriller series
The Following Events Are Based on a Pack of Lies. In 2024 Garai played
Annie Ernaux in the
stage adaptation of her autobiographical novel
The Years. ==Other work==