If you’ve spent any time watching medical dramas or supernatural thrillers over the last decade, you’ve definitely seen her face. Maybe it was that intense, heartbreaking stint on British TV, or perhaps you caught her playing a high-stakes survivor in a plague-ridden Atlanta. Honestly, Nadine Lewington is one of those actresses who is everywhere once you start looking, yet she somehow manages to fly under the radar just enough that you’re always surprised by her range.
Born in Chelmsford, Essex, back in 1980, Lewington didn't just stumble into the spotlight. She put in the work at Braintree College and the Middlesex University Drama Studio. It shows. Whether she’s playing a frantic doctor or a cold-blooded villain, there’s this grounded reality to her performances that makes even the wildest sci-fi plots feel, well, kinda plausible.
The Holby City Years: Where It All Started
For a lot of UK viewers, Nadine Lewington is and always will be Dr. Maddy Young.
She joined the cast of Holby City in 2007. Maddy wasn't your typical TV doctor. She was a Senior House Officer who was just… a lot. She was messy, she broke the rules, and she had this "family secret" involving an escaped convict father that kept everyone on edge.
Lewington played her for over two years, and the fanbase was genuinely obsessed. When Maddy was killed off in 2009—fatally stabbed in a plot twist that still feels a bit mean-spirited if you ask me—it felt like a gut punch. Lewington actually talked in interviews about how hard it was to film that sequence, trying to balance the physical shock of a stabbing with the "TV version" of pain that wouldn't look too over-the-top. She nailed the balance.
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Making the Leap to US Television: Containment and The Originals
Breaking into the American market is a nightmare for most British actors, but Lewington made it look easy. She landed the role of Suzy in Containment (2016). If you haven't seen it, it’s a limited series about a viral outbreak in Atlanta.
Suzy was a data researcher trapped inside the "cordon." It was a claustrophobic, high-tension role. Even though the show only lasted one season, it served as a massive calling card. It also reunited her with some of the creative minds behind the "Vampire Diaries" universe, which led to her next big gig.
In The Originals, she stepped into the shoes of Greta Sienna. Now, Greta was a piece of work. A high-ranking vampire with some seriously questionable views on "purity," she was the kind of villain you loved to hate. Lewington brought a certain icy elegance to the role that made Greta genuinely terrifying. It was a far cry from the scrappy, emotional Maddy Young we saw years prior.
A Quick Look at the Highlights
- Holby City (2007–2009): The breakout role as Dr. Maddy Young.
- Containment (2016): Playing Suzy, a survivor in a quarantined city.
- The Originals (2018): Recurring as the formidable Greta Sienna.
- Westworld (2022): A brief but memorable appearance as Gerhart.
- Emergency (2022): Playing Professor Clarke in this critically acclaimed satirical thriller.
From Indie Films to Big Screen Thrillers
While TV is where she’s most prolific, Nadine Lewington’s movies are worth a watch if you want to see her handle different genres. She had a role in The Poison Rose (2019), a noir-style thriller starring heavy hitters like John Travolta and Morgan Freeman. She played a character named Geraldine. The movie itself got some mixed reviews, but seeing her hold her own alongside Hollywood royalty was pretty cool.
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Then there’s Bigger (2018). It’s a biopic about Joe and Ben Weider, the guys who basically invented the fitness industry and discovered Arnold Schwarzenegger. She played Anna Weider. It’s a period piece, and it showed that she can handle the "historical drama" vibe just as well as modern-day medical chaos.
More recently, she appeared in Emergency (2022). This movie was a huge hit at Sundance. It’s a dark comedy/thriller that tackles some really heavy social issues through the lens of a crazy night out gone wrong. Lewington plays Professor Clarke. It’s a smaller role, but the film itself is fantastic and shows she’s picking projects with actual substance.
The "Malarkey" Connection and Recent Work
If you’re a fan of The Vampire Diaries, you might know that Nadine is married to Michael Malarkey (who played Enzo). They’ve actually popped up in similar circles quite a bit. In 2022, they both had roles in Westworld, though in different capacities. Nadine played Gerhart in three episodes of the fourth season.
She’s also done the guest-star rounds on major procedurals. You might have spotted her in NCIS: New Orleans as Dr. Jones or in the historical sci-fi series Project Blue Book.
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Why She’s Actually Worth Following
The thing about Nadine Lewington is that she doesn't just play "the wife" or "the victim." She tends to go for characters who have a specific job to do or a specific ideology to defend. Whether she’s a doctor, a scientist, or a vampire extremist, there’s always a sense of competence in her characters.
If you’re looking to catch up on her work, start with Containment. It’s only 13 episodes, it’s incredibly bingeable, and it’s arguably where she gives her most grounded performance. If you want something more "prestige," check out her episodes of Westworld or the movie Emergency.
Basically, she’s a workhorse. She’s been consistent for nearly twenty years across two different continents. In an industry that usually chews people up and spits them out after one hit show, that’s actually pretty impressive.
To get the most out of her filmography, check out the 2022 film Emergency on streaming platforms like Amazon Prime—it's easily her most "critically relevant" project in recent years. If you’re a completionist, you can still find old clips of her Holby City exit on YouTube, but be warned: it’s a total tear-jerker.