Mia Wasikowska is an Australian actress born in Canberra, Australia, on October 25, 1989. Although she made her screen debut on Australian television, Wasikowska had her Hollywood breakthrough in 2008, playing a troubled teenager on HBO’s drama series In Treatment. Her performance was critically acclaimed, which opened opportunities on the big screen. Two years later, Tim Burton’s 2010 Alice in Wonderland quickly became Mia Wasikowska’s biggest project of her career.
Produced on an estimated $150–$200 million budget, the film grossed an impressive $1.025 billion at the Box Office. Its success helped give Wasikowska international acclaim and necessitated a sequel. However, its 2016 sequel, Alice Through the Looking Glass, was a critical and commercial flop. Although she has starred in a film every year since 2016, Mia Wasikowska seemed to have stepped away from the spotlight. Here’s every project Mia Wasikowska has worked on since Alice Through the Looking Glass.
2017: The Man with the Iron Heart
Mia Wasikowska followed Alice Through the Looking Glass, starring in the biological action-thriller The Man with the Iron Heart. In the film, Wasikowska played Anna Novak, a Czech resistance member. She was also the love interest of Jozef Gabčík (Jack Reynor), one of the key assassins in Operation Anthropoid. The film centers around the plot to assassinate Reinhard Heydrich (Jason Clarke), a high-ranking Nazi official. The film also starred Rosamund Pike and Jack O’Connell, who portrayed Lina Heydrich and Jan Kubiš, respectively.
2018: Damsel & Piercing
Mia Wasikowska starred in two feature-length films in 2018. Not to be confused with the 2024 Millie Bobby Brown-led film, this 2018 Damsel co-starred Wasikowska alongside Robert Pattinson. In the Western black comedy, Mia Wasikowska played Penelope, a headstrong and independent woman who defies the traditional damsel-in-distress trope. Damsel follows Samuel Alabaster (Pattinson) as he journeys across the American frontier to reunite with Wasikowska’s Penelope. Samuel believed Penelope to be his fiancée in need of rescue. However, after finding Penelope, it is revealed she’s far from a helpless victim.
In the same 2018, after going against the damsel-in-distress trope, Wasikowska returned as a mysterious and enigmatic sex worker in Piercing. In the Nicolas Pesce-directed psychological horror-thriller, Wasikowska played Jackie. The film follows a man named Reed (Christopher Abbott) who plans to murder an unsuspecting victim to fulfill a dark fantasy. However, when Reed meets Jackie, she becomes far more complex and unpredictable than he anticipated. Mia Wasikowska’s performance was praised for its intensity and depth.
2019: Judy and Punch & Blackbird
The following year, Mia Wasikowska also starred in two feature films: Judy and Punch and Blackbird. In Judy and Punch, Wasikowska played the titular character Judy, one half of the infamous puppet duo. The film reimagines the traditional Judy and Punch puppet story, giving it a dark and feminist twist. Wasikowska portrayed Judy as a strong, resilient character who seeks revenge after her husband, Punch (Damon Herriman), accidentally kills their baby.
In Blackbird, Mia Wasikowska played Anna, co-starring alongside Susan Sarandon, who played her mother, and Kate Winslet, who played her sister. Wasikowska’s Anna is a sensitive and somewhat fragile character who struggles with her mother’s decision to end her life on her own terms due to her mother’s terminal illness. Throughout the film, Anna grapples with unresolved family issues, including her strained relationship with her sister, Jennifer (Winslet), and on-again-off-again partner, Chris (Bex Taylor-Klaus).
2020: The Devil All the Time
Mia Wasikowska joined the star-studded ensemble cast of Antonio Campos’s Southern Gothic psychological crime thriller The Devil All the Time. Wasikowska appeared in a segment during the film’s runtime as Helen Hatton. In 1950, her character married the eccentric and fanatically religious preacher Roy Laferty (Harry Melling). Tragically, Wasikowska’s character’s story takes a dark turn after Roy’s delusions lead to her untimely death. The Devil All the Time also starred Tom Holland, Bill Skarsgård, Riley Keough, Jason Clarke, and Robert Pattinson.
2021: Bergman Island
Mia Hansen-Løve’s 2021 romantic drama Bergman Island was Mia Wasikowska’s only screen project in that year. She was cast as Amy, a filmmaker and a character within the film’s story. Her character appears in the fictional film that Chris (Vicky Krieps) is writing. Amy is in a romantic storyline with Joseph (Anders Danielsen Lie). Interestingly, Wasikowska also starred as herself in the film Bergman Island, which was a critical success, receiving generally positive reviews from critics and audiences.
2022: Blueback
Mia Wasikowska led the cast of this Australian drama Blueback as Abby Jackson. Her character is a young lady whose chance encounter with a wild blue groper while diving influences her career choices. Abby becomes an activist to protect the Australian coral reef. The movie premiered at the 2022 Toronto International Film Festival and was only released theatrically in Australia the following year.
2023: Club Zero
Mia Wasikowska’s last feature film was the 2023 dark comedy thriller Club Zero. The movie premiered at the 76th Cannes Film Festival and completed for the Palme d’Or. In Club Zero, Wasikowska played Miss Novak, a young teacher who joins an elite school. She forms a strong bond with five students who become part of her “food dieting” club. However, Miss Novak’s methods and influence lead to increasingly disturbing consequences as the students’ approach to intermittent fasting becomes extreme. After this follow-up of Mia Wasikowska’s career, here’s everything Georgie Henley has been up to since The Chronicles of Narnia.
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