Gaia Wise is a British actress with a growing career in film, television, theatre, and voice work. She is the daughter of Emma Thompson and Greg Wise, but her recent roles have given her a profile of her own. In 2026, viewers may know her as Charlotte Beauvoir in All Creatures Great and Small. Fantasy fans know her as Héra in The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim.
In this article, you will learn about Gaia Wise’s family, early acting work, major film and TV roles, and the projects now shaping the next stage of her career.
Growing Up Around British Film and Theatre
Gaia Wise grew up close to the acting world. Her mother, Emma Thompson, is an Oscar-winning actress and writer. Her father, Greg Wise, is also an actor and producer.
That family background meant film sets and scripts were familiar from an early age. Still, Wise did not rush into a full-time child acting career.
Her first screen parts were small. She appeared in Last Chance Harvey in 2008. She later played Becca in A Walk in the Woods in 2015. Emma Thompson appeared in both films.
These roles gave Wise early time on set. They were only the start. Her later work would spread across stage, television, film, and voice acting.
The Stage Helped Make Acting Feel Real
Theatre became an important part of Wise’s early path.
She joined the ensemble of Sweeney Todd with English National Opera. Lonny Price directed the production. Wise later said that school plays and drama club had already drawn her toward acting.
In a 2024 interview with 1883 Magazine, she recalled the feeling of coming off stage after Sweeney Todd. She said she loved the people, the setting, and how much she was learning.
That stage experience matters when looking at her career today. Wise has not stayed in one type of acting. She has moved between live theatre, TV drama, film, and animation.
Early TV Roles Built Her Adult Career
Wise returned to television with guest parts in two known British crime dramas.
In 2022, she played Jo Reynolds in Silent Witness. In 2023, she appeared as Emma Frankland in The Chelsea Detective.
Both were short roles, but they gave her more adult screen work. They also placed her in shows with very different casts and stories.
The pattern was starting to change. Wise was no longer appearing only in films linked to her family. She was building her own list of credits.
Héra Gave Gaia Wise a Much Bigger Audience
The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim became a major step in Wise’s career.
The animated film was released in 2024. It returned to Rohan, the land made famous in The Lord of the Rings films. Wise voiced Héra, the daughter of King Helm Hammerhand.
Héra sits at the heart of the story. War reaches her family and forces her to act. She has to find courage while her home faces a deadly threat.
The official Warner Bros. film site names Gaia Wise as one of the lead voice actors, alongside Brian Cox and Luke Pasqualino. Miranda Otto also returned as Éowyn, who tells the story.
This was a different kind of job for Wise. Voice acting removes the help of facial expressions and body movement on screen. Emotion has to come through sound, pace, and delivery.
The part also put her inside a major fantasy world. For many viewers, Héra was the first Gaia Wise role they had seen or heard.
Dead of Winter Reunited Her With Emma Thompson
Wise later worked with her mother again in Dead of Winter.
The thriller stars Emma Thompson as Barb, a widow caught in danger in a remote part of Minnesota. Wise plays the younger version of Barb.
That creates a clear link between the two performances. Wise is not playing Thompson’s daughter in the film. They play the same person at different ages.
Dead of Winter premiered at the Locarno Film Festival in August 2025. The film gave Wise a darker live-action role after the fantasy scale of The War of the Rohirrim.
It also showed how her career was changing. She could work beside her mother while still having a clear job of her own inside the story.
All Creatures Great and Small Showed a Softer Side
Wise reached another audience through All Creatures Great and Small.
She plays Charlotte Beauvoir, a new character in Season 6. Charlotte becomes part of Tristan Farnon’s story as the series moves into 1945.
PBS describes Charlotte as Tristan’s new love interest. The role adds a warm and personal thread to a show built around family, community, animals, and life in the Yorkshire Dales.
This part feels very different from Héra or young Barb. Charlotte belongs to a gentle period drama rather than a fantasy war or survival thriller.
The role is also important because it lasts longer than a single guest spot. Viewers get more time to know Charlotte and watch her relationship with Tristan grow.
For Wise, that means more screen time and a stronger place inside an established series.
Her 2026 Work Points to the Next Step
Gaia Wise’s career is still moving.
Her official agency, Hamilton Hodell, lists her as Chloe in Season 2 of Netflix’s Dept. Q. The same profile lists her as Sarah Bernard in Power & Glory and as Evie in A Book About Her.
The agency also lists her earlier work across film, TV, theatre, and short films. That makes the current pattern easy to see.
Wise is taking different kinds of roles. Dept. Q brings her back to crime drama. Power & Glory adds another period project. A Book About Her adds another film role.
Release plans can change, so those projects are best viewed as part of her current professional slate. What matters most is the range.
She is not repeating one role because it worked once. Her recent choices keep moving between genres and formats.
Emma Thompson Is Part of the Story, Not the Whole Story
Many people first search for Gaia Wise because she is Emma Thompson’s daughter. That link will always be part of her public story.
It is also a meaningful one. Thompson has spent decades in acting and writing. Greg Wise has also built a long screen and stage career.
Gaia has spoken about growing up around actors and sets. She has also said that her family taught her to pay close attention to the writing behind a role.
Yet her recent credits have made the picture wider.
Silent Witness is not the same kind of job as The War of the Rohirrim. Dead of Winter asks for something different from All Creatures Great and Small. Her stage work adds another skill again.
That variety gives Wise room to build an identity that is not based only on her parents.
From Small Parts to Bigger Roles
Wise did not move from childhood appearances straight into a major lead role.
Her path was slower. She took small film parts, worked on stage, appeared in TV dramas, then moved into larger projects.
That makes Héra an important turning point. It gave her a lead voice role in a well-known film world.
Dead of Winter then brought a serious live-action film. All Creatures Great and Small added a recurring television role. Her 2026 agency slate shows more work ahead.
The growth is easy to follow because each step adds something new.
A Career That Does Not Stay in One Genre
Wise has already worked across a wide mix of stories.
She has been part of a Stephen Sondheim stage show. She has acted in British crime drama. She has voiced a fantasy heroine. She has played a younger version of a thriller lead. She has also joined a warm period drama.
That range is useful for a young actor. It keeps the public from seeing her as only one type of performer.
It also gives different audiences a way into her work. Tolkien fans may know Héra. PBS viewers may know Charlotte. Crime drama fans may remember Silent Witness or The Chelsea Detective.
Others may have first noticed her because of Dead of Winter and her connection to Emma Thompson.
Why Gaia Wise Is Getting More Attention
Gaia Wise has acted on and off since childhood. She is not an overnight discovery.
What has changed is the size of her recent roles.
The War of the Rohirrim gave her a lead role in a global fantasy brand. Dead of Winter placed her in an international thriller. All Creatures Great and Small brought her into a popular TV series for several episodes.
Now her agency lists Netflix’s Dept. Q Season 2 among her next television credits.
Taken together, those projects make her more visible. They also give viewers more reasons to search her name beyond her family.
At 26 in 2026, Wise is still early in her adult career. She has time to move in many directions.
Where Her Career Stands Now
Gaia Wise is building a career based on range rather than one breakout moment.
Her family gave her an early view of the acting world. Her own work has taken her through stage, crime drama, animation, thriller, and period television.
Héra gave her wider recognition. Dead of Winter expanded her live-action work. Charlotte in All Creatures Great and Small gave her a recurring role. Dept. Q Season 2 now adds another major TV project to her slate.
The next few years will show which direction becomes most important. For now, the clearest picture is of an actress taking varied work and gaining more visible roles with each step.
For another story about a well-known acting family, read our profile of My Skarsgård and the family behind several major Swedish actors.
